News
Altura Bag Amnesty At Dirty Reiver
This weekend, we’re heading back to Kielder Forest, Northumberland, for a weekend of gravel riding at the Dirty Reiver and are excited to bring a special Bags Amnesty to life over the weekend, 21-23rd April. Riders heading to the event will have the opportunity to exchange old bikepacking bags for a hefty discount on the new Vortex Range of Altura luggage – our most exciting bikepacking bags to date, crammed full of features and storage options for you and your bike. It doesn’t end there as we’ll put your old bags to good use, upcycling or recycling them depending on their condition for the benefit of others or to save them ending up in landfill.
Arguably the UK’s leading gravel event, ‘the Reiver’ attracts riders from all over the country and further afield for the event which offers something for every rider, however experienced you are. The event offers three distances – 200 km, 130 km and 65 km, each taking in the stunning landscapes Kielder has to offer.
Whether it’s the elite riders racing at the front of the pack to be the first over the line, or those taking a more leisurely pace further down the field, riders can enjoy a weekend of all things gravel with more than just the route itself to enjoy. We’ll be back amongst a range of industry-leading brands in the event village with the Vortex Range and a host of other accessories on display too, in case you need any last minute additions or spares for your ride!
The Altura Bags Amnesty will go live once the event village opens, after which any rider taking on one of the three distances can drop off an old bikepacking bag, either a saddle bag / seatpack, frame bag, top tube bag or a handlebar bag. In exchange, we’ll give you 50% off our new Vortex bikepacking bags. Out with the old, in with the new. We’ll have bags on site to purchase or if you’d prefer to stick with what you have at the event and purchase online after then we’ll give you a code to takeaway, which can be redeemed online at altura.co.uk exclusively on the new Vortex luggage.
What makes our new bags so good? We’ve given this popular luggage range a make-over and taken the functionality they offer to the next level. Each bag is fully waterproof, thanks to Nylon Ripstop fabrics with a TPU coating, a welded seam construction and waterproof zip closure to keep water from finding its way in. We’ve re-engineered the designs to add greater stability through the attachments to your bike, making sure everything remains in place throughout your adventure, whatever the terrain.
The Vortex luggage range features a Handlebar Bag available in two sizes – with 7L or 11L capacity, a 4L Half Frame Pack, a 1L Bolt-On Top Tube Bag and a Seat Pack available in the sizes – 6L, 12L or 17L.
Once the event has finished and the dust has settled, we’ll be donating all of your second-hand bikepacking luggage* to Bikepacking Buds, a wonderfully supportive UK-based bikepacking collective. We know how passionate the team are and their goals are closely aligned to ours – ‘to make bikepacking accessible to as many people as possible’. With your generous donations, the team will grow their range of bags available to lend to those who want to try bikepacking but simply can’t afford the kit or don’t have the means to buy it themselves. As a business, we are very keen to support our local cycling communities as best we can. Groups such as Bikepacking Buds, amongst many others out there doing great things for cycling, continue to inspire us to do more and to help encourage and support more riders to enjoy life on two wheels.
Find out more about the Dirty Reiver here. The event is all sold out for this year but make sure to get your name on the list for next year if you’re keen to get involved. You can also find out about the new Vortex range here.
If you know of another cycling community that would also benefit from such donations then please don’t hesitate to contact us with your suggestions.
* Providing the bags are still intact and in working condition.