I was originally looking to get something cheaper like an SE Draft since this was going to be my first fixed gear bike but I knew I was just going to want to upgrade a month later so I decided to go with something a little nicer. That left me trying to decide between a Bianchi Pista or the Mark V.
I had seen an orange Iro at a local bike shop and fallen in love with the way it looked but it was out of my price range. The red Mark V was close enough though and ultimately I read so much good stuff about the Mark V and Iro in general that I decided to go with them.