Originally Posted by
harrier
I bought an Electra used on eBay and replaced the rear wheel with a seven speed hub. Works great.
My son had a used Marin Hidden Canyon. Great bike!
I would ignore the front shock issue. The front shocks that ship with 20" and 24" kids bikes are non-functional - hardly gushy! They don't move. Seriously. A sixty lb kid won't move any shock on the market!
I would avoid mixing coaster and hand brakes. Pick one approach.
W.r.t. the front shock, the problem is that for the money I'm paying for the bike, the shock can't be much higher quality than "pure crap." I don't want to mess around with a wobbly front end just after the warranty runs out. It's probably the one I'm most likely _not_ to compromise on simply on principle.
Interesting comment on the brakes. I suppose there's an argument for uniformity there. My older daughter had mixed, and she liked it, but she also likes the dual hand brakes on her new bike. In any event, dual hand brakes are much easier to find, so the point is moot.