[RickBullottaPA]

Thanks to a recent excursion where a couple of CO2 cartridges and their Peaty's Holeshot adaptor failed miserably to work, I have started looking at the option of carrying around one of these electric inflators instead.

Both Muc Off and Prestaflator have offerings at the how much?! end of the scale, and there seem to be literally hundreds of options out there at the more affordable end of the scale... but are any of them actually worth the money?

I'm not expecting them to seat a tyre, but something that would be both reliable and accurate to use would be a huge bonus and reduce the amount of waste from CO2 cartridges.

Here's what I'd like:

• Small-ish form factor
• Display/gauge that shows pressure

Bonus options:

• Ability to set pressure and have the device auto-off when reached
• Ability to display pressure when connected
• Removable battery that takes 18650 cells

Lezyne Pocket Drive. Problem solved. Will never let you down.

 

[Fleas]

Absolutely the best one. I have several of them and use them all but if I were to buy another one of the same type, so far, it would be the AS2 Pro.

That said, all of them are pretty darn good and superior to pumps and CO2 in every way as long as you are capable to remember to charge it occasionally. I’m talking once a month a most. Pretty sure I’d be fine if I did it once per quarter but I have the maintenance reminder at a month right now

Why is it better than CO2:
1. Allows for a mistake
2. Can be used multiple times
3. Weight and size equivalent to ~2 CO2 cartridges
4. No waste

CO2 advantages
1. Faster
2. No battery for people that find charging to be a burden

I received the basic Cycplus pump as a gift and it works great. No gauge. But it is faster than a mini pump on fatbike tires, and it is so easy to use. It has a battery indicator, but I don't yet have a feel for how long I can neglect it before it won't work - It seems it lasts forever on yellow... And it can be stored for weeks without losing much charge. I have not used it to inflate a completely flat tire yet.
It is a little noisy (like if you top off your tires at 0530, you might want to be more than 1 room away from your sleeping spouse).

-F

 

[Cleared2land]

Who needs to carry a tire gauge on rides?
I can wing-it if I need to inflate or adjust on the trail.

 

[AZ Red Rock Rider]

Seconding this one. It's great to keep in the truck. I check my pressure before every ride anyways and this does that and can top off/ inflate at the same time

I carry this and CO2 on every ride. Very happy with it for the 4 times I’ve used it and have saved the CO2 for the eventual fail!

 

[slimat99]

I'm thinking about getting one because my mountain morph is so big. So big but so good. I'm on the fence on whether I want to rely on a battery when the mountain morph makes pretty easy work of flats. Tiny hand pumps are a nightmare. I would 100% ditch those for an E pump.

 

[citizenlee]

Who needs to carry a tire gauge on rides?
I can wing-it if I need to inflate or adjust on the trail.

I have a 7ish mile road cycle to my local trails so like the tyres firm for the ride there and back. I've been winging it for many years, but since I need to carry a mini hand pump anyway I thought one of the mini electric pumps would be handy to replace it and allow me to set my desired pressure for the actual trails. Plus I'm on new tyres and haven't quite dialled in the perfect pressure yet so it would be good to have a numerical value for experimentation, rather than just the squish by hand test.

Like anything, they won't be for everyone.

 

[Cleared2land]

Unfortunaty, I don't have the luxury of being able to ride my mtb bike to the trailhead.
So no need for a gauge.

 

[citizenlee]

Unfortunaty, I don't have the luxury of being able to ride my mtb bike to the trailhead.
So no need for a gauge.

Believe me, I'd rather than drive as then I could go further afield without relying on unreliable friends! The drop like flies as you get older

I live in the city though, so can't justify a car otherwise.

 

[Larsey]

Cycplus is pretty awesome in my limited experience. The one I have you can set the digital gauge and top-off tires pre-ride. I have not tried it for a full inflation.

 

[Le Duke]

Just ordered a Cycplus AS2 Pro + M2 computer combo. I rarely need a map and wanted a cheap computer to display data. I have a Garmin 520 for days when I need map data.

 

[jeffbinco]

So you own no battery powered devices then? I think phones, laptops, eBikes, EVs etc will account for way more lithium being mined than a little electric bike pump.

Also, a mini pump may be smaller and lighter but it doesn't allow you to check and adjust tyre pressures on the fly, which personally is the main selling point of these devices (although I've yet to buy one). Granted I could take a pump with a gauge, but they're cumbersome and often inaccurate.

The Crankbrothers Klic comes with or without an analog gauge. Beautifully made and works as advertised. I've been carrying one for 5 years.

If you want accuracy, the Topeak SmartGauge is what I use to calibrate my other pumps. It runs on a CR2032 coin battery which seems to last ~2 years. If it does run out of juice, it doesn't prevent me from pumping air in my tire. Of course, I could carry extra batteries if I actually cared that much (I don't). I normally only carry it on rides if there is some new component (tires, shocks, etc) being dialed in. But I've carried it on many more rides than intended because I forgot it was in my bag. It only weighs 65 grams.

 

[slimat99]

Which you also state a hand pump with a gauge would also do

I would accept there being a need for an electric pump if you had issues operating a normal pump, arthritis for example.

I'm thinking about E because they are so much more compact than mini floor pumps. I'm with you on the dead battery thing though. 95% of the time we'll only need enough charge to inflate one tire somewhere from zero psi to the twenties. I suspect that would allow for a few months between charges? That said, a few flats had me pumping over and over trying to first get the sealant to hold, then trying to get the plugs to hold. A few times over the past few years I've had to give up and run a tube after putting in who knows how many pumps. Such events would require a full charge I'm sure. There's pros and cons. If my mountain morph wasn't so bulky I would just stick with it. I'm never going back to smaller hand pumps so I'll either keep living with it or try a much more compact option.

 

[Az2Au]

I'm thinking about E because they are so much more compact than mini floor pumps. I'm with you on the dead battery thing though. 95% of the time we'll only need enough charge to inflate one tire somewhere from zero psi to the twenties. I suspect that would allow for a few months between charges? That said, a few flats had me pumping over and over trying to first get the sealant to hold, then trying to get the plugs to hold. A few times over the past few years I've had to give up and run a tube after putting in who knows how many pumps. Such events would require a full charge I'm sure. There's pros and cons. If my mountain morph wasn't so bulky I would just stick with it. I'm never going back to smaller hand pumps so I'll either keep living with it or try a much more compact option.

I asked my buddy who is notorious about not doing any sort of maintenance, charging, etc how long his lasted because I saw him use it last week and there's no freaking he had charged any time recently. I feel like he'd already have been found dead out in the desert if most of his riding wasn't with me. Anyway, as far as he could tell he hadn't charged it at least 7 months and it had no problem adding enough to solve a low tire issue. This is not a recommendation or a promise. There's no way I would wait that long. Just thought I would provide you with the most ridiculous example I could find.

 

[phorest]

Lots of people reading this and learning from it besides the OP. ANd then there is this note.



Obviously this will differ for some people, but a couple of my flats required the tire to be seated. I carry CO2, and and going to continue to do so, but I've been considering one of these inflators to just leave in the car for when I go riding, rather than carrying the big pump that doesn't fit neatly in the frunk with the rest of my gear (helmets, shoes, gloves). So right now, I have to carry the pump in the back of my car. It'd be worth the cost just for the convenience of saving the space.

I actually have a Milwaukee M12 pump that is like the one he posted; however, it only has a schrader hose fitting.

Prestacycle makes a nice push-on presta adapter for that.

 

[phorest]

Lezyne Pocket Drive. Problem solved. Will never let you down.

Untill you unscrew the valve core trying to remove it! Twice!

 

[heesh]

Interesting. I know you to be a astute poster. However, I wish to dig deeper in this instance.

Even if some/all of the the internals are the same or similar* I restate my point that the device is not a "clone", not an exact copy

If you listen to the pod I linked, Josh makes it clear that the Silca product contains bespoke elements. We know that the casing and interface are different. Even if Silca has licensed part of the Cyclus's internal design....

• is the battery to the same spec?
• are the bearings to the same spec?
• are all of the materials to the same level of heat resistance?

Again, if you listen to the pod, Josh mentions all of these components
Just because something looks the same and fits the same doesn't mean it is the same.
e.g what 6804 bearings do you want in your hubs...unbranded Chinese ones, branded Japanese ones, or premium Japanese / German ones?
They all look the same.
To a non technical person in e.g. marketing or sales or manufacturing "the internals are the same"....

Does one trust the spoken words, words on the record, of Josh, who has introduced revolutionary innovation to chain lubricants and their application AND who has stated that he won't release products that don't have a clear competitive advantage***
OR
an faceless individual on a forum who claims to be close to a Cyclus employee....where for competitive reasons the Cyclus employee has a reason to be biased...

I'm waiting for someone to tear both units down to constituent parts before I believe a close source to a biased Cyclus employee of unknown techical competence over Josh.


***as a small company, Josh has stated that he doesn't want to enter into markets that are "red seas" from all of the blood in the water from teh competition. He only wants to enter either less competitive markets, or markets in which he believes. The meet the founder pod with him and Wade Wallace is a great listen.

Do you have an affiliate link available?

 

[67King]

Prestacycle makes a nice push-on presta adapter for that.

The only ones I've seen (or can find on their site) are ones that screw on to the presta stem and are meant to be left in place. So it would require two for every bike I have, and they'd have to be removed to make them compatible with all the rest of my presta stuff. Am I missing an adapter that fits the hose (note I don't want to convert the hose on the inflater, as I use it for cars and mowers)?

 

[Az2Au]

My monthly maintenance task to charge the mini-pumps came up at noon today so I thought I’d do a comparison shot of the ones I have:

Weights:
CO2 cartridge: 59.9g
Cycplus (older version): 115.0g
Cycplus AS2: 137.7g
Fumpa Nano: 97.1g
Prestacycle Prestaflator Go: 149.2g
Fumpa OG (stays in truck): 362.4g

I carry the AS2 in my USWE. The others live in frame storage or are put in my pocket before a ride if needed.

 

[RickBullottaPA]

Untill you unscrew the valve core trying to remove it! Twice!

Ha. True. But that's operator error on the install of the valve stem.

 

[PuddleDuck]

Do you have an affiliate link available?

I’ve listened to the pod segment. Have you?
Are you aware of Josh’s reputation in the industry, one that he would to want to sully?

Do you have the qualifications to share with me of the Cyclus source?