I think I'm getting my son a Gary Fisher Precaliber SS. No suspension and no gears. I don't think he needs either and would just frustrate him. He looks huge on the 16" bike now. I heard the bike weighs about 19lbs. Everything with suspension and gears weighs a lot more. A nice bike I did see was the Marin Hidden Canyon 20 but my wife says too much money. It was light and had gears (front/rear) and a really soft fork. Some of the forks on the bikes are impossible to move. One guy told me they are trying to make the bike more efficient for the kids, I said a rigid fork would be lighter and more efficient then wouldn't it. He laughed.

GP