I'm resurrecting this thread, because I have similar plans as the original poster, only, well, this will be my first ever bicycle renovation, and my mechanical skills are slim (what can I say, I'm a girl and my dad ignored this part of my education!). Luckily, I've found an community organization that specializes in rebuilding bikes for refugees, so I plan to go over there to acquire some knowledge (they encourage this sort of thing). Given all this,

what are the absolute "musts" for renovating an old (1970s) bike (like the OP, I plan to convert to single speed, but first I have to make sure everything's in good working order)? I've found this website ( mytenspeeds.com ) which gives detailed instructions for this kind of stuff, but I'm not sure if it's advisable that a beginner attempt everything he describes . . .

Also, what should one expect to shell out for a decent pair of alloy or aluminum (what's the difference?) wheels?

Thanks in advance for being kind to a newbie . . .