Keep me posted on your thoughts. I use the middle setting on my shock primarily also. The Fuel EX went on its maiden voyage this morning. It's a LOT more bike. The feedback was it's not as quick to maneuver but made the rock gardens WAY smoother. Makes sense. He climbed a lot slower than he has been, but it's hard to say if it was the bike or the 28 degree temperature when we started. I'll be really tempted to swap the tires out for 2.4s from the get-go.My ONLY gripe with the Top Fuel is the two-position remote. Either open, or fully locked.
Now that my racing days are over, I find I ride a lot in the sort-of-firm middle position in the rear, especially when climbing. Conversely, it's great in the front. I either run the fork open or locked, finding the middle position relatively useless.
I may be looking into a "regular" rear shock, but will wait awhile longer, in case it turns out that I come around to loving it.
Saw a bull moose all of a few feet off the trail munching on scrub oak. He couldn't have cared less that we were there. We've seen moose on every ride lately. Very cool but also can be scary!