I ride a vintage 3-speed between home and the railway station, about 1.5 miles each way; this is just the kind of job these bikes were designed for. The bike cost 8 quid from
Ebay. New tyres, tubes, ball bearings, cotter pins and a period back light for the dynamo and the total cost was about £50. Oh, and it's most unlikely to get stolen.
I've also bought a non-folding Raleigh Twenty, also for £8. This one is going to stay in Manchester to provide transport between the station and my work, less than a mile each way (at the moment I just about catch the early train home by jogging to the station, arriving as a stressed, sweaty mess). I'm hoping it will remain unmolested overnight at Oxford Road station.
They each weigh a ton, but I reckon that's a good thing for my fitness considering the commute is so short.