Thanks,Marcus!Im going with the "budget" solution at first,to see if it will be sort of ok.After all,maybe he will grow a lot over the winter,most of his school mates are 5-10 inches higher than him already.Im one of the Dads that never raced myself,so I have to read a lot about things,and talk with experienced people like you.Getting feedback regarding suspension from a young man isnt always easy,you know!Normally the forks are less of a problem if theyre a little too stiff,right?Under braking,with the forks loaded up,and lots of sharp "braking holes",there doesnt seem to be a problem,and he has no pain in his hands/forearms even after 35 mins on a rough track.You can tell hes searching for the easy/fast route around the track,so maybe hes learning this by having a stiff suspension!Hes already been around 10 hours on the bike,and he hasnt crashed it yet,so hes not a wild kid,thank God!