Thor805

Hello all,
I have a standard Ibis Mojo that I bought last year around this time. Since then I've done about 10 cross country races on it. It held up alright, but this year I'd like to make it a little more xc friendly. I love my bike and do plenty of rougher trails for training, and I don't have the money to buy a dedicated XC rig (although I'd love to, but don't we all!?!?) Anybody have some cost effective suggestions to lower the overall weight and/or make it faster. Here's my spec:
Standard Size Small Frame w/ Fox RP23 rear shock
Fox 32 Talas FIT 15QR fork
Stans ZTR Flow Wheelset w/ Ibis house hubs (sorry, don't know what the spokes are, but most likely standard)
Sram X9 drivetrain w/ Truvativ Stylo 3.3 OCT crankset w/ GXP BB
Sram CR Mag Brakes (185 in front, 160 in rear)
Stock Scott seatpost (I am in between sizes on most bikes so I go with a smaller bike and long seatpost; the stock ibis didnt fit me) in a 31.6 width and I believe 400 length
Fizik Aliante Sport saddle
Stock Ibis stem
Stock Ibis riser bars (I have ordered a new easton carbon xc70 riser to replace this; the stock one weighs 270g!)
ESI Chunky Grips
Shimano xtr pedals

I purchased this bike with a pair of Kenda El Moco Tires in 2.35 width. These are great for downhilling, they grip like their namesake (booger), but they are heavy and have awful rolling resistance. Last year I raced on a Panaracer Fire xc front tire in 2.1 and a kenda small block 8 in 2.1 for the rear. While the rolling resistance was much better, my traction was poor and, with a very all mountain bike, descending is my strong point so this hindered my strengths during racing. I have a Kenda Nevegal 2.1 on the front currently and have ordered a kenda Slant Six 2.35 for the rear. I believe that my rims are tubeless compatible, and if you have any input on going tubeless or not I'd love to hear.

Price really has no object here because I'm just looking for suggestions to better my own bike without putting down the cash for a new one. I would like some ideas to play around with, but lets just say I could spend around $1500 in a perfect world. Could I spend that much and maybe get a decent xc rig? yes, but I'm looking for one bike to do it all, from tough and bumpy singletrack to fast race courses. This bike has soul! Thanks for looking!

pablosnazzy

i ride tubeless and i like it a lot, i think tubeless is the way to go. conti rubber queens are my tire of choice, super grippy, roll nicely, i like them. do you want a better bike for racing? get a dropper seat. yeah, it adds weight, but if you want to be faster, you should get one. other than getting a lighter handlebar, maybe some lighter wheels, honestly you should worry less about the bike and perhaps just train more. the bike is fine, upgrade the motor. training is free. if you feel like you need to spend money to race better, then buy a road bike and ride that road bike hard, you will be much faster on your mountain bike.