I hear ya. For that matter, a track bike shouldn't have rear (or front) brake mounts either.

Regardless of its marketing, I look at the Sputnik as something more akin to a Steamroller, which I think is a great fg/ss roadie kind of bike, as opposed to a pure track bike. In that respect, I think it has a number of good features for longer (and non-competitive) rides. And with the exception of its cranks, it has a pretty nice set of components and materials that make it much less offensive than your average Windsor/"Motobecane"/cheapo fixie.

For *my* purposes, I'd pick this bike (provided the price is right) over the Pista/Rush Hour/Langster crew too. Of course, I always have my GT Pulse for real track action, not that we have a velodrome up here.