Salsa Beargrease vs Trek Farley 5
Both published charts held against each other, on the specs that decide what the bike carries.
The short answer
The Farley 5 is ahead on the rack path and price. Nothing here goes the other way.
Assembled from the differences below rather than written over them, so it cannot drift from the table. Every figure is the manufacturer's; nobody here has ridden either bike.
Where they differ
3 of the 7 things we can compare come out differently. The rest are close enough not to decide anything.
Rear rack
Farley 5 is the one you can bolt a rack to without hunting for partsRead from each maker's own mount wording. An adapter is a real cost the price tag does not mention, and 'not published' is not the same as no — it just is not something to buy a rack on.
Chainstay
10mm longer on the Farley 5The gap between seat tube and rear axle, which a rack, panniers and your heels all share. Longer is more room for a load; shorter is a more compact bike. Which you want is a preference, not a winner.
From
$120 between themManufacturer's cheapest complete build. Every spec above belongs to the frame and does not change between builds of the same model, so the cheapest build of the right frame is usually the right answer.
Side by side
Including the rows where the two are level, because a spec that doesn't separate them is still a spec you might be checking.
| Salsa Beargrease | Trek Farley 5 | |
|---|---|---|
| Frame bag space | 1629 cm² | 1589 cm² |
| Widest published tire | 76mm on 700c / 29in, 102mm on 650b / 27.5in, 117mm on 26in | 114mm on 650b / 27.5in |
| Rear rack | Needs an extra part — Alternator 170/177 and Rack-Lock seat collar | Bolts straight on |
| Fork cargo mounts | Published | Published |
| Frame bottle positions | 2 | not published as a count |
| Chainstay | 440mm | 450mm |
| From | $2,319.99 | $2,199.99 |
| Sizes | 5 | 4 |
| Frame | Carbon | Aluminum |
Drawn to scale
Largest published size of each, built from the charts rather than illustrated. The front triangle is the part that decides frame bag fit.
