Singlespeed & Fixed Gear - wheel size change

Is there any problem with using 700c wheels on a 27" bike. I'm fixing an old panasonic and want new wheels but don't want to have to deal with the rarity of good wheels and tires that comes with 27". Or if anyone knows of a place to get stuff like that easily let me know. So far, the only 27" fix wheels I've found are at Harris Cyclery.
thanks for taking time to humor an ignorant fool.

there shouldnt be a problem at all: assuming the 700c wheels can fit on the frame (you dont need much clearance between the tire and frame on a single/fix).

one problem: you'll have a bit of a hard time finding a brake that can reach down far enough. there are solutions for this, however; you can either purchase a drop bolt, or see if the shimano long reach brakes can reach down that far. i took a more drastic approach, filing my brake shoe holes down until the shoes reached the rim. I had an oldschool caliper, however, that was longer reach than the new ones.

if you don't run brakes, the only other snag is the way it looks. the huge clearance places your wheels farther from the tubes and it looks a bit fugly overall. but nothing huge.

here's my 27" frame with 700Cx23's: http://www.cs.pdx.edu/~marius/pics/fix2/3.jpg

Originally posted by TimArchy
Is there any problem with using 700c wheels on a 27" bike. I'm fixing an old panasonic and want new wheels but don't want to have to deal with the rarity of good wheels and tires that comes with 27". Or if anyone knows of a place to get stuff like that easily let me know. So far, the only 27" fix wheels I've found are at Harris Cyclery.
thanks for taking time to humor an ignorant fool.

Does this panasonic have center pull brakes or side pull?

If you have center pulls, I may have something that works for you. BTW, do you have a picture of this panasonic? Have you hacked it yet? Where are you located?

I've got side pull brakes. I'm not sure if I'm going to run brakes or not. I don't have any on my other fix, but I think I want this bike to be more of a casual thing.
No pictures yet. I haven't touched the bike yet other than removing all the stuff I can get off with a screwdriver and pliers. I'm waiting for student loans to come in. Should begin work sometime next month. I intend to paint it also. Been getting some good tips from other threads. I'll put pics up as soon as I start work.
Karsten, I'm in Atlanta.

thanks for the help

Originally posted by shrimpx
...if you don't run brakes, the only other snag is the way it looks. the huge clearance places your wheels farther from the tubes and it looks a bit fugly overall. but nothing huge.

here's my 27" frame with 700Cx23's: http://www.cs.pdx.edu/~marius/pics/fix2/3.jpg

Shrimpx,

That is far from fugly. Nice ride. I ride a 700c in the rear and a 27" up front (to solve the brake reach problem). No problems at all. Running 700c puts your pedals closer to the ground, but I've not noticed it.

Happy riding.

I am building up an old Panasonic and going to put 700c wheels on it. I plan on not having any brakes so it won't be a problem. Plus Harris is the only place I found a decent 27" wheel for my current ride.