I have a friend who runs a bike shop in a big city. He was a good amateur racer back before most of us were born and still has the "hard man" attitude. He really prefers old steel bikes, tubulars, hairnets, and the rest, but in order to make a living has to cater to the hipster/fixie crowd. He loathes them, and they know it - which, perversely, really seems to help his business. So it wouldn't surprise me if that Surly bit is part of what keeps their business running. And frankly, if I had their clientele, I'd be annoyed enough to think (if not write) that way myself.