Cheapest 5 mile commuting bike(on flat roads)thats any good?

Whats the CHEAPEST bike I can use to commute to work and back(approx 5 miles each way on flat roads)...that is any good???
Must be as quick as possible...but NOT single gear. Would consider road/mtb/hybrid...
Regards...

Something like this (£299 on sale down from £459)?

It really depends on what you consider 'quick enough' versus 'cheap enough'...I got started on a steel department-store MTB doing about a 10-mile commute. That was pretty quick (45mins) and pretty cheap ($100CDN).

new or used loads to choose from

check out ebay. Its a buyers paradise

Do you have a bike already? Is this bike intended to last long-term or only as a stop-gap?
I have a hardtail mountain bike which is now about 7 or 8 years old. I took up cycling seriously with a road bike and a few months later started to commute on my mtb. I only have two miles, but it's not flat. The mtb has done fine, for the past year, with the addition of lights and mudguards.

Ideally I want a touring bike with a rack and dynamo lights, but always have other priorities to spend my money on!

It's not just the bike though. You will have to budget for other costs such as lights, clothing, locks, batteries and replacement parts for ones that wear out.

Carrera Subway £200 http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/..._productId_821651_langId_-1_categoryId_165534

Add another £100 for kit - Deacthlon or eBay decent place to start. A decent D-lock will cost you £40-50 alone

Corrected for you

If you only intend to do road work on it as a commuter, a MTB will be a waste of effort.

My commute is a similar distance and I could do that in less than 20 minutes on my roadie when I had it without standing in a pool of sweat when I got to the other end.

If you can get to a Decathlon, get to a Decathlon. In there the world is your oyster in terms of good value cheap bikes.

That £299 road bike from Decathlon (the red one, with the carbon fork). I'd take that all day long, over any slicked-up MTB or Subway.

is a fixie actually legal on the road ? (do they come with brakes)

Aye. Can highly recommend the Triban 3. Almost 800 miles of happy cycling on it for me so far this year, most of it on a 20 mile round trip commute. . . in fairly ugly weather conditions.

For 5 miles, get a 3 speed roadster. Easy to look after and will last a lifetime.

I'd agree with that, they start at about £130 from Halfords or e-bay. They're too high-geared for steep hills but the OP said he'd be on flat roads. You can also change gear when stationary, if you forget to do it before you stop.

Seconded. They do some good value basic bikes.

I reckon this looks like it would be ideal for the specified purpose:
http://www.decathlon.co.uk/elops-3-ii-id_8166113.html

d.

Freegle - http://www.ilovefreegle.org/

Definitely cheapest!

18kg for the Decathlon Elops

OP - what is you max budget - cheap for some may not be cheap for others - I am not sure £300 (plus another 100 for extras) is what the OP means by cheap if he has been looking at SportsDirect or Argos BSOs!

I was thinking more along the lines of this or this or even this. The gearing is easy to alter on a 3 speed hub. With 46/24, you will be able to climb almost anything.

Yes, I noticed that but deliberately didn't mention it - for five miles on flat roads, the weight won't be an issue. And you won't find anything much lighter at that price - not with rack and mudguards and gears and all.

Besides, yer average £99 BSO is probably going to be a good 6kg heavier.

d.