Well, the carbon fork idea came from the fact that I bent the hell out the stock fork trying to break the original stem loose from the fork. Let's just say that didn't end well, but I managed to bend the fork back into usable form, fairly straight actually.
The reason for the cheaters in the chain stays are b/c I'm constantly having to take the rear wheel off to put the bike in the car. Kelly, will those thingys work for the semi-horizontal dropouts? If so, how much do you want for them? The bike isn't a track bike, it's a 5 speed (cassette), the dérailleur has it's own little seating bit, so i only need one for the one side... I think. Would a photo help?