Good point here, I had my old road bike for quite while before converting it. I would maybe only recommend buying a bike/frame to convert if you find reeeeeally good deal and it fits you perfectly.

Since you like tinkering, do what I did. Buy a cheap road bike off craigslist, with appropriate dropouts and a modern BB shell, and a wheelset (could be had via craigslist also with a cog+lockring) along with a cog+lockring and a chain (and tires+tubes if you don't have extras around). That will be the bare minimum that you will need to get rolling. Your chainline may not be perfectly straight, but if you use an inner ring it will be close enough to get the job done. After you ride that for awhile and see if you like fixed gear, you can start replacing parts at your will. After I rode mine for a couple weeks, I replaced the BB with a cartridge with a shorter spindle to get my chainline perfect. Then over the year I swapped out handlebars, brakes, crankset, seat, headset, and had my frame powder coated. Doing it this way allows you to get a functional fixed gear for a low price, and gives you time to hunt for parts you want/good prices.

I guess some people don't bother to learn.
There is practically no reason to learen except for fun, anyways.
Your call.

Though I only skid when it's wet out because... your tires WILL get destroyed elsewise. Slipperly surfaces sorta slows that process down.

I think I've made a decision. I realized I am not in THAT big of a rush and want to make sure I get what I want and am impressed with it. I know this is going to become my daily driver and I want to get solid parts so I won't have to replace them in the future. I'm probably going to grab 51 or 53cm Pake RR in gray with a black fork from somafab just like the pictured one. I searched back and saw some input on the Pake frames and their seemed to be a lot of positive reviews and it seems like a very nice mid range bike that happens to be in the exact colorway I want.


Also going to order these. I'm overweight, do you think the spoke count is appropriate for a 220lb, 5'7'' dude?

As for other parts, I'll probably hunt around online and get the other pieces from other sources. Their are literally so many retailers online, and so many look like trash which is the reason I decided to buy the main parts through somafab and velomine.

Those wheels are plenty strong for your weight. However, if you plan on using a front brake, these http://www.velomine.com/index.php?ma...roducts_id=366 are a better choice for the same price, since the front rim has a machined braking surface.

Thank you! I thought that was strictly aesthetics, not function. Thank you thank you thank you. This is why I ask questions!

Anything 28 spoke or more is fine.

I'm 240lbs and my road bike has 16 spokes on the front and 20 spokes rear. One of my track training wheel sets has 20 spokes front and rear (Mavic Ellipse).

http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...online-dealers

I love you. You just gave me so many more sources to shop through. Google is usually a great resource, except when it comes to looking for a reliable online store! I think I have said this like 10 times but I love this forum. Thats a sticky too, can't believe I missed it. I swear that just makes them harder to find.
http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5209/...0cbfeda67d.jpg

So, who gets to be the vampire and who gets to be the werewolf?

I shotty vampire. I can still ride my bike... in fact, I can ride it fore eternity!

Would this be worth the money over a RumRunner frameset? I like the geometry a lot better but cannot find anything about the weight of the Rumrunner to compare the two. I also like the Masi colorway just as much as the GMGray/Black RumRunner.

That is true of a properly tensioned and stress-relieved wheel. Most cheap wheelsets are not built to sufficient standards to put a 200+ lb person on a low spoke count wheel. I do agree that the wheelset proposed by the OP is fine however, as long as the tension is monitored for the first few hundred miles.