I've seen other posts that make your point--I agree that the old tourer belief that steel can be fixed out in the boonies is a bit of wishful thinking. My point was more that with steel there might be some chance of getting a repair whereas with aluminum or titanium, AFAIK forgetaboutit. Really, there have only been a couple instances, at best, that I've read about tourers getting a steel frame repaired by some back-alley handyman. Even in the heavily populated DC area with a lot of well-heeled cyclists I was surprised to learn that there is no local custom frame-builder now (AFAIK). Now if one's frame breaks in Portland Oregon one is in luck--I think there's a frame builder on every block there ;^)

Plus I'm wondering how even a fairly skilled welder could fix a busted steel frame? Cut out the bent section & TIG-weld some sort of sleeve over the section? At best it sounds dicey.