I have a trek which was probably make in the 90's.( just a guess because it had friction down shifters) The seat tube has a label on it of 022. Is this a frame size or is this an indication of the metal used in the frame?

Off by a decade, more like early 1980s, perhaps a 410 series. 022 = frame tubing type. Friction shifting was long gone by the 1990s.

Does it look like mine?1981 412 the .022 decal is for .022 ishiwata tubing the frame is made of.Hope this helps

It looks very similar to yours maybe exactly the same. I have a hard time seeing all the minor details.

Was the 022 frame considered to be a good frame material?

I ride the bike 3 to 5 times a week for about 25 miles of hill repeats. As far as I can tell the frame seems to work well with no problems. I have never ridden any new bikes so maybe my bike is just a piece of junk and I don't know it. Sometime ignorance is bliss.

I replaced the friction shifters with a 7 speed index shifter which helps me find the gears quicker. The front and back wheel don't match so at least one is not original.

Ishiwata 022 is a good quality frame material (very comparable to Columbus SL or Tange2 which many high quality bikes were made of). It might not be suitable for a really heavy rider, but if you're less than two bills, it should work great.

Back when Trek was handmade in USA, there was at least one model (John Thompson?) that could be ordered built from either Columbus SL, Reynolds 531, or Ishiwata 022...they were priced slightly differently due to the different cost of the tubing sets to Trek (profit margins, and exchange rates, I'm sure).

Somebody did a side-by-side test (Bicycling magazine?) since this was a perfect opportunity to compare tubing brands alone in an identical bike.

IIRC the conclusion was: not much difference between them but the nod went to the Ishiwata 022 frame (which was also the lowest price).

I also had a blue '81 412 once with an Ishiwata 022 frame. Very good bike--tight and smooth. Not sure, but you might like yours even better with a matching wheel and tire set...

I have had this bike for about 10 years. I picked it up at a thrift store for $12 and I have put around 5,000 miles on it. So I like the bike pretty well. The front wheel has inserts where the spoke nipple go through the rim but the back wheel is just aluminum with no inserts.

Thanks for the information about the 022 frame material.