I have been back and forth on rigid vs front suspension the problem being our tight budget. But the more riding we do the more I am convinced my son needs the front suspension. The problem is all the front suspension bikes in our price range aren’t that great. I initially looked at this and thought could upgrade the front suspension eventually but was essentially told the bike wasn’t that great. I would love to hear from those that own it any pros or cons and how it is treating you.
"Not that great" is all relative...
Kids bikes cost no less to make than an adult bike (probably more as they are in smaller numbers) so expectation should be the same.
Most adult bikes in the same price category will be trash ... and worse not trash you can economically upgrade
The GT is way better than trash... it is obviously not a $2,000 or $5,000 bike.
The Ace has a cassette ... disk hubs, disk mounts and 130mm cranks (placing it ahead of many kids bikes 2x the price)
The Prime doesn't have the disk hubs or cassette so you are "economically" stuck with the freehub and low end gears.
Under $200 buys a decent air fork.... Jnr has the RST F1rst... but the Suntour Air also seems good.. (the problem is I don't know anyone who has had BOTH to compare)
If you wanted a really good bike for the minimum cash I'd buy the Prime and throw out the wheels and fit a decent group set and fork
If you wanted a ready to ride decent bike then the ACE is still pretty good value but your paying more for the mechanical brakes and mid range parts... (which may be quite fussy) and when the drive chain wears stick a 10/11sp on.
Both bikes have the same frame which does look a bit long at the back... which will translate to harder to keep the front wheel up.. This will be even harder with a heavier fork. Ultimately the bike will be a larger part of the kids weight so where their weight is will make a bigger difference that an adult who is moving way more weight forwards or backwards on the bike compared to the bike weight.
Based on that I'd probably prefer to start with a Orbea 24 which has short chain-stays... making for a more agile bike but needs the cranks changing from stock.
Either way GT seem to have made a great effort at the price point when you consider what the components cost.