14bikeco custom bike

+1 again and again.

Thats one of the best pieces of advice i've seen on the forum for ages ;)

Seriously, especially with the winter months laying ahead the idea of commuting on an alpha of that price would be foolish, especially if your just coming back to cycling. Best to have something that if you were to come off (oily, frozen roads are very likely to pull off a new fixed rider) your not trashing something which you intend on holding on to for sometime.

Furthermore (people may have a go but its true) The more you spend on a track bike the more fragile it tends to be. These OTP's are pretty much completely bombproof in comparison to a honed,specific track bike. These big builders spend their money making sure that your bike won't give up the ghost the first time you have to bail.

Gain knowledge, meet everyone, have goes on bike, find out what you like and where you can get it well priced and save the pritzy bike for the spring when everyone cruises slowly down the Kings Road picking up hot chicks! ;)

...it'll look in a sorry state after a long winter of commuting!

Rubbish, that depends how you build it, my bike cost just over a grand and its about as tough as you can get for a track bike, i've smacked it around like a cheap ho, hit a white van, and crashed it doing tricks more times than I can count, and the only thing I ever broke was a few sets of pedals (before I learnt my lesson and stopped buying plastic).
Personally, I would say spend what you want on your bike, you will never regret getting an expensive bike as long as it is designed for the purpose you have in mind. The last time I had a shit bike was when I was 11, maybe 12 my memories not that good.....lots of drug and alcohol abuse over the years....anyway I digress, just go for it, it hasn't got to be from 14, or from any other specialist retailer, it can be built by yourself or a fellow forum member....or whatever...
The satisfaction you get from owning a bike that was completely specified by you from the ground up is second to none, just do it.