Originally Posted by
FrenchFit
Have some more koolaid. Surly is part of the Quality Brand Products corporate conglomerate which includes Salsa, Problems Solvers, All City, etc. This is not a company of 20 people working out of brick building in the soho district. The whole Surly thing may be cool marketing, I appalaud the courage to be different, but it is as intentional as the fire red rims on your fixie.
Actually Surly IS a company of about 20 people who only work on Surly at QBP and they are responsible for everything except manufacturing. They really live the brand everyday and have fought for their independence. And yes indeed it is housed and was formed at QBP (Quality Bicycle Products BTW) which is not a corporate conglomerate but a privately held company that mainly distributes bike parts to shops in North America. The vast majority of employees at Q work on that effort.
Surly and their other small bike brands have absolutely benefited from the proximity to the industry, the product knowledge, and the distribution which comes from Q. But to dismiss it as a calculated corporate marketing shill is an uninformed opinion and frankly insulting to the dedicated bike nerds that invented, market, and ride the Surly brand every day. But trust me, they don't care what you think.