Ok, so I really like bikes and always have--I hope to never own a car if I can. Anyway, I currently have a Trek hybrid and it's good for getting around where I live, but I've been wanting a fix gear for a while now and after this summer will have made quite a bit of money and will be able to get one of those too.

I was originally planning on just getting an old road bike and converting it because 1) it's cheap 2) I prefer DIY things 3) I can feel proud of it

But, I've been doing some research and am worried I won't be able to do it well. I don't have much experience with bike repair or building apart from a bit of tinkering back in junior high and high school. The more I read about how to convert a bike, the more I realize I have very little clue what I'm doing! I'm not even sure which types of pedals I should choose, much less a gear ratio, crank length or bottom bracket height (btw, is that even something that can be changed? I don't think so but I could be wrong).

I do have access to a free bike learning center at my college though, and I do have a friend with a fix who knows quite a bit about bikes (I think), but I'm still worried I'll screw it up.

I'm most concerned with safety. I get the feeling getting a bike specifically made to ride fix would be safest as it should have the proper specs needed to avoid things like pedal strike and all that fun stuff. And I will have the money to spend on a decent one. I could part with 200-300 easily enough, and I could even afford 600-700, but I'd much rather avoid paying that much if possible. Also, even if I do build one myself, I'm not sure how much to expect to spend. Minus the frame, about how much would hubs and all that stuff be to convert a road bike to fix?

What do people recommend? As one of my friends says, DIY or buy. But which should I choose? Am I being overly paranoid with regards to safety? I think I might be working things up too much in my head. Or am I being reasonable here? And if you think I should buy a bike, what would people recommend as far as good quality? I want something sorta simple geometrically. Oh, and if you think I should build, what starting road frames would people recommend? Sorry for the super long question, but I could make if even longer so I think I cut it down pretty well