>>1046128The English 3-speed is the old utility bike. It's made of high-grade-but-lightweight steel, and it's got an internal 3-speed hub. The gears are on the inside of the wheel, instead of on the outside with a derailleur system. The main advantages of them are that they're extremely reliable, they're strong, and you can shift gears even when you're standing still. They're not really very good for long rides since they only have three gears, but that only comes into play if you're trying to do something like ride 30-50 miles in a single hitch at a fast pace. You can easily ride one for like 10 miles no problem if you're on flat land.
The hallmark maker for them was Raleigh, the former biggest bike company in the world. They had a bunch of other names under their control, but Raleigh was the flagship. They're still made by other companies, however, because the general concept of a 3-speed urban roadster still works. Schwinn is the biggest maker of them now with the Schwinn Coffee, but new ones are all going to be like $450+. It's much better to look to pick up an old English-built Raleigh (or equivalent) used. You get the same quality bike (if not better) for much cheaper. Local ones can be anywhere from $100-$300; I myself paid $160 for my Dunelt.
Sheldon Brown wrote a bunch of really neat articles about them before he died. This one is the overview, and it's also got a list of all the brands Raleigh had their fingers in over the years.
http://sheldonbrown.com/english-3.html 