Some other tubing to look for is Oria, Gilco, Excell, and True Temper. Or the ever popular 4130 or double-butted chromium molybdenum(chromoly) as many frames had just generic stickers if they had them at all.

A quick check of the seatpost diameter should tell you if you've got decent tubing over hi-ten steel. 27.2mm is the standard.


Being in the Chicago area, you should have no trouble finding a suitable project frame or complete bike ready to roll.

But if you see ads like this one: http://huntsville.craigslist.org/bik/1050173083.html