Please visit this site for a look at the bikes used by people that use bike as their only means of transport. Please note the riding postion along with features incorporated into the design. The
riding postion is VERY different from the back breaking,arm twisiting handle bars, sold in the
U.S. for a VERY GOOD REASON.
Sadly,these bike either cost to much in the U.S. or are simply not available. However, bikes "like" them
are. You'll find that this type of bike is best suited to the ol' reliable 3 speed hub in 99.999% of cases.
In fact if you shop carefully you might find an older Raleigh 3 speed that would be an ideal choice cheap
as these old Raleighs were designed for the yeoman duty of daily travel.
European bikes.......
http://www.dutchbikes.us/
Bikes sold in the U.S. that are similar......
http://threespeedbicycles.angelcities.com/
Please also note that the bikes frame is the foundation of the bike and aluminum frames are not a long
term good choice. Note that the European commuter frames are most often NOT aluminum.