I love the way a coaster brake looks and they darn sure have brought a many a bike to a halt. That hands free feature Like To Bike mentioned is pretty handy when you are out cruising. They seem to last forever and require very little up-keep. Drum brakes look cool too and work well in nasty weather. About the only complaint anyone ever has against them is they are a little heavy. Disc brakes probably want make you stop any faster than drums but they are a lot lighter. And are proven durable and of course look cool. Then you have rim brakes probably the most common of all brakes. They are the lightest. They might not work as well as the other types in wet or nasty weather. But they will get you stopped. My problem with rim brakes is purely personel. I don't like the way they look. So make mine the smooth uncluttered look of a coaster brake with no front brake or a set of discs front and rear. Since I'm not as tough as you single speed or geary guys make mine with a internal gearhub. Sure glad the manufactures are starting to give us gearhub users a full choice of brakes finally. Now if we can get them to make STI shifters for dropbars for gearhubs. Just my .02 and I have a full jar of change.