Salsa Marrakesh

I was waiting for a Kona Sutra SE, but ultimately went with the first bike I was able to get...Salsa Marrakesh Alivio. I don't regret it at all.

Amazing bicycle so far. Have taken it on a pair of 40+ mile loops and it handles very well and rides like butter. Still getting use to the gear shift placement (at drop bar ends), but that feels more comfortable with time. Now loaded up with 50+ lbs of gear, we'll see how she handles for a few day r...

Happy with my Salsa Marrakesh for long hauls, it's a beast. For quick camping over the weekend or light touring I use my Soma Double Cross.

For longer trips pulling a trailer in your budget, try and find a Surly LHT Disc, Kona Sutra, or Salsa Marrakesh. You'll want disc brakes pulling that much weight!

Absolutely do not buy a bike with a front suspension fork like the trek you cited for the purposes of road touring. The number one rule of road touring is no suspension. Good options are the Fuji touring, Surly LHT/Disc Trucker, Salsa Marrakesh, Trek 520, Kona Sutra, whatever Soma's touring bike is and the like.

I have a 2019 Marrakesh that I took to Europe that summer, it is a fine bicycle, no problems whatsoever. It is a tank, for sure. I did put a Brookes Cambium saddle on it for my own comfort, everything else was stock.

I put maybe 60 miles on it before swapping the components over to a Soma Saga frameset. The Marrakesh is *burly* - it's a really heavy frame, but it's also rock solid. There are photos of the bike clearing 27.5 x 2.6" tires, too, so it's a lot more versatile than their marketing material makes it out to be.

Salsa Marrakesh world tour is a good bike. Only tour on steel frames which can be repaired anywhere you can find a welder vs. carbon or titanium where if it fails you will need to buy a new frame. Saddle (brooks are good) pedals handlebars must be dialed in ergonomically for your body.

Nicely done...I rigged out my Soma Double Cross for light bike-packing and have a Salsa Marrakesh for fully loaded self supported tours.

Yeah.... even if you put a few hundred into it on maintenance and replacement parts, you come out ahead.

That was on my short list when I was looking for a touring bike. (I found a Salsa Marrakesh in my size first.) But it seemed like a good bike.