I have a couple Surlys on my wishlist -- an Instigator and a Big Dummy. The 'Gator, because I see it as a bombproof HT that will handle all I can throw at it (which gets less every year, 50+, y'know); the BD, because utility riding is just endemic to my life; there's not an alternative that I will accept.

Most of the rest out there are actually the the "niche" bikes -- they target a specific activity, like mountain biking, or they target an income group (the fitness yups); their hooks are the frame materials, geometry tricks, and bling parts. It's the consumer-driven "Joneses" side of the business.

The Riv's, the Surly's, are about the lifestyle -- a person that rides as part of their life, not as a hobby or for bragging rights. They are targeting the market most of us SHOULD be in -- unless you're more about the latest and greatest than you are about what will still be there 10-15-20 years from now, still hauling your goodies from A to B.

Now, having said that, I will give up my Dakar XLT when the thing falls apart under me. When it comes to all-around utility, from path to street to trail, from raggedly lovable old sidewalks that would break Lance's bike, to oversized curbs at the top of an uphill, to the detours I have to make through fields and yards, my Dakar can't be beat. And it supports my bad back in a friendly way. And when the day comes that I get a wishlist bike, it will have to have a suss post, it will have X.9 or X.0, even, disc brakes, and MT. riser bars. My parts list is already together, only changeable as needed to fit the frame.

I agree -- marketing a Madone to the masses is silliness. But it can work in America, as we as a people are star-struck. That's why the blingy, near-useless $5K roadies sell more than they should -- people would rather spend a weekend with Megan Fox than they would a lifetime with, say, a pre-fame Rachael Ray.