Singlespeed & Fixed Gear - Fixed Conversion Question

I have an old Miyata road frame that had 27" wheels. The bike has been blasted, primed and ready for new red metallic paint, but...
If I invest in new wheels and make the change to 700c will the bike ride weird because of the slightly smaller wheels?
Will it look strange for the same reason (space at top of fork and between rear wheel and vertical tube)?

I will be changing the crankset to a 160mm. I know the 700 wheel may create an issue with adding a front brake, but a local shop says we can overcome this.

Seems like you've dropped a lot of money on this, even though you aren't sure it's going to work.

You won't notice a difference with the 700c wheels. You may have to use a long reach brake to make it work. You most likely don't need a 160mm crankset. You should probably do more research before you jump into this.

Sheldon Brown is your friend and you will get ridiculed for not searching here.

It will be fine (in fact it will buy you a little clearance for bigger tires/fenders if you want). If you plan to run a brake, you will need a few more mm or reach.

I've built 27" custom wheels for conversions....trust me, it ain't worth it. By all means, if you have some 27"ers laying around, use them, but if you are getting new wheels go with 700c rims and use bigger tires, like 28 or 32mm. You'll end up with nearly the same wheel diameter and WAY more tire and rim choices.

Sheldon is indeed your friend here.

This picture shows how he overcame the brake issue without going long reach.
http://sheldonbrown.com/images/dropbolt-r20.jpg

The article on how he done it is here (http://sheldonbrown.com/home-drop.html), and is quite helpful, as can be expected from Mr. Brown.

Sheldon is indeed your friend here.

This picture shows how he overcame the brake issue without going long reach.

The article on how he done it is here (http://sheldonbrown.com/home-drop.html), and is quite helpful, as can be expected from Mr. Brown.

No need for that usually. I think every brake on a 27" frame I've seen has had an extra 4mm of adjustment. Just put those brakes back on.

A 27" X 1 1/8" wheel will have an approxiamate diameter of 684mm whereas a 700 X 25 wheel will be more like 670mm. The 7mm reduction in radius will reduce the steering trail a little so in theory it may feel slightly twitchy although I doubt most people could feel the difference. As for looks, I don't think the slightly smaller wheels will look bad, especially if you fit deep Vs. But then again I'm not bothered by riding a bike that will probably be posted on the "Jackass BFSSFG poseur tarck bicyclist of the day" anyday now. ;)

Sheldon is indeed your friend here.

This picture shows how he overcame the brake issue without going long reach.
http://sheldonbrown.com/images/dropbolt-r20.jpg

The article on how he done it is here (http://sheldonbrown.com/home-drop.html), and is quite helpful, as can be expected from Mr. Brown.

A 700C rim has a 4mm smaller radius than a 27" rim. You are simply not going to need that much additional reach putting a 700C rim in a frame made for 27"ers.

i just finished a miyata 610 conversion and i switched to 700 wheels with 25 tires. the dia compe brakes that were on the frame work fine. it rides great and doesn't look out of proportion with the smaller wheels.

Thanks for the all the quick rapid responses. I think I'll get it back from the painter and reassemble with the existing 27" rims for at least a little while. I'll throw on one of my 700 front wheels to see how it looks and feels. I have found that Sheldon Brown put out an enormous amount of information for all to benifit from. Unfortunate that he's recently passed away.
Thanks again