Wow. Looks like most of the thread responses are pretty much what I would have said about Rivendell and Surly

I like the Rivendell philosophy myself, but the bikes from them are too expensive. I bought a Long Haul Trucker instead, and it certainly rides like a Cadillac

My bike doesn't like it when I try to push it to the limit, though, and it doesn't take corners well Now I want an agile speedster on top.

Here is what *I* like about Surly's bikes/frames:

-Steel frames. I tend to accidentally abuse my bikes a bit more than I'd like to (drops, crashes, etc.), so I would be uncomfortable with carbon fiber. As for aluminum, the bikes I've test ridden (and I've test ridden quite a lot of alu-bikes) have all felt "dead" to me. Yes, steel can be heavier than most other materials, but as someone who's 60-70 lbs. overweight, I don't see the point in getting a lightweight frame. Excess weight should be taken off of the rider before the bike. My LHT has already taken quite a few spills due to my inattentiveness, but the frame and fork still look good as new. As for the saddle, shifters, brake levers...well...
-Wide Tire Clearance. I like riding on wider tires than most people so that I don't feel all the bumps, cracks, and potholes in the road. 700x28's are plenty narrow enough for me, thanks. This also has to do with my weight, as I mentioned above.
-Relatively inexpensive frames (when you compare them with framesets from other companies...)

It really has nothing to do with a "cult" or anything for me. I am sure there are other people who like Surly bikes for the same reasons I do.

futuregrace, there's no need to follow trends or cults. Just pick the bike you like riding the most. The point is to find a bike that's so fun that you want to ride it all the time, instead of something that just has a cult following, or is super-practical. I sort of made that mistake with my Surly, ya know I think I should have gotten a Cross-Check or a Redline 925 instead. Those were way more fun on the test ride, but I wanted my touring bike, dang it.