You consider 21-23 pounds heavy? For a cheap bike? That surprises me.

When I turned 62 last year I decided to learn how to ride fixed gear. I use brakes on both wheels. I've logged 3100 fixed gear miles (~60% of my total mileage) in the past 6 months, and I love it. I definitely use it for commuting. I only ride a geared bike when pulling my trailer for shopping and running errands, when riding an extremely hilly or mountain ride, and riding the tandem with my wife.