I use the cruiser on Fridays to commute to work and do a bit of shopping afterwards. But it's a 7-speed and I would suggest getting either an internal hub or cassette/freewheel derailleur setup if you plan on using it for commuting or multiuse/all-around bike. The extra gears come in handy for most terrain, or give you an option if you want to go faster on the flat sections, or give you a choice to which gear you want to stay in. 5.6 miles isn't too bad for a single speed cruiser bike with stock gearing, but it may get tiring afer awhile and you may wish you had more gears. It depends on how well you feel the bike meets your needs on your daily commute.