Originally Posted by windup capybara

conversion! strip down, build up. it'll give you a good sense of mechanics, you'll learn a lot, it's fun and frustrating. with a conversion, you'll be using an old cheap frame and (mostly) old parts, so if you don't even like the bike it's no big loss. not that I anticipate that happening, as riding fixed is pretty addictive.

honestly I don't see the appeal of buying track bikes for road use, not when there are so many frames out there waiting to be salvaged. buying something new instead of reusing something old is a very American philosophy and is counter-intuitive to the self-sufficient nature of cycling.