If you want to experiment some more, maybe you could look at a cyclocross frame. You probably wouldn’t be able to fit the balloon tires though. I’d lean toward an aluminum frame for regular commuting on salted roads, but you, fortunately, have more experience in that. Trek XO1 and Specialized TriCross were the common aluminum models and the Trek has dropout eyelets.
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N = '96 Colnago C40, '04 Wilier Alpe D'Huez, '10 Colnago EPS, '85 Merckx Pro, '89 Merckx Century, '86 Tommasini Professional, '04 Teschner Aero FX Pro, '05 Alan Carbon Cross, '86 De Rosa Professional, '95 Gios Compact Pro, '95 Carrera Zeus, ‘81 Masi Gran Criterium, ‘81 Merckx Pro, ‘89 Cinelli Supercorsa, ‘83 Bianchi Specialissima, ‘VO Randonneur, Ritchey Breakaway Steel, Rivendell Rambouillet, Heron Randonneur, ‘92 Ciöcc Columbus EL