Specialized 29er tyre, stem, grip upgrade recommendations...

[bananarob]

Looking to spend some money upgrading my Carve Pro. Currently doing a mix of trail, downhill (nothing too technical), duathlon and some road and looking to spend a few quid of some upgrades. Looking to improve grip off road as much as possible, increase puncture protection yet avoiding big weight increases from the standard. I'm also looking to upgrade grip, bar and stem.

I'm still learning and there is a lot to know, happy to research but any opinions and pointers greatly received, particularly on the tyre side of things.

Thx

[graeme4130]

There's quite a lot of variables in there, but on the carve range, the most cost effective way of upgrading would be a nice set of light weight wheels.
This of course, depends on how hard you're downhilling is, but the wheels spec'd on the bike as standard are probably the weekest link in the chain.
Fwiw, I have a carve I use for riding to work and back and a little bit of messing around, and it's a fine bike

[bananarob]

Thanks! Have decided to go tubeless so have ordered hope hoops pro 2 evos and Schawlbe racing Ralph snakeskins! Thanks for the pointer