Singlespeed & Fixed Gear - fixie noobie, basic question

I've been learning a lot over in the classic & vintage section, but am totally new to the fixed gear world. I've got a couple of early 70's Schwinn fillet-brazed Super Sport frames, that I thought about converting to 6 or 7 speed commuters.

But now I'm thinking about saving even more weight by turning at least one of them into a fixed-gear rider. So, I guess my first (of probably many) question might be what size front ring and what size rear ring would a 210 lb. rider want for a mostly flat terrain? He is young (my son-in-law) and probably considered pretty aggressive, speed-wise.

Thanks in advance for any advice on this!

Gearing is very personal. I suggest starting a new rider out on 48/18. Larger gears are more difficult to accelerate from a dead-stop and are also more difficult to decelerate. You won't achieve blazing fast speeds, but that's not the point. Control of the bicycle is more important than top speed. Err on the side of caution.

Others will suggest differently, I'm sure.

I would start at 48/19 and learn to spin, control the bike and it will give you a lot of skid patches too. When you loose weight and are confortable spinning then I would get to 48/17, I find this ratio the best, not too low nor high.

Thanks a bunch so far, that gives us a good reference point to start scouting out drivetrain parts.

Now (another noobie question!), can I just thread a single rear ring onto the wheel, replacing the 5 gear cluster original to the bike, or do I have to use some special hub?

http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php/716371-Uncle-Sixty-s-Gearing-Primer-for-Newbs

Might be hard getting a good chainline with a 48t chainring on a Super Sport. My Schwinns needed to use the inside ring to achieve a decent chainline.

Thanks a bunch so far, that gives us a good reference point to start scouting out drivetrain parts.

Now (another noobie question!), can I just thread a single rear ring onto the wheel, replacing the 5 gear cluster original to the bike, or do I have to use some special hub?

Read the stickies at the top of the forum. Unfortunately, you'll have a hard time getting step-by-step instructions in a thread like this.

Also, brakes will give you even more skid patches.

You'll need a new hub if you want to go fixed. Good news is that the rear dropout spacing should be just right for a 120mm track hub.

Also, brakes will give you even more skid patches.

Sure, but tell me one soul that when it started riding fixed didn't feel the urge to learn and do some skids once in a while, wouldn't it be nice to have more skid patches while doing so?

Nothing wrong with skiding for fun, front brake is logical and should be used too.