First Look: Känguru's Marsupial Pouch DIY Frame Storage Conversion Kit

We've seen a lot of clever products and had too many why-didn't-I-think-of-that moments to count over the years of attending tradeshows and launches, but none of the Pinkbike tech team can recall an idea being this revolutionary and game-changing. ''I don't recall anything this revolutionary and game-changing,'' Mike Kazimer whispered softly to me after first seeing the Marsupial Pouch DIY Frame Storage Conversion Kit, or MPDIYFSCK for short. ''The only thing that comes close might be disc brakes,'' he went on to say.

While there had been storage solutions on the market long before Specialized debuted the 2016 Stumpjumper with SWAT, that little plastic door opened up an entire carbon downtube's worth of carrying space and the idea that we don't need to look like we're in grade six and pedaling our bikes to school. Instead of sweaty backs and uncomfortable straps, we could put our every-ride carry items down low and hidden from sight inside the frame. It just makes sense.

Other bike companies are offering their own versions of frame storage now, some with their own little plastic doors and others carried externally, and I imagine most brands will be ticking that features-list-box in the future. But what about the thousands and thousands of frames that are already on the market and, like nearly obsolete dinosaurs, weren't blessed with downtube storage when they were manufactured? Doesn't that mean your frame is absolute garbage and needs to be thrown into the ocean? Maybe not, because that's where the Marsupial Pouch DIY kit comes to the rescue, says founder and designer Klaus Berenstain.




''I remember being a small child and watching people struggle to carry things while riding their bicycle,'' Berenstain told me when I asked where his burning passion for storage solutions came from, ''I knew from the age of two or three that I'd dedicate my life to this issue,'' he went on to say in a rambling 20,000-word e-mail.

Berenstain explained that he worked on perfecting his design through the 1990s and that several companies offered him ''Vast sums of money,'' for his idea. The hold-up? ''This is my baby, the reason I'm here, and I needed to be the one to raise it and set it free,'' he said in a 2am WhatsApp conversation. Klaus also stressed that it took many years to design and engineer such a highly specialized product, especially as he has no formal training or education in this or anything else. Years of sketches and dead-ends almost had Berenstain giving up on his dream, but then a chance encounter on the trail changed everything. ''I was on a ride and saw a very rare European short-legged tree kangaroo, which has been nearly hunted to extinction due to their incredibly soft pelts that roadies love to use for their chamois and because they're so delicious,'' he explained. ''It was carrying a baby in its marsupial pouch, and I immediately thought, 'how could I carry a small a small animal inside my frame?'''




The DIY kit consists of a sharpie and a paper template for whatever shaped hinged door you've ordered, the 3D-printed door itself and a small tube of Super Glue to attach it, some safety glasses, and a high-RPM, 15 AMP corded angle grinder with a 7" serrated cutting disc.

While I'm sure we can all applaud the idea of carrying more things on the bike and fewer things on our bodies, what about the nagging suspicion that grinding away a large section of your downtube might affect the frame's ultimate tensile strength? ''It should be all good, dawg!'' Berenstain countered.

The German brand has templates and doors to fit many different makes and models, and Berenstain also has plans to eventually offer a freehand kit that would allow customers to draw any shaped door anywhere on their frame and of any size. ''DOOR UP TO CUSTOMER,'' Berenstain screamed before hanging up after calling me at 4am.

Känguru expects the first production run of the $1,999 USD MPDIYFSCK to be available for pre-orders on April 20th, with orders shipping before 2024.

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