I've been looking around at various fixed gear road bikes. I'm going to be using it for commuting (pretty short commute, just a couple miles each way to work or to school, except when I'm running around town getting groceries or something, even then not usually more than 4 or 5 miles). I would like something comfortable enough for longer rides, that's something I want to be able to do recreationally, but I won't be racing or anything. I live in central Oklahoma, so things are pretty flat. A few low, rolling hills scattered here and there, but, well, we're in prairie land out here.

My ideal is something like the Raleigh One Way...drop bars, fenders (or clearance and eyelets for them), the chain guard is a nice touch. I don't know if I'd actually use the rack, but having it (or the option to install one) is really appealing. But of course the One Way isn't made anymore, so...yeah.

In short, I want something with more of a road and less of a track geometry. Drop bars are a must. I don't like flat bars at all. I'd like something with a flip-flop hub. Fenders (or at least eyelets) are highly preferred. Racks (or mount points) could be useful but are much lower on the list of priorities. I can justify up to $1000 (ready to ride, minus perks like fenders, racks, or chainguard), but if there's something solid for less, then wooohoo.

The Wabi Classic is pretty appealing to me, and is my current frontrunner...it's within my budget, even adding the pedals and a second, freewheel rear cog (I want the option, especially if do longer rides), and has eyelets for fenders and racks. Seems well reviewed. I've read that the saddle it comes with isn't the most comfortable thing, but that's a pretty inexpensive, simple replacement. I would imagine a chain guard isn't that hard to add on to a fixed gear.

I've seen the Kilo WT and Kilo TT yelled out as recommendations any time anyone asks, so I'm well aware of those. I'm just wary of buying anything where even positive reviews almost always come with the caveat "the hardware is junk, expect to replace it," especially since I can afford a bit more.

My current (and currently out of commission) ride is an old Giant Cadex 980c. 7 gear cassette, 700x25 tires. So I'm used to road handling and thin tires on a lightweight bike. I think given the less than perfectly maintained roads here, I may need somewhat wider tires. My rear wheel has gone out of round and has popped a couple of spokes (popped one, replaced it, then popped another one a week later).

Many thanks for any help, I apologize for writing a novel here.

Edit: The reason I'm looking at fixed gear is because of the low maintenance. I've had pretty regular issues with bikes that have deraileurs and I'm tired of dealing with it. The terrain here is pretty well suited to fixed gear, so I think that's the direction I want to go.