New(eventually new) bike conundrum

[SadieKate]

I guess I'm not getting it. It sounds like you think off the rack stuff won't fit. If something off the rack won't fit, why spend money on it?

If there is off the rack stuff that will fit but is just as expensive it's personal choice.

And if you can afford it why not custom just because? Just me.

[Dogmama]

Is the custom bike maker good? You can get an ill fitting custom bike too...

Have you ridden all of the bikes off the rack? A nice thing about a "factory bike" is the warranty. If your custom builder goes away, you're stuck.

I say this because I have a custom bike & the frame cracked. They fixed it but messed up the geometry so that I can no longer fit two water bottles in the frame & I'm pretty bunched up on the bike. They swear that it's the same geometry At the time, I was getting married and had other things to worry about, so I dropped it.

I'm now looking at a new bike (Trek Madonne anybody?) and I will probably go with a regular off-the-rack bike. I tend to keep bikes a long time - this custom bike is 14 years old. (Original C-Chorus components )

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

If a nice off-the-rack store bike fit me comfortably and had the features I wanted, I would buy it happily and not have to wait for a custom to be built or go through the custom bike 'communication dance'.
But I couldn't find the kind of stock bike i wanted that would fit me right. So I got custom.

Three reasons to buy custom:
1) You need a particular frame geometry in order to feel comfortable.
2) You can't get the combination of features you want from a stock bike.
3) You have the money and like the idea of having a bike made just for you (some might call this merely vanity, but justified or not, it's still a reason).

If none of these reasons apply, don't get a custom bike made.