Spend a couple hours searching around this forum to see what's popular. You should find quite a bit. Read some reviews, etc. Then get back to us about how to blow $300.

If you really want to stick with the Madison, I suggest lowering your price range to something around $80-120. A few popular options around this range are:

- Andel square taper
- SRAM S300
- Sugino Messenger

The Madison is not a bad frame and many people on this forum swear buy it. If it fits you and your needs, keep it. Use $300 towards better parts (don't blow it all on a crankset), and if/when you feel like moving on to a better frame, you can take the nice parts with you.