On my Website, www.earlewheels.com, I say that the best steel frames ever built are being built in the United States right now, and customer reminded me about that and asked me to expand on that.
With few exceptions, only American builders have operated one-man shops, measuring customers, designing frames and building them from start to finish
The best of them combine high levels of precision in fitting the frame tubes and high levels of art in finishing the construction. The frames are not only paragons of structural integrity, but works of art as well.
In addition, steel tubes have gotten continually better. Three decades ago, I was discussing the differences between the established tubesets by Columbus and Reynolds and the newer, lesser know Japanese tubes. What I found then is that the upstart tubing made it easier to build a clean lugged frame. And even though steel frames are a disappearing part of the mass market, small suppliers have continued to improve the tubes, the lugs and the brazing materials.
In short, the best of today's craftsmen, using the best of today's materials are building frames that surpass nearly everything that has come before.
Rather than name names, for fear of leaving out some very good ones, I would encourage anyone people to look at the National Handmade Bicycle Show (http://2013.handmadebicycleshow.com/) and any regional framebuilders' shows. There is a lot of brilliant work out there now.
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