Originally Posted by
xanadu
Thanks for the responses. I have given myself some time for the build, so no rush. I have been looking at CL and ebay and saw some interesting frames but I know very little about older bikes so I wanted to get some examples of good frames so I can have some starting point of reference.
Thanks and keep the ideas coming
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The best way to know what you're looking at when you see a steel frame is to learn your tubing. There's way too many framebuilders to be able to recognize every one, but there's a fairly select group of companies that made quality tubing. As a general rule of thumb, any frame made of Reynolds, Columbus or Miyata tubing is a very decent bike. A bit of a step down but still good are Tange, Ishiwata, etc.
If you're interested in a frame, ask the seller what the tubeset is. There's almost always a label that will tell you (in most cases where there isn't, it's either a repaint or something made of crappy tubing, neither of which are admirable frame properties.).
I guess the most common high-quality tubesets would be Reynolds 531 and Columbus SL. Also, you can't go wrong with Miyata (they made their own tubing, and it's great. ^__^)