We are talking NYC, correct? Do you ride in the street or do you ride in a park? Neither the Specialized Roubaix PRO or the Trek Monde 5.2 is well suited for street riding IMHO, at least not for the New York city streets that I've been through.

If you're riding in a park or burbs, then it's a different story. Definitely buy a CF road bike.

90% of my rides is on L.A. city streets where I'm dealing with cars, pedestrians, potholes, sewer gratings, broken glass, cans, trash, dog shit, etc. Even if I keep my head on a swivel, I run the risk of crashing which is the price I pay for wanting to ride.

I have 3 bikes. The fixie is for heavy traffic, city street situations. The hybrid is for riding around the park with the wifey. The Fuji SL comes out of the garage when I'm doing a long ride (1/4 century on up).

I love my fixie. I have about $200 of parts on a 15 year old Centurion columbus tubed track bike. I've got set of Easton aero bars on it, Mavic aero wheels with Soma Everwears, a Shimano 600 front brake, old Selle Gel saddle, and I adorned everything with a couple of coats of flat black out of a rattle can. The only new part it wears is a cheap set of CF forks that I bought from Performance Bikes.

It's the first bike I've had in a long time that's changed how I ride. I feel as if my riding style is better because how fast I go is based strictly on my endurance and my legs. I don't sit and think about what gear I'm in, I'm just pedalling. The legs control everything. I'm also riding more agressively because I'm sitting on a $200 bike which could be a bad thing.

For some reason, to me, building a fixie is like rodding an old Chevy pickup truck.