Another First Project...

Yet another first fixie/ SS project, so apologies in advance.

I managed to save this bike from going to the local scrappie, it is a Raleigh Zenith (501 frame). I have stripped the frame down and in the process found a couple of small cracks in the drive side chain stay which I have had welded by a friend. I have also found the forks are a bit bent too but I'm sure I can sort that out. I'm still not 100% sure if I should strip and repaint it or just try and clean up the worst of the rust and leave it as it is?

So far I have managed to clean up the bars, stem, crank arms and seat post but still need to get hold of some wheels, a chain, chain ring and a few other bits.

Bars before:

Bars After:

As it's my 1st SS build I'm still learning and am not sure if I'll need to stick with 27" wheels or can use 700c? So a bit of advice would be much appreciated.

27" would look better as 700c will leave big frame/fork gaps. Still plenty of cheap wheelsets/decent tyres available if you look around. Assuming it was orignally designed for 27", someone who knows more will probably correct me...
Dont bother spending money on a paintjob, just clean the worst of the rust and rattlecan/clearcoat what remains. Use money saved on better parts if required.

Have fun

700c vs. 27" = 622 mm vs. 630 mm; just 4mm difference on the radius.

What's all those car parts behind?

700c vs. 27" = 622 mm vs. 630 mm; just 4mm difference on the radius.

What's all those car parts behind?

I didn't realise it was such a small difference?

How hard is it to get hold of a 700c rear wheel with the correct hub spacing for my frame?

All those car parts are panels etc for Smart Cars (I am a Smart specialist).

Pretty easy to find wheels to fit your 126 mm spacing.
If you drop the BB closer to 103 mm you may not have to re-dish the wheel.

Please forgive my stupidity but what do you mean by:

If you drop the BB closer to 103 mm you may not have to re-dish the wheel.

Sorry. Changing to a narrower BB (axle length) will likely give you an easier time getting the chainline right.
Your Raleigh's BB is probably 115 to 120 mm as it had a double chain ring. Fitting a single speed freewheel in place of a cassette freewheel can necessitate re-dishing the wheel to move the hub relative to the rim.

Ah, I see so I need a new BB then!

Will I get away with just buying a track/ SS specific rear wheel?

Yes, flip flop / track hubs are usually /often 120 mm wide (OLN)... I think.
Add a 103 x 68 cartridge BB and you should have a good chain line.

Thanks for the advice!

Have you got any cranks yet?

57Hawkes is right about tuning the chainline via the bottom bracket, but exactly which BB you need would depend on which cranks you use.

I'd also buy the wheels first and try to match the chainline via the BB: if you can avoid having to re-dish the wheel that would make life a little easier.

Speaking of wheels: yes 27" will be a more "natural" fit and are still readily available, but 700c with 28mm tyres and mudguards will look fine. "Proper" SS/FXD wheels will be 120mm but you just need to bung a 3mm spacer on either side.

I wouldn't spend money on the frame, beyond maintaining the current condition: it's a modest frame that you'll likely look to upgrade in short order, so I would spend my money on components with a view to swapping them over to the next project, which is another reason to go for 700c wheels.

I have just bought some 700c wheels from a chap on here.

I have the crank arms that came with the bike which seem to have cleaned up well but still need a chainring/chain etc, hoping that a 103 BB will give a good chain line?

I am also in the process of stripping the paint from the frame and plan to give it a respray myself.

What are the cranks? Do you still have the original BB?

The standard chainline for a road double is around 42mm/43mm, measured to the spider arm between the rings.

Assuming you want to keep the ring on the outside for aesthetic reasons, then you will need a BB a couple of mm smaller than was standard, depending on the chainline at the rear.

If you don't have the original BB and you can't find out what size it was, then you could use any BB, measure the chainline and work back from there.

What sort of rear wheel is it? A proper track wheel, a road wheel for a screw-on freewheel or a road wheel with a freehub for a cassette?

If it is either of the first two, then the only way to tune the chainline at the rear, is to swap the spacers around to move the hub; as a result you may have to re-dish the wheel to re-centre the rim to account for the offset hub.

If you have a freehub, then you can use spacers to move the sprocket around on the hub and avoid re-dishing.

Bearing in mind your line of work, I wondered if you might have access to a cheap/free respray, in which case you have no excuse for not giving it a rad fadez job!

The cranks are the Sugino ones that came on the frame and I still have the original BB too.

This is the rear I have just bought:
http://i1357.photobucket.com/albums/q748/nqbikes123/33C493B5-1B63-4F84-8FFB-04E66EEB4BF9-466-000000795103847B_zps098ca60e.jpg

I'm hoping to call in a favour with a chap that does some work for me with regards to the respray.

I have been debating having the frame powder coated by a friend but have since thought better of it and decided to paint it myself, so here are a few pics of the progress so far.

Frame stripped ready to prime:

Forks primed:

Forks Painted in Matt Black with a 1st coat of clear lacquer which gives them more of a satin(ish) finish:

I hope to have a couple of coats of primer on the frame tomorrow if I'm not too busy.

Had a bit of a quiet spot this afternoon and managed to get the old thing built up!
Just need to cut the bars down and get some long drop brakes (if anyone has a set they want rid of please PM me).

Have given it a little ride up the road and back and it feels ok but a bit odd with the bars the way they are!

Quite pleased with it considering it was a budget build based on a frame that was going to scrap.

Hmm... Something looks wrong in the last pic - I just can't quite put my finger on it...

This better???

Yes