Dolan Pre Cursa / PreCursa / Track Champion

That's disappointing... I was considering this as my next bike (I'd prefer a steel bike, but everything else about the TC was right for me, geometry, components, price)...

Is it a common problem with Dolan bikes? Or just the TC in particular?

Also, this might be a question for another thread, but how different is the ride on Alu compared to Steel? Am I going to hate it if I use it as a commuter/beater on weekdays (3-4 miles), and track on weekends?

Very common I beleive but just with the TC. I think there's a Fuji with a very similar seat clamp design that suffers very similar levels of failure.