There's also the issue that Surly and Rivendell make damn fine frames that their owners enjoy riding. If you make a good product, it's easier to build a "Cult" following: people who know what the hell they're doing, or others who want to imitate them. If Surly or Rivendell market a bike at someone, tourer, commuter, crosser, roadie, they have done their homework, every last little detail has been worked out, and QC is above par. You are paying for reliability and small details done right... this is called "quality," and this is a feature worth paying for. You will almost be guaranteed to enjoy your bike from the start, even if it's slower, more expensive and doesn't have as many bells or whistles as other bikes in the same segment. (Riv and Surly aren't the only guys to get this right, either... quite a few cults worth exploring hereabouts.)

I look for the enthusiasts, and listen to what they say about their favorite stuff: Tacoma pickups, Panasonic DSLRs, Koss headphones, Motorola Droid, Apple iMacs, Pilot G2 pens - these are cult items, well out of the mainstream. Fewer features, more expensive, but the small details are done right, and the big picture, quality, makes their owners immune from buyer's remorse.

Unlike, say, an impulse-buy pedal forward cruiser on clearance (Oh, once I swap out the fork, wheels and derailleurs and paint it matte black with stove paint, I'll go back to loving it. The winter was not kind on the cheapo factory running gear or paint.)