Both my commuters are 1980's steel bikes with no shocks. Both are single speed conversions with fenders and racks.
The summer commuter is a lower-end Raleigh road bike with straight gauge chromolly tubes. I rode it for a couple years on the original 27 inch wheels until I got tired of replacing broken spokes. Now it has 700c x 28 wheels. It has clipless pedals.
My Winter commuter is a Specialized Hard Rock with straight gauge cromolly tubes. It is geared lower than the Raleigh, has wider tires, and has platform pedals.