I recently obtained an old (late 70's, early 80's) Raleigh road bike with 27 x 1 1/4 wheels. I'm quite new to bikes, but I know the basics (kind of!)

I would like to convert it into a fixed gear and I found this cheap rear wheel on eBay https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/27-x1-1-4-...item3cc986b94b

It states that it's for single-speed only BUT I was wondering if I could put a fixed sprocket on? And is there any way of me knowing weather I'll be able to put on a lock ring?

ONE more thing... As it's difficult to find fixed gear 27" wheels, if I put on a 700c rear wheel on but kept the 27" at the front would I be able to notice that I'm riding on 2 different sized wheels? Or would I be able to notice visually? I doubt I'd see or feel any kind of difference as it's only 4mm smaller but it's better to be safe than sorry!

Thanks


PS. If you know any shops or sites in the UK that sell fixed gear 27" wheels, I'd really appreciate it if you'd let me know!

I think that's just a single-speed only wheel. Lacks the left-hand thread for a lockring.

If you run two brakes you can get away with running a fixed cog on a regular wheel, just be aware that you need to really torque that cog down properly and make judicious use of your brakes.

WRT: Two different wheels, I doubt you'd notice riding it and you could run a larger tire like a 32 in the back and a 1 1/8 in the front if the aesthetic difference bothers you.

Also, 27" wheels are 8mm larger than 700C, not 4mm.

You can get 27" fixed wheels from VeloMine, they ship to the UK for what appears to be a reasonable price.

Check out https://www.lfgss.com/ they'll be much more knowledgeable about UK shops than we would.

Thanks for all the info, you really helped me out!

But about the tire thing: what do you mean by a 32 on the back? You can't mean 32" can you? And does a 1 1/8 tire fit on a 1 1/4?

Thanks again

700c tires are usually measured by width in millimeters and typical road sizes are 23mm-35mm. A 32mm would be a little large for road riding which is why it would be a good size to offset the diameter different between 700c and 27" wheels.

1 1/8 wide 27" tires would be similar to a 28mm 700c tire.

You, sir, are a saint!

Recommend going 700c, the 4mm difference in ride height isn't really noticeable and you will have 100x better tire selection. Might need a long reach brake, measuring is easy tho.