This has been bugging me since I ride a kilo(tarck? cheap) and my friend rides a crappy conversion. Other than the drop outs, whats the main difference in a track frame and road/fixie conversion. I honestly dislike conversions, but sometimes some are hard to tell.
Thanks

track frames generally have tighter geometry, 120mm rear spacing and sometimes have no holes drilled for brakes or bottle cages.

bottom bracket height can become an issue on some conversions.

Conversions are sometimes incompatible with tight pants.

track bikes also have track ends, whereas conversions will usually have semi-horizontal drop outs

If you're riding on the road (especially commuting), then you're probably better off with a conversion. A crappy conversion is going to be equal to or better than the kilo tt anyways.

Yeah, a ***** if you have fenders and you need to change a rear flat.

Not to be nitpicky, but uh... are you implying that a ****ty older bike is better than a ****ty newer bike?

Cuz that seems kind of dumb.

depends on your resources, honestly. Converting an old road bike teaches you a lot about bike mechanics right off the bat, so you sort of know what you're doing. It's also pretty fun, and it's fulfilling. That being said, you need to find a frame or a bike that would be good for a conversion, (Semi-horizontal dropouts). Since fixed gear is really popular, the market for these bikes is pretty limited, so you're either going to find a ****ty bike that would make for a ****ty conversion, or a nicer road bike that wouldn't be worth converting.

That being said, there's nothing wrong with getting an off-the-shelf fixed gear/track bike. Kilo's are great beginning bikes, and as you replace components as you need to, you'll learn about mechanics and components.

False to the max... A crappy conversion is always going to be crappy. A nice conversion will undoubtably be fair. A Kilo TT starts above fair and can easily get into the above fair category. The Kilo TT pro starts well above fair and thats just with better components and a brake. Conversion haters will always hate. Conversion lovers will always stand proud. Track bike elite will always be right no matter what anyone else thinks anyway so it doesnt matter...

A Kilo TT does not qualify as tarck unless a decent measure of tarck has been added. It's a classic design single speed bike that comes with a fixed driveline, has less than track geometry but more than road geometry, well used track fork ends, track-esque bb height, 120/100 track hub spacing, an attractive lugged fork and an affordable entry level pricing. That, compared to the majority of conversions, places it significantly higher up the nice scale than most give it credit for.