Singlespeed & Fixed Gear - 1st ride questions...

I finally picked up my pista from the shop a couple days ago and i am officially addicted. the ride home from the shop was a bit sketchy but the after work ride was love. I didn't want to stop! The bike came with platform pedals which i was grateful for on the way home. (i was almost catapulted of the bike a couple times :D ), but I have a set of pedals w/clips and straps @ the casa.
Should i swap out asap to avoid developing any habits, or keep riding the platforms. (i feel pretty comfortable on the bike after a few rides, but was just wondering what u alls think) Skids are pretty easy, but i noticed during my feeble first attempts at trackstands, that the pedals dont seem to bee 100% locked to the chain ring?/. There seems to be a small amount of dead space if i have the pedals locked @ 3 and 9, then begin pedaling again. Is this normal or should i have the shop check that out. They offered to adjust the bike for me and even swap out the monstrous stem on this thing for free. thx for any advice in advance...

get rid of the platforms asap. It's not about developing bad habits it's about having control. you can't control your bike if your feet slip off the pedals. Especially if you didn't have them install a brake.

The dead spot you described is probably chain slack. A little is normal, but a lot means you should tighten your chain. If it's not chain slack, that sounds like a problem

Are you sporting a brake? If not, get clips fast. I'd actually say get clips anyway, I like them a lot and have never really had a problem getting out of them halfway to a faceplant. The dead space sounds like loose chain tension.

brakes...

if you're comfortable with the platforms, just get a front brake and you're set. you can still skid and do everything else except maybe little skips and whatnot.

Cages are definitely an upgrade though, more stroke efficiency etc etc.

yeah. i'm running a front brake right now. i wanna live to ride this thing into the ground before i die! and the "dead space" problem isn't bad at all, in fact it is barely noticeable. i just didn't know if this was something to worry about correcting or not. i'll prolly change pedals tonite too... thx

Just a note for future reference: If you get that "dead spot" feeling again, and your chain is tight, check your chainring bolts. I had a problem with that a while ago, and it took me a while to diagnose it. Nearly mangled my chainring too.