Singlespeed & Fixed Gear - Fixed Gear Help Please

I found a bike today for a fixed conversion, it is a Fuji bike with the cranks, bb, and dropouts i need. I need to do this dirt cheap. THis whole spacing with rear wheels and eveything is wierd. I read that i dont "need" to replace the wheel but i can and it is safer to use a real fixed gear hub. I looked on Sheldon Browns website and on ebay for wheels and couldnt find anything real cheap. What gearing should i be using and what do i base it on? Height? Etc?

if the rear wheel was designed for a freewheel, you can just have it redished and/or respaced and just thread a cog on with an old english BB lockring (not very safe, but it works in a pinch). it is DEFINITELY safer to use a real track hub, and you'll even notice a difference in pedalling response and such.

gearing...whichever gear ratio you're most comfortable at spinning in is probably what's best for you. i see a lot of people who just use 42/16 because that's the inner ring on most older cranksets, and 16 because, well it's a nice round number. i personally ride 44/16 on one bike and 49/17 on another. i try to get it as close to 3:1 as possible, or maybe just a shade under so i don't end up wearing down my tire in the same 3 places.

just remember whatever gear ratio you choose should be easy to spin up to speed, but not so easy that you spin out, and you should also be able to power it down fairly easily too. like, however much power you put in, you're going to eventually have to take back out.

The gear's you choose is more of a personal choice, there is one guy on e-bay that consistently sells 700c fixed gear rear wheels for $65. If you want to do it cheaper you could redish the rear wheel like Onetinsloth said or get a fixed gear rear hub and rebuild the rear on that. I know excel sports has the Suzue hubs on sale right now for $27.

How much is cheap? I mean, you get get a 'decent' fixed set up (suzue flip-flop, generic rim, and spokes) for about a 125. A rear cog and lock ring might cost you another 25. As for gearing. You'd probably like a 48 16. Good luck

Oh ya, Sheldon Brown rocks ... I met him not too long ago when my bike get totaled. He total hooked me up with my current setup. The guy definetely knows his stuff (strangley enough, and total off subject). Through checking out his website, i also found out that his wife was my freshman Programming Proffesor at Northeastern ... New England's WAY to small.

Thanks, guys. I was looking for super cheap. If i end up using the fixie i will buy a good wheel. I am dying to try it out but how cheap can i go on a fixed rear wheel. How do i measure the spacing.

What do you mean how do you measure the spacing? Which spacing?

The rear on my fixie was probably as cheap as it gets. I rebuilt an old freewheel wheel.
Fixed cog around 20
spacers and BB lockring 5
Spokes 18
Loctite I forget how much.
Having it actually work: priceless!!!

Next build I'm going to buy a proper fixed wheel (probably from Sheldon)

I think you're refering to the rear dropout spacing. On older bikes, the spacing is 120 mm, less older 126 or 125, newer 130 or 135. You can measure the spacing by measuring the inside width between the dropouts; a metric ruler will do, although a venier caliper (preferably a dial one) is great, and when working on older bikes, can be indespensible.You won't need to cold set (bend) the frame. Just get some spacers for the rear hub and space the axle appropriately for your frame. Your LBS should have spacers; if not, try bike tools etc.. You might also want to get the narrower chainring bolts.

You can build good fixie wheels cheap. I built both front and rear wheel on my fixie using a set of Suzue hubs; I think the total cost was sixty-seventy dollars (it's been a while) . I use a 42/15 gearing; it seems to work around here, with moderate hills, etc.