Almost every trail and enduro bike has it nowadays: a storage solution, usually integrated into the downtube. Do we need that, too?
There are certainly different views on this, but the fact is: it's practical to have the essentials always with you. Since we opted for cable routing through the steerer tube, we had to make a hole in the downtube anyway to route the cables into the correct housings. And if there's already a hole there, why not make it bigger.
Quick skepticism: Will the frame still be stiff enough? Jonas gave the green light, so: "GO"!
Everyone's doing it, so it can't be that difficult, right? At least, that's what we thought. But it wasn't quite that simple, and we had to go through several iterations until it was as we envisioned.
It should be rattle-free and still provide quick access to the tool. At the same time, it should accommodate various tools because not everyone wants to buy new utensils. What could that look like? The design agency Tale supported us here with various suggestions for what such a bag could look like.
Clatter-free... of course! Under no circumstances should there be any rattling because rattling noises while biking are not acceptable. So the tool must sit securely and not slide around. But... how do you test that when you don't even have the finished frame yet? Unfortunately, we didn't document all scenarios with videos, but we definitely don't want to hold back one variant.
They all looked sleek, but did they fit our requirements? After various prototypes, we had our favorites.
In theory, you can think and experiment a lot, but ultimately, you only see the result when you hold the first frame prototype in your hand and try to fit the bags.
It remained just an attempt for now because suddenly other things got in the way of the bags.
We hadn't anticipated that the cable routing wouldn't go as planned. But that too was resolved.
Now it just needed to be named. Because nothing rattles in the frame for sure, and we found it quite fitting, so our storage solution is now called Stopf-Box! ;-)
We have tested various tools, pumps, and tubes that are compatible with our stopper box.
Below you will find a selection of our favorites that we can recommend.
Generally, we can recommend mini tools with a width of up to 3.2cm. We have tested these products ourselves:
- Topeak Mini 9 / Mini 9Pro / Mini P20
- JRC Components 10in1
- Schwalbe 13in1
For pumps, we know that the following models fit:
- Lezyne Grip Drive HP
- BBB Samurai / SingleShot MTB / NanoRoad
- Topeak RaceRocketHP
- Airbone ZT-702 Supernova Pump