Dawes mta
 

I'm super new to cycling, but I've been lurking here on bikeforums for a while. Naturally, I've read most of the threads discussing the aforementioned bike, and while I certainly respect all of your opinions and knowledge, I've decided to go with the MTA for the reasons as follows.
1) Being incredibly new, I need something that I'll have the chance to make mistakes on, get hurt on, break and fix without being out too much cash.
2) It's rather silly to get pretty serious about riding fixed if I've never done it before, so I'd like to have an inexpensive way to test out the style and a little beater bike to get me back and forth from work.
3) I make zero money (exaggeration, but not by much), and my saving schedule pretty much forces me to drop that amount of money on a lower end bike, because after Friday I'll only be able to parcel out certain things, etc.

My question is this- foot retention is important, so clips and straps are clearly a must have. Is there anything else my inexperienced brain has missed in regards to parts/accessories etc that I should look at? Thanks in advance for your time, you guys know your stuff!

EDIT: Especially potential information on handlebars... I like the flats aesthetically, but I have no real aversion to drop bars. The main reason I haven't decided to go with the Revolver is the minor -$10 handlebar difference. After reading up a bit on drops, my hands never get tired on my mtb flat bars- probably because I just don't ride long enough. Is there another compelling reason to go for drops?

Personally, for a beginner, I do not feel foot retention is a necessity. Sure, they help when you develop faster cadence and sure, they keep your feet on the pedals but if you're just getting used to the feel of fixed gear, then I feel it's totally fine without them. Of course, you can allow to not have foot retentions when you have a brake, or even brakes.

Once you're comfortable with how the bike feels and not intimidated by going down a hill, then yes, get straps because if your legs aren't keeping up with your pedals and your foot slips, then you might be hurt and crash.

Bottom line, in my unworthy humble opinion, if you're just taking it easy on the bike, then foot retention is not that big of a deal.

Oh, excellent! Thank you for the feedback. And yes, I plan on running both of the brakes it comes equipped with, though at some point it's likely I'll lose the rear brake. Any advice on the handlebar issue?

Through my own experience, riding with drops for an extended period of time requires a bike that fits the rider well. Obviously, drops offer more hand positions than flat and that could be very beneficial should your arms ever get tired of riding in the same position. The drop portions are awesome if headwinds are whipping into your face at 20mph, they also offer more control when you're turning at a tight radius. There are many different variations of drops, and different road bars have different curves or angles or they might flare out a little or something, and it will be nice if you have the perfect set of drops paired with a bike that fits you like a glove.

Thanks so much! I'll just stick with the flat bars then and make drops part of my upgrades list. Gotta learn how to get handlebars on there somehow, right? I appreciate your time. : D

swapping out handlebars on bikes with a threadless stem is super easy. i go btwn bullhorns and drops all the time. i'm just not PERSONALLY a fan of flats/risers cause i get bored easily. but when you get the flow to have a set that you like of all three, it's a 10min job to pull off the bars that you would have on now, throw the news ones on, and put on the brake levers. as long as you have metric allen keys you'll be set.

DeusVolt, if you have not yet purchased that dawes...
you might consider nashbar's bottom end ss/fg bike. at only $170 (+s&h) with the 15% off deal they are offering on it right now, i am having a hard time keeping myself from buying one.

http://www.nashbar.com/bikes/Product...7_10000_202339