so, I live in south mexico. I was looking around one of the larger bike shops and came across what looks like a really beatifully lugged steel frame set up for downtube shifters, vertical dropouts, a bad paint job and some cheezy decals stuck on it. I dont know much about framebuilding or lugs, but the tubes on the main triangle are tapered, they become thiner as they get closer to the lugs, and the chainstays are kinda teardrop shaped.
the price tag on the frame alone is about 100 bucks (which is really expensive for here), but i am really tempted to get it and convert it to my new road fix as my current fixie has a bent frame
it is still ridable, but i can no longer pedal no handed, unless i want to make a sharp left turn!
anyway, i was wondering
i could have trackends welded on this baby for almost nothing here, and give it a pretty nice paint job for next to nothing, i am also thinking of trying for a "magic gearing", and keep the dropouts!
but I could really use some advice on what to look for in determining whether this is a nice frame or not. the guy at the shop could tell me nothing but "i think its made in mexico", no clue as to what kinda steel or anything.
any tips?

Get the guy in the shop to weigh it, that should give you a ball-park idea on the type of tubing it was. You don't recall the name on the decals?

what do you mean that the tubes taper as they approach the lugs? that's kinda strange, as butted tubes widen from within at the junctions, rather than taper from the outside. can you get some pictures of the frame?

ill go have a look tomorrow and try and get some pictures. im sure the decals were put on by the bike shop, so they wont tell much. yes, the tubes get thinner towards the ends...

any advice on what to look for, specifically?

Weight and finishing details. Are the lugs thin and pointed or short and blunt? Check inside the BB and see how nice the threads are, same thing for the head tube and seat tube...check for rust inside the seat tube. Take a camera, show us pics, $100 isn't really that cheap, especially if you don't know anything about the frame. I've bought complete bikes for less than that which were excellent frames.

ok, so no luck posting images directly, but here: https://bikefoto.blogspot.com/ you can see the fotos i finally got around to taking of the frame in question, with the oddly tapered tubes et. al.
please tell me your opinions!
the decals were stuck on by the bikeshop, and are unrelated to the actual framemaker...

^ go to www.imageshack.us to put pics here

am i seeing that right?
reverse tapered?

what.

weird innit?

The lugs are pretty nice. But that is some odd tubeage. Anyone have any info on this abnormality?

I was in san cristobal and noticed a couple nice frames in a bike shop with track drop outs and no decal single color paint jobs. not lugged though.. shouldn't be too hard to track down an old bennotto or Windsor or even better.. one of the heavy bike with dual top tubes and track ends

Seems like they wouldn't bother to chrome lugs, stays and dropouts on a crap frame.
For that size, if it weighs around 4lbs or less, it could be good.

I've seen tubing that is narrower and taller in the middle. but it was on really crap old schwinns or other gaspipe type bikes.

Can't tell from the photo, are the tubes expanded like balloons in the middle or narrower and taller (more aero)? It could have been an early attempt at oversize tubing when only standard size lugs were available.

Post to the vintage or mechanics forum to see if any of them have seen tubing like this. Don't tell them about swaping dropouts though. They probably won't like the idea of altering a frame like that, especially if its nice.

Yes, post the link over on C&V. Someone over there will probably know even what town the bike was made in and who made it!

hmmm, like this one? this is my current ride:
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You have quite a collection of unusual frames there.