I'm pretty new to the track bike / fixie thing although I've been looking into building a frame for over a year now. It looks like a feasible option at this point and I think it's a good starting point as far as learning to weld. The owner of the shop I work at used to build custom steel bikes (insanely nice stuff) back in the day and he'd be showing me the basics.

I want a commuter fixie that can take a beating. Not looking to do barspins and freestyle stuff (although I've got a BMX background), just something that will feel relatively solid and confidence inspiring.

Are there any bikes out there that have a sort of "baseline" geo that would be good to copy? I know for downhill mountain bikes, the Iron Horse Sunday is the bike that everything else is sort of measured against and I'm wondering if there's an equivalent in the track / fixie domain.

The Brooklyn Gangster looks like EXACTLY the kind of bike I want. Durable, geometry somewhat in the middle of the road as far as race vs. freestyle, and almost as importantly, aesthetically pleasing. I would maybe like a little less of an over-built characteristic (probably some cheap-ish moderately butted steel, brazed, no pierced ST, basic track dropouts).

Opinions? Suggestions? Resources I should look into? I'm totally new to the whole thing so any help would be appreciated. Thanks!