where does this kid live, anyway? Oh-- NYC. Where absolutely nobody will be intersted in that totally lame $350 Pista locked to a parking meter. Why, thieves will barely bother with anything under sub-$1000 these days.
You are now totally comfortable with the idea of riding a $1,200 bike...Unfortunately, there isn’t much room to improve from here. You either get a more expensive vintage frame, or you jump to the head of the line, the holy grail; you go custom.
...or you realize that riding a $1200 track bike around the street is just stupid. Seriously: if you're not racing your $$$$ track bike at the stupid velodrome, why do you own it? I'm pretty sure you don't need Columbus tubing to enjoy the 1.75 mile ride to $3 PBR night. Would you leave a $1200 full suspension mountain bike outside the bar? No, because it's not
utilitarian enough or something. Even if you take off all the stickers and replace the skewers with "hard to remove" solid axles.
Sorry, a $300 or $500 or $1000 bike is not a beater.