I have not read through this whole thread, but here is my experience: I bought a cruiser bike that was already built, and found that the coaster brake was inadequate. I ended up putting a different fork with caliper brakes on the bike , and welding another set of caliper brakes to the back end of the bike, so it would stop good enough. I say, get somehing with a steel frame that already has front and rear handbrakes if you are interesting in stopping.