Built to Last: Kristof Allegaert’s Top Tube Pack
Part of the ‘Built to Last’ series, in which we take a look at the stories behind long-serving Apidura Packs. Here, we profile Kristof Allegaert’s Top Tube Pack, which has accompanied him on ultra-races and podiums all over the world
Every Scratch Tells a Story
Every time we go out on our bikes, we’re creating experiences and making memories. Every scratch to a Pack provides traces of another story earned, and we cherish these scuffs as a homage to all of the experiences we’ve had on two wheels.
At Apidura, we pride ourselves in making products that are built to last. Not just because of the benefits that high quality, long-lasting gear offers, but because it means we can be sure both Pack and rider have the opportunity to fulfil their potential, and gain as many scratches as possible together.
Here, we celebrate the many varied experiences of a long-time Apidura ambassador: Kristof Allegaert, and his Backcountry Top Tube Pack.
All of my bags have done a lot of kilometres and many adventures in between but in the end, I love them because I can rely on them and those little marks remind me of my adventures. This Top Tube Pack has probably covered 100,000km, including three Transcontinental Races, Indy Pac, Red Bull Trans-Siberian Extreme, trying to beat the LeJogLe (Lands’ End-John O’Groats-Lands’ End) record in the UK and countless trips in between.
During the Trans-Siberian Extreme in 2015, I did the unthinkable and damaged my own pack. With a lot of night riding, I needed to keep my lights running longer so created a cut in my pack to run a cable from my power bank to my headlight
Riding through the night became normal as Kristof averaged a speed of 30kph over the 9195km route, which began along the streets of Moscow and passed through seven time zones. The route ran through the remote wilderness of Siberia, along the borders of Kazakhstan and Mongolia, where the freezing temperatures soon changed for sub-tropic heat of the Far East. Kristof was the only solo rider to cross the finish line in Vladivostok, near North Korea – a monumental victory.
Kristof’s unconventional idea was quickly fed back to our Product Development Team, and shortly after, the cable port became a standard feature of every Top Tube Pack we make. He’s not the only ambassador to have left a permanent mark on the design of our packs but it’s fair to say we’ve finessed the cable port a little since his ‘prototype’ version.
Kristof sent the pack back to us with a view to donating it to the Revive program, telling us “I love this pack a lot, but I really love the idea of giving it a second home”. No doubt there would have been many takers for such a generous offer, but after hearing all of the stories associated with this pack, we decided that it should be returned to him so he can continue to build upon the many memories written into its fabric.
The Built to Last and easy to repair nature of our packs is embodied in our Revive Program, where repaired, refurbished and sample packs can be purchased.
