fixed gear conversion question
 

I am in the process of converting my old Raleigh road bike into a fixed gear, and now I'm thinking about my rear wheel and I have a few questions that I can't seem to find answers to. It seems that I have two options, buy a new rear wheel meant for a fixed gear, or convert mine into a fixed gear. I would need to buy more than $60 worth of tools to convert the wheel I have now, and then I would most likely have to re-dish the wheel. If I were to buy a new wheel that is made for a fixed gear, would I still have to adjust it so that the chain line is straight? (I would be using the original crank) Is it possible to find a fixed gear rear wheel for only ~$60?
Thanks

You can install a track cog on a freewheel hub, and use a bottom bracket lockring to hold it in place, but be sure to have caliper brakes as well, as using your legs to stop can cause the cog to unthread from the hub. Chainline can be adjusted using spacers as needed.

If the frame doesn't have horizontal dropouts, you'll need one of these to go fixed:

ENO ? White Industries

I just finished my first fixed-gear build. I opted to buy a new wheelset specifically for fixed gear - Weinmann DP18's with a flip-flop rear hub. They may still be on sale at Velomine for $99. This purchase saved me re-dishing my old wheel (which was a piece of rusty steel junk anyway) and ending up with a potentially dangerous bike that could lose the track cog while I'm riding. Also, it turned out that the 51T chainring on my original crankset was perfectly aligned with the track cog - no shimming needed. All in all, any easy build yet still reasonable. I don't know about finding a rear wheel for $60, but a anything is possible on Craigslist or Ebay.

Good luck with your build!

Try Velomine for wheels:
Velomine.com : Worldwide Bicycle Shop, fixed gear track bike wheelsets campagnolo super record vintage bike

IME, you can find a fixed gear rear wheel for 60, but can convert just about any rear hub to a fixed gear or at least single speed for next to nothing. but as previously mentioned, you'll either have to have a frame that's old enough to have been manufactured with forward facing horizontal dropouts meant for a derailleur equipped bike, or a track frame with rearward facing horizontal dropouts or get an expensive ENO eccentric rear hub or have a frame with a BB30 or PF30 bottom bracket and buy an equally expensive eccentric bottom bracket.