IF I'm reading this correctly, it appears that you're flexible on material--either steel or aluminum. How about an aluminum frame with classic geometry, horizontal top tube, and uses integrated levers?

A year ago I needed to replace the frame on my three-seasons commuter. I needed it right away, and I needed it cheap because this was an unplanned purchase and I hadn't saved anything towards it. My only requirements were:

• aluminum road frame,
• carbon fork,
• able to fit 28mm tires,
• rack and fender eyelets.

I bought this:

• Ribble 7005 Winter/Audax frame
• Dedacciai Black Rain carbon fork with fender eyelets

and moved over all my existing components. (The bike is also available fully built-up, with a lot of customization available in the build kit.)

I bought it strictly as a placeholder frame until I could afford something “better” and then planned to dispose of it. Turns out, it's a keeper. I like it so much, I scrapped those plans. Instead, last autumn I bought it a new wheelset, and moved over a set of dynamo lights. Then, last weekend I finally retired the 8-speed drivetrain I'd moved over and upgraded it to 10-speed.

Along with a Cane Creek integrated headset, brake and dérailleur cables (I splurged on the fancy $70 ($35 x 2) Dura-Ace ones with the blue housing), trans-Atlantic air freight, exchange, and my bank's international service fees, it tipped the scales at $392.20.

The frame arrived faced and chased, with all the little parts and screws. Even the seatpost clamp was included. The headset was also installed, although curiously, the crown race had not been driven on and set. It uses a braze-on FD, BTW, and the downtube cable stops are welded on, so there's no ability to convert to downtube shifters.

On a friend's frame table, the front triangle was within 0.001” of square, although head tube to BB were dead nuts. (Meaning it's the seat tube that tilts one one-thousandth of an inch to starboard.) Head tube to rear dropouts was 0.016” long on the drive side, which we fixed with a couple of passes of a rat-tail file through the DS dropout.

The English threaded BB is the stiffest of any bike I own (even while using an old Octalink BB!). The front end is also the stiffest I own. Yet the ride is better than the Trek frame it replaced, and is on par with my other bikes, including my Litespeed.

With parallel 73s in the 58 cm size, handling is slightly on the low-trail side as befitting an audax/brevet/rando bike. A different fork would give it more neutral handling, although I've come to like the Deda. It's no lightweight, but it's both stout and pleasant-riding.

The bike's advertised as fitting only 23s. In real life, it does much better. Right out of the box, using a Shimano BR-650 long-reach caliper, the fork fits 28mm Conti 4-Seasons on A23 hoops under SKS P-35 fenders with room to spare.

In the back (using a standard-reach caliper of unknown provenance), without modification it fits 25mm Conti 4-Seasons on A23 rims with SKS P-35 fenders. Using Reacharound Fender Brackets at the rear, it fits 28mm Conti 4-Seasons on A23s under the P-35 with room to spare.

What made this frame a keeper is the ride. I've owned cheap aluminum and I expected this frame to ride like cheap aluminum. I also own good aluminum and legendary Ti. This one falls right along with those two in ride quality. It's on par with my $1700 Trek Portland, but not quite so nice as my Litespeed Classic (also parallel 73s with level top tube).

The Ribble manages to take the bite out of bumps admirably. It transmits enough road feel that I know what's going on under the tires, but it filters out the buzz and harshness of chipseal. Its only fault is that with over 40 pounds or so in the panniers on the back, the tail wags the dog. Given the low-trail aspect of the Deda fork means that, in true audax/brevet/rando fashion, it prefers its loads on the front, I give that one a pass. Overall, I'm very pleased with it.