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@Velocio
I wasn't seeking to be.
What is custom about a custom?
Is it the colour or finish? Nope, definitely not that.
Is it a case of having options to choose some components? Not really, it goes deeper than that. An OTP road bike can come in configurations that offer various steps in groupset, this level of choice does not make it a custom.
So what is it? A custom road bike still has an OTP groupset, still has an OTP saddle... OTP meaning mass manufactured and the same this time as last... the Fizik Ariane saddle on a OTP Cannondale road bike is the same as Fizik Ariane saddle on my Serotta or Bob Jackson... the latter two both custom.
So what is custom? Well it's the frame, that the frame has been manufactured to offer the geometry and properties asked of it by the owner. This is of particular importance if you have any medical condition that might be exacerbated by cycling, or if you wish to gain more power, or tailor the bike to a very specific purpose (i.e. pursuit cycling, time trials, etc). The key word here is tailor.
You can change the feel and look of a bike by changing components. But components are generally mass manufactured. And besides, do you really think that adding a hand-made stem to a Charge Plug makes that a custom bike? Of course not.
What defines a custom bike is the frame. That the geometry, the materials, the properties created through those things... suit just one person. That is, the whole frame is tailored to that individual and no-one else.
And if that is what makes a custom, then can a bike that is mass produced and made for many individuals ever be compared to a custom? No, not really... they are not the same.
When you try an example of a custom bike from Serotta, IF, Moots, etc. They have test machines, and pretty much the very first thing you are told is, "Don't worry if it's not quite right... this is not YOUR bike, YOUR bike will be made for you and you alone. The most important thing is for you to be honest about your needs because we will make the frame for you and no-one else.".
And there we are... could an OTP ever "approach" a custom? No. Not at all. Even if the manufacturer offered hundreds of size variations, these would still be mass manufactured and not made for you. The quality of OTPs can improve, but they cannot by definition fulfil the reason that people go custom.