fork and rim for my hardtail

i have a 2010 SPECIALIZED HARDROCK SPORT DISK. it comes with an 80mm SR SUNTOUR Spring fork. i am thinking about uprgrading to the X-FUSION VELVET(air). its cheaper than ROXShox/FOX with comparable stats. anyone have bad experiences with X-FUSION PRODUCTS?

my bike came with (crap)ALEX RHD rims. i bent the rear one last night. i want STRONG rear rim. $100-$300. any suggestions?