I don't consider the Surly a clone of Rivendell because the Surly is not lugged thus not as artistic. If your going to call the Surly a clone then hell you might as well call the Trek 520 an even cheaper clone! If you want the artistry and the old world workmanship and frame quality of a Rivendell and the Mercian would be the next logical choice. There may be less expensive handmade lugged high quality frames but you would be hard pressed to find one that exceeds the Mercian for the price with the exception being maybe Waterford. Unfortunately the current exchange rate for English pounds into dollars makes the bike a little more expensive then when I bought my Mercian 3 years ago.

If you go to the Rivendell site they do sell other "house" brands for less then the Rivendell and are close to the same quality. Waterford is another great frame that may also interest you, but neither the Waterford or the Rivendell house brands have the old world workmanship...but they are excellent frames.