Thanks for the replies. The two guys I know with custom bikes are bike junkies. As much as they may have thought that getting a custom made bike would represent the ultimate bike purchase, they are junkies after all will probably be buying new bikes every few years as long as they can ride.

They still value their custom bikes but like StanSven said, technology moves on and they've moved with it. For them I think a custom bike was on their bucket list and there's no need to go that route again. It's good to know that for others the custom bike has been a more enduring thing.