Framebuilders - Thinking about a new bike and have some questions

I have been stuck for years. I was increasing mileage and got stuck at a metric century. I want to do Centuries, a couple every year at least.

My current bike is a Gunnar Sport. It's a great bike and pretty good for long rides.
My weight is 250 and the frame is not entirely happy about that.

I am already losing weight, and once I start racking up some miles, I'll lose more.

I see a couple choices. The cheap one is that I get a bike like the Surly LHT and use that as a commuter/lite tourer. The second option is a custom bike made to handle a big guy for my long weekend rides.

There are a LOT of good builders to chose from. I could get a custom Gunnar, there is a guy in Mass that used to build here in Maine and has a good reputation, Igleheart.
I think he used to work for Fat Chance way back when. And, of course, there is Indy Fab.

I think what I need is someone really good at the design end. I got a fancy computerised bike fitting and they put spacers on my pedals to increase Q. I was wondering if I could get a bike made with a larger Q.

I subscribe to Vintage Bike Quarterly. Yeah. they changed their name, but I still call them that. They talk a lot about Randonneur bikes. I use saddlebags and don't like handlebar bags. But I like their enthusiasm for that sort of bike. I don't think I have ever even seen one.

I am torn about getting a more traditional relaxed geometry like my Sport has... or
a Rando frame with the geometry adjusted because there's be no handlebar bag or front rack. Or... something in between... I think the chainstays on the Sport are 33 and they are 34 on the Boulder Bicycle Rando frame. The trail is 61 on the Sport and 62 on the BB Rando. What do you think about splitting the difference and making a bike with a 33.5 chainstay and 61.5 trail?

Thank you very much.

1) If you really are going to lose the wieght and get below, say, 200 pounds or so, then it might be a mistake to spend a bunch of money on a custom frame. After you lose the weight, you may well discover that your heavy-duty frame is now unpleasant to ride. So perhaps the Surly is the best approach.

2) "Q" is determined entirely by bottom bracket spindle length and crankset design. Your bottom bracket shell width will remain 68 to 70 mm regardless of what kind of bike you get.

3) While a huge deal is made online and in BQ about geometry for a handlebar bag, the reality is that the only difference is +/-2 cm of fork rake. I ride my "handlebar bag" geometry without a bag sometimes and it just makes the handling slightly less stable, but not nearly as unstable as the average race bike. And I have friends who use handlebar bags on their "standard" geometry bikes and have no complaints whatsoever. So don't fall for the idea that it makes a huge difference.

4) No human alive can tell a difference in 1mm of trail, let alone .5mm. Likewise, the chainstay length difference will be completely unnoticed. Some of us -- especially those of us who regularly read BQ -- are given to sweating totally irrelevant details. In your shoes I would stop worrying about most of the things you're worrying about.

HTH!

Thanks,
most is thrown away... Is there anything I should worry about?

Swine flu and runaway inflation, would be my suggestions. I'd buy the Surly and spend the money I saved on Tamiflu and gold.

HTH!

What about Waterford??
You use saddlebags or you have saddlebags?
All that money for a fitting just to put shims in?
I thought you already had shims in it??
So many question.
Ohno

Surly LHT if you're going to lose weight. Like the one guy said, you buy something custom for what you are now and if you have some radical body changes custom ain't custom anymore.

Custom sounds like a great way to throw money away. I've got at least 6 bicycles and I ride them all and none of them are uncomfortable. Unless you're competing or training or earning a living off a bike I just don't get it.

I've got six bikes and I frequently ride my folding bikes 50 or 60 km routinely and my road bikes longer. I can honestly say I've never given a crap about a Q factor or geometry. I sit. I pedal. I set a goal and meet it. Time in saddle. Not Q factor.

John