Thanks for using my quote. That letter is a great defense of why it's not worth paying for a Reynolds 520 sticker when all you're getting is regular 4130. I'm a big advocate of this position, I think we all do the world a little good when we don't pay more for logos or hype.

However, it doesn't address the real issue, which is why not use something that's actually better and put more value into the bike, being that they charge a premium over other other bikes made out of the same (or in their view comparable) tubing in the same factory. If they don't think 631 or whatever other good but not insanely expensive tubeset is actually better than their 4130, then good for them, but most of us steel heads think otherwise. I have a 4130 bike and a 531 (precursor to 631) bike and I can definitely tell the difference. I know that double blind testing and whatnot is impossible with stuff like this, but I feel like there's a good basis of knowledge in the bike industry to justify the claim that better steel would make the Surlys better bikes.

Also, claiming that you use the same butting profile as 631 and that therefore your stuff is as good as 631 is just silly.