How tall are you/what bike size do you take.... Smiley tries to tell everyone (well at least everyone female) that they need 650's whether they do or not.... You *can* get one a Rod with 700's - a teammate of mine actually has one of these rare birds. She's a fitter and a PT and knows what she needs. She basically had to tell him my way or the highway, but he did as she asked.

In my experience 650 rims and tires are getting to be harder to find. The selection, which was always smaller than 700's, has been shrinking even more. If you would fit 700's, I'd go with them.

Customs don't have to be expensive. I get the wheels for my rain bike hand built and they usually cost me something around $200-300 for the pair (I do usually get inexpensive, heavy rims as on that particular bike I'm interested in durability over weight). If you can find a local shop that has a good wheel builder and buy from them. If that is not an option I know that there are a few people here who have had good experiences with their online builders.