to answer part of your original question that has not been addressed, I'd say it is pretty hard to get used to a fixie. i personally do not own one but in the past weeks have ridden them many times and for the life of me i still cant get past the not being able to just put the left crank down, step, push and swing my leg over. on a fixie the crank will give you a little elevator ride if you try that without putting it horizontal or higher first. otherwise i really liked the feeling and power delivery...but you still need to really pay attention. after riding with a freewheel for 18 or so years i cant see myself ever switching except for short rides. i would hate to get into a sticky traffic situation as i may in NJ and either forget i cant backpedal or level the cranks and coast or end up locking the wheel up and skidding into an accident just because i wanted to save time on maintenance, get better power, etc. i just feel like without MONTHS of regular riding you'll still be at a disadvantage to riding a similarly equipped SS
please keep in mind if you even read this far down my essay here that I am certainly no expert, don't have the experience that many on here do and was never really that cool in middle school...i.e.: this is just my opinion
another valuable consideration is going
down hills. even if you do this:
Macaframa SF Track Bike Promo - YouTube im betting those tires will wear out in a jiffy in basically 2 spots assuming you level your cranks alternately when you skid (the position of the rear wheel wont change relative to the position of the cranks)
all in all it seems like a pretty scary proposition to me...