BB & Cranks for fixed conversion?

I have most of an old road bike, aquired because i wanted to build up a steel roadie, but now i'm thinking fixed.

It's a 50s Viking with 531 tubes. It lacks pedals, cranks, chainrings, bb, chain, seatpost and saddle, and has a free-wheel that rotates freely in both directions...

I need to work out whether to stick with the 27" wheels, and what to do about brakes, but that's mostly a matter of making my mind up.

But i've no idea what to do about cranks & bb. I've searched a bit and read a few threads, but i'm still not getting it. How do you get a good chainline? Can you adjust stuff or do you just have to pick the right components? Can you predict what components will work or is it just trial & error?

Are some brands of cranks easier to find wide chainrings for? I'm pretty ignorant about brands in general. What's good? What's good value?

Cheers!
moth

170 mm good 165 mm better in length. Other wise what ever cranks you want, if you buy road cranks just remove one of the rings, depending on your b.b you may just need to run the ring on the inner side of the spider. Chanline adjustment is done via changing the b.b. It depends on the cranks what b.b you use. If in doubt build up the rest of the bike and let a bike shop buy and fit the b.b for you. There is also a transmission database that may help you. Good luck

Thanks. Are short cranks good for fixed then? I think my knees will like that.

short cranks good for conversion because the bottom bracket tends to be lower.