I haven't been able to ride my fixie lately because of weather and darkness, but your comments are making me anxious to get back on it. Maybe this week when it warms a bit. I concur on your observation on the smoothness of the fixed-gear. I really love the connected feel. I try to explain it to my road bike riding friends and they just don't get it. They just think I'm crazy.

I did notice one thing about my setup. I have the front brake only that is recommended by many. Don't really need the rear, right? Well I think I'll put mine back on soon.

This is why. When commuting on the bike of course you can use your legs to slow down the bike and the front to help bring it to a stop. I found that using the front last year caused me to use my left hand so much that I developed a terrible pain in my forearm and wrist. Using only one hand even with my the legs as backpressure was putting too much strain on the arm. I thought I had arthritis or something. As soon as I stopped riding it during the winter it went away. Think about how much strain your fingers, wrist and forearm muscles are taking. I have a lot of stop-n-go in my commute and therefore don't get much rest for the arm. I may try adjusting the brake for a bit more travel on the lever and see if that helps too.

Have fun on your fixie commuter