"Chris French" wrote

...
I've got a Shimano Nexus roller brake on the rear of my upright
'utility' bike (paired with a Sachs drum brake on the front).
... I much prefer the drum brake on the front.

I have no experience with the roller brake, but will second Chris's praise of the Sachs front hub brake. I have one on my
1996-vintage Bike Friday (upright) Family Tandem. It has very good stopping power, doesn't cause rim heating, and works well in the
rain. I took it apart to lube the bearings a little while ago, and found no observable wear on the linings after several thousand
miles of use. I wish US bike manufacturers would consider use front hub brakes more often. Possibly disks are as good or better; as
yet I have no experience with them. I noticed that the recumbent EZ tandem, designed by Easy Racers and manufactured by Sun, has
disk brakes front and rear, also beefed-up 20" wheels and tires: quite impressive for a recumbent tandem selling for less than $2K
USD.

Parker Swanson