In my book, unless your requirements differ from what you can get in an off-the-peg frame, you’d be crazy to spend a huge pile of cash on a custom frame. Custom just means designed for a specific individual, so you wouldn’t expect a custom bike necessarily to feel particularly good to anybody else. So logically most custom frames should be fairly non-standard in some respect, otherwise why go custom? I know a custom builder’s welds may be aesthetically pleasing, but Taiwanese factories are extremely competent these days, and I don’t believe there’s any inherent dynamic advantage in a hand-welded or brazed frame over a factory TIG-welded frame.
I know a custom builder will be able to offer you precise fit, but again I don’t believe there’s a lot in this. Provided you know what you need, and buy an off-the-peg frame with the right length top tube, most people can fine tune the fit perfectly well by varying the length/layback of the seatpost, the position of the saddle, the length/rise of stem and the rise (if any) of the bars. But I suppose if you don’t know what fit you need, maybe then you need to pay someone to tell you.
So in my view if you need an 853 frame in the shape of a Jamis Dragon, you might as well buy an 853 Jamis Dragon. But if you want/need a non-standard shape of frame or a non-standard paint job or you don’t know what you need, that’s why you’d go custom. So I think the first step is to define in your own mind precisely what it is about your personal needs/wants that differs from what the off-the-peg market already provides, and work from there.
But to be honest this is what handmade frames should feel like...
