Portable Battery Powered Pumps

Portable battery powered bike pumps are now officially a “thing”. Previously a novelty they are now center stage as the next bike toy to market to the masses, at least the masses who stay up with trendy things. It seems anything electric will sell these days. Shifters? No mechanical cables for me—I have wireless! Rear view mirror? No thanks, I’ve got Varia radar! Minipump? Nope, now I’ve got a battery powered inflator!

I admit I originally approached the arrival of battery pumps with disinterest and rolling eyes thinking, “No one needs this stuff!” Yet curiosity got the better of me when I found out you can get one with a digital pressure gauge and a battery powerful enough to inflate four road tires from zero to 90.

I was never a fan of CO2 cartridges because it’s one-and-done in the negative sense: after you’ve blasted your cartridge you have nothing left to do a roadside repair except rely on the benevolence of your ride mates. If you’re alone, then you’ll have to call for a ride or if you’re lucky, do a short walk to the nearest bike shop. When I carry a CO2 inflator, which isn’t often, I always have at least two cartridges and I also carry a pump. I am less interested in saving weight as much as I was in saving my arm from pumping 250 exhausting strokes on a minipump. Although incurring two flats on a ride is a low probability event, it does happen. Or at least it’s happened to me. More than once, which may say something about how poorly I ride or that it just sucks to be me.

The best solution I’ve found is a “minipump” that you can pump like a floor pump such as the Topeak Morphe. There’s even a model with a gauge. But it’s about twice the size and weight of a typical minipump. It makes short and easy work of inflating and it’s always there for your multiple flats. But it is heavier than a minipump and it’s ungainly and immediately puts you in the Fred zone. As someone who loves his helmet mirror, helmet visor, and bell that’s the last thing I should be concerned about. That Topeak has saved my ass many times.

But what if you could have it all, or almost all? Battery inflators are getting there. They’re not any heavier than a decent minipump. The fredly Topeak Morphe G that I love is 220 grams; the battery powered inflator is 161. The Lezyne Gauge Drive HV, which is a decent minipump is 140 grams; the Silca Tattico, which is either at or near the top of the heap of minipumps, is 165 grams. So there. The inflator I bought can inflate four tires and the bigger model even more. And all you have to do is push a button and sit back.

On an impulse buy—it was on sale—I snagged a Cycplus inflator, the middle sized model AS2 Pro. (The small size has no gauge and I think does only two tires.) I haven’t had to use it roadside yet but I’ve been playing around with it and I’m impressed. It doesn’t take long to charge up, well less than an hour. It’s a simple press-on Presta/Schrader head or you can use a separate hose that allows you hold the little beast away from the spokes. You set the pressure you want and then hit the start button. What ensues is a startling racket as the little motor is loud. This is not a pump you’re going to want to use indoors unless you want to wake the dead. Your family members and your dog or cat will hate it. It pumps up your tire faster than a minipump. Your arms get a vacation and no reminder that going to the gym might be a good idea. You will also notice that the little pump gets pretty hot from the adiabatic effect; hence the rubber cover to shield your dainty fingers.

I’ve used it on tires with butyl and TPU inner tubes and it’s fine. I haven’t tried it on tubeless tires yet but I imagine it will work as well. The inflation rate is steady—about 2 psi per second—so most likely you will not be able to use a battery pump to set your tubeless tires unless you have a really stellar fit between your rim and tire. I’d be a little concerned about getting tire sealant into the pump because it’s not a cheap device. They run about $100. Nonetheless a hundred dollars is a hundred dollars when you get a decent minipump for about $50 or less.

If you’re not running tubeless, then by the time you eventually get that hella tight tire off the rim, insert a replacement tube and then wrestle the tire bead back onto the rim, your thumbs and arms are probably done for the day. Or maybe you just have weak, scrawny arms that are better for lifting a cocktail than applying force to a minipump 200+ times. You are not going to regret having a battery powered inflator.

Of course it’s another battery powered device, which means that if you forget to charge it or the electronics go south, you’ve got just a brick. At least it isn’t a heavy brick. (That’s why I carry a pump too: always have a plan B.)

Do I trust this device? Yeah, sort of. For short rides near home I’m good. But for longer rides especially if I’m away from home I’m still carrying a pump because, y’know, boy scout and be prepared. Maybe at some future point I’ll be so utterly confident that I’ll forego the pump. But it’s awesome not to have to pump at all for just 161 grams of extra weight!

There is little doubt in my mind that battery pumps are going to make CO2 obsolete for all but racing, when time is of the essence. And since you can’t carry CO2 cartridges on a plane, for travel the battery pump is the way to go. It has a USB-C port so just charge it up with your iPhone charger. (Sadly no magnetic induction charging. Yet.)

You may have noticed that everybody and their brother is coming out with battery inflators. You might notice that they almost all have the same form factor and seem to have more than a passing resemblance to each other. My guess is that they are likely all coming from the same factory in China with some minor design and branding differences. They probably all work more or less the same.

Get one. You won’t regret it.

Maybe the next time we give prizes at a membership meeting a lucky soul will walk away with a new pump…