Lots of good stuff – must have a read tonight (but should mostly be in the garage jigging a giant like-a-bike frame for brazing at weekend 🙂
Putting custom bikes through the EU tests is often pretty pointless.
The whole point of custom is a specific frame for a specific customer and application.
I weight 64 kg and make my own frames. Why would I want my own personal custom frame to pass fatigue test standards using loads that apply to a heavyweight rider? A frame built specifically for my requirements that could pass the tests would just be overweight / overbuilt.
However one problem is that you need a builder with enough experience of each application to know what is “strong enough”. So maybe a limited number of tests to get a benchmark wouldn’t be a bad idea. 18 Bikes have done something a bit like this – but if it wasn’t so costly then could maybe be taken further with test loads factored for different bikes / rider / application.