Originally Posted by transplant
i'm in the same boat of "cheap vs. midrange" debate.. even been considering a jamis sputnik, but haven't found a place around here that sells them
<rant>
The sputnik looks nice but how can you trust a track bike built by people, allegedly bike savy people, who describe it as "Sputnik hangs proper rear-facing track dropouts".
They're bloody not dropouts, they're track ends!!
</rant>
If you have a budget of <800, then go look at the Soma Pake and Rush (can often find good deals on these) or similar frame. You can use your spare change to invest in a decent wheelset and the 2nd hand stuff market should be able to supply you with everything else.
Definitely also look at an IRO, just because the wheelset is better than most off-the-shelf bikes out there.