Singlespeed & Fixed Gear - Fixed Gear Conversion

hey guys i'm new to the forum
i've been reading up on fixed gears and have been compelled to convert an old road frame into one
i've got some questions though

1. I currently have 27 inch wheels/tires, when i buy a new wheelset will 700c tires fit in?

2. To save money i'm thinking about keeping the same crankset which currently has one with 52 teeth and 39 teeth. I'll be getting an 18 tooth rear cog (it comes installed on a flipflop plus wheels.) Would it be better to go 52:18 or 39:18? Or just buy a completely new crankset? i live in a mostly flat, suburb area, however there are some decent sized hills around me.

This is all i can think of for now, i'm sure i'll have more questions later.
thanks for your help

You definently don't want to go 39x18, you won't be going faster than about 15 mph with that ratio. I would think 52x18 would be fine. 700c should fit, if your running brakes though make sure the brake pad will reach because the 700c is a bit smaller. If you really don't want to buy a new crankset you could just get a new rear cog that fits the ratio you want.

i run 52/19 on mine and can make it up the little bit of hills in davis no problem (mostly freeway overpasses lol). 52/18 should be fine.

and 700c's should fit, but you may need to get longer reach brakes. also, if you have a 3 piece crank you may need to mount the ring on the inside of the spider to get a better chainline. the chainline doesn't need to be perfect, just make sure it isn't falling off is all.

oh and don't go grinding or cutting anything off the frame.

Thanks for the quick answers guys
I'll probably end up going 52:18.

Also, i measured my rear spacing and it turned out to be 125 or 126 mm (It's an old Miyata frame)
Will i be able to put a rear wheel spaced for 120 mm?
I was reading around and found a topic on here with someone trying to do the same and they mentioned bending they stays ?
Would I need to go that far?

Thanks for the quick answers guys
I'll probably end up going 52:18.

Also, i measured my rear spacing and it turned out to be 125 or 126 mm (It's an old Miyata frame)
Will i be able to put a rear wheel spaced for 120 mm?
I was reading around and found a topic on here with someone trying to do the same and they mentioned bending they stays ?
Would I need to go that far?

Assuming your frame is steel, it is no biggie to bend the seat stays. I did it on my conversion and it worked out fine.

if the rear spacing is larger than the hub, dont clamp the stays down.

use spacers(washers work fine) on the axle, equal on both sides, to make up the difference

dont clamp it down on the track hub. its gonna be hard to align the wheel that way.

eh, i just cold set by clamping the nuts down. it does make getting chain tension a bit more difficult, but it's no big deal.

why would you not just put a few cheap washers on the axle. it works better and costs less than 1 or 2 dollars...

when you're "clamping down" that many milimeters you are doing some damage to the frame. why do that?

Awesome thanks guys
I'll probably just end up throwing on some spacers on there.

All questions answered for now, however i'm sure i'll have some more once the actual build starts
Wish me luck!

good luck!

you don't hurt the frame by clamping the stays down. it's fine. I did it for a long time, so do a lot of people that I know.

you don't hurt the frame by clamping the stays down. it's fine. I did it for a long time, so do a lot of people that I know.

this should be qualified though that one should only do this with steel. aluminum and cf don't like being bent. i dunno about titanium, but if you can afford titanium you probably don't need to deal with these ghetto shenanigans

Awesome thanks for the help guys !
I'll probably end up throwing on some spacers to help it out.

Does anyone have any tips as to painting a bike?

Edit: I think i'm buying my wheelset tonight. Any comments on this (http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-Track-Bike-Fixed-Gear-SS-Wheel-SET-Cog-Freewheel_W0QQitemZ200341888883QQcmdZViewItemQQptZCycling_Parts_Accessories?hash=item2ea54e9f73&_trksid=p4634.c0.m14.l1262&_trkparms=%7C301%3A0%7C293%3A5%7C294%3A30)pair ?

i've got a set of similar wheels (not fixed though). they're light and fast. if you have the moolah, go for it.