talk me down...

[Gunchie]

Upgrading from a stock, low-end OEM fork to a high-end fork from Rock Shox or Fox would be the single biggest upgrade he could make, over upgrading the stock wheelset to a custom set of course. Don't be absurd. ;-)

I didn't say it wouldn't be a sufficient upgrade, just that the bike geometry is going to help with making the bike more responsive more than the fork is. My race bike has the same fork as my fullie, but it's a lot more responsive because of the race geometry. The Carve sits between race and recreational so it would be more responsive than what he has, but still a good trail bike. I understand that durability is a concern, and the Carve Expert does come with double walled alloy wheels. It was just featured in Bicycling Mag: http://www.bicycling.com/mountainbik...d-carve-expert. He may not be a racer, but power-to-weight ratio is already against him. Why would he want to drag himself down more with bad rolling resistance? Fat bikes are fun, but I'd buy a good trail bike first, fattie second. But that is coming from the opinion of a racer, so take it for what it's worth.

[gigantic]

Fat bikes are fun, but I'd buy a good trail bike first, fattie second. But that is coming from the opinion of a racer, so take it for what it's worth.

Meh. I will ultimately enter races, but at my age, 42 and size, I'm not worried about racing for the win; I would be racing to not be last. After 6 years of motorcycle roadracing and mediocre finishes, I'm fine with not setting the racing world on fire, as long as I'm having fun.