WHEN I BEGAN considering options, I already had the advantage of having a relatively narrow marketplace to begin with.  There are three general categories I considered: 

• Buy-and-ride "off the rack"
• Fully custom, bespoke builds
• Bikes made-to-order following a general "recipe" that can be customized at the buyer's request by selecting among various component options offered by the builder ("semi-bespoke")

As a note, the line between the second and third of these options is rather blurry and vague, especially if you need a frame that is not one of the standard sizes a given manufacturer offers.  Some builders will happily build you a custom made-to-measure frame and then outfit it with (your choice of) their standard component options.  Is that a custom or semi-custom bike?  You decide.

Equally, if you buy a bare frame and equip it yourself (either on your own or by working with and through an obliging local shop) do you end up with a custom bike or a "customized" standard bike?  Perhaps it's an artificial distinction, with infinite gradations.  

The basic point is this: the more you stray from a given manufacturer's "stock" offerings, the more nearly you are creating a custom bike.

For the purposes of this discussion, I'm distinguishing between fully custom and customized stock bike by considering the number of changes I'd have to make to get what I want.  On a custom bike I'd expect to tell the builder everything I want, down to make and model.  On a "semi-bespoke" bike the number of such decisions would be smaller.  And smaller is better, for me.

Ready-to-ride

Among the mass-market ready-made offerings I thought about there's the Trek 520, the Surly Long Haul Trucker, and its close cousin the Surly Disc Trucker. 

Ready-to-ride options have the virtue of (presumed) short-lead-time availability but may not be so easily customized to meet the criteria I've outlined.

I quickly eliminated the Trek 520 from consideration, despite my fondness for its ancestor my beloved 620, because it has a listed rider-plus-gear weight limit well below what I'd expect to be putting on it.  Whether that's a purely technical limitation or one driven by Trek's legal department doesn't matter.  They put it out there, and in so doing completely exempt themselves from any future responsibility or liability should anything untoward occur.

The Surly has also fallen out of consideration, despite having a good reputation as a rugged, no-nonsense offering, because of its dry weight: 31 pounds.  That's just too much for the baseline.  The hefty weight comes as a result of its being made of straight-gauge steel tubing rather than butted or double-butted steel.  I also think the more exotic steels may offer a more enjoyable ride but that's a matter of conjecture and subjective preference.

Custom / bespoke

The fully-custom made-to-order alternatives I have been dreaming of come from Seven and Waterford.  These are beautiful, handmade works of art.  They have price tags that reflect that heritage.  Both builders have predefined models to use as a starting / reference point but nothing gets built until the customer has made their choices and changes and signed off.

I just don't think I'm prepared to spend, or could really justify spending, the kind of coin it would take to add one of these beauties to my stable, and not least because realistically I can see the end of my touring days in the not-so-terribly-distant future.  It just doesn't make sense to take out another mortgage for such an extravagance.

"Semi-bespoke"

In between those extremes there are what I described at the top of this page as customizable "semi-bespoke" bikes.  I've been looking at two companies more known for building tandems than singles: Co-Motion and Rodriguez/Erickson.  

A perceived virtue of buying something from either of these outfits is that they are presumably well-versed in and highly competent at designing, engineering, and constructing bikes that can be expected to stand up to the heavy loads and high stresses that are part and parcel of a tandem's everyday life.

Both manufacturers have predefined "buy it as is" model options; you can have them build one for you without deviation from the baseline, or you can add options and make substitutions as you choose.  Doing so results in what is essentially a one-off custom bike, much like Seven or Waterford, but (depending on the degree to which you deviate from standard) for somewhat less money.  

If you're lucky you might even find one already made, outfitted (nearly) as you want, and in your size just waiting to be taken home and ridden lovingly for years to come.

Of the two, I'm currently (as in today; ask again tomorrow and you may get a different answer) leaning in the direction of Rodriguez.  Why?  It's philosophical, as much as economic, and based on an as-yet-untested assumption/perception.

On the plus side of dealing with Co-Motion, I have a longtime friend who's been in the bicycle business for 50-plus years (and who's owned a one-of-a-kind bike shop for well over 40 of those years), who also happens to be the closest Co-Motion representative to me.  I'd certainly trust him to make good recommendations and to help ease and expedite the selection and purchase process if I went that direction.  

On the other hand, and going strictly by what Co-Mo shows on their website, they seem to have gone down the "whatever's the latest trend [fad] is what we're going to offer" rabbit hole.  That's a huge downside to me.  And it's also not clear to what extent I could make substitutions (at probable extra cost, naturally) that deviate from what they offer.  Then there's the service aspect: would a Co-Mo be serviceable only at an authorized Co-Mo dealer, without voiding the warranty?  There aren't many of them in the country, so a problem in the field could spell serious trouble.

I could of course buy just the frameset and then have my friend source and install all of the rest of the bits and pieces.  But buying parts piecemeal gets costly in a hurry, and raises the all-in price to a level not all that far from the art bikes.

Rodriguez, by contrast, don't have dealers or reps as far as I can determine.  When you buy their bikes you buy directly from them.  The process involves a great deal of back-and-forth communication.  That's a Good Thing, but it's time consuming.  This being a winter project for me, I don't really care: I'm done touring for this year anyhow.

It also assumes that Rodriguez/Erickson will continue to exist, for at least as long as I own the bike.  They've been in business for nearly five decades, and the shop's currently owned by a relatively young couple who seem committed to the business, so that's in their favor.  But, in the event that the shop folds up, I'll likely be out of luck if I need service of a sort that only they could provide.

Balancing that risk, the Rodriguez website makes it clear that their priorities, philosophies, and general approach align well with mine.  Keep it simple.  Don't go for the latest whiz-bang "innovations" without considering what benefit(s) they truly offer, and what hidden costs (such as planned obsolescence or a lock-in to proprietary, non-standard components that may be difficult to obtain) there might be.  

The components they routinely select and offer are much more in line with my preferences, so I'd be less likely to make numerous and radical substitutions.  In other words, what Rodriguez builds already matches the majority of my must-have list so I would have far less "tinkering" to do to get to the final product.  Also, selecting ISO-compliant parts increases the likelihood that even small shops may have something on hand, or be able to get it easily, to help me out of a jam.

However, it's a bit of a crap shoot insofar as you basically commit without so much as a test ride of something comparable- unless you happen to be in Seattle where they're made.  So, there's an element of trust: you trust that Rodriguez knows how to build you a bike that you're going to like, and that will serve your needs and meet your objectives, without ever actually trying one.

Still, talk is cheap.  This morning I emailed them my sizing information along with a general description of what kind of use I'll be putting the bike to.  So, the conversation has begun.