CYCPLUS CUBE: Be a Tyre Inflation Hero

Let’s face it, for any cyclist, tire inflation is a PITA. Handpumps are exhausting to use and never quite seem to finish the job properly, although CO2 can make matters easier if you’ve brought along the right connectors.

Weighing in at just 97g, Cycplus Cube is smaller than a credit card – albeit a 3cm thick one!  Out of the box it works on Presta valves but also included is a Schrader conversion kit. Simply hold the pump on the valve and only a small amount of pressure is needed to get a perfect seal. Double-click the button and it starts inflating.  You don’t know how much pressure is in the tyre at any point and it took me 2 minutes to get 60psi into a 700×25 GP 5000 tyre with air to spare.

Actual inflation times will vary considerably. Large MTB tyres are easily inflated to 20PSI but, paradoxically, inflating a 19mm tyre to over 100psi will be tricky. The manufacturer claims a flow rate of 5L/min and 100psi maximum capability but real-life limitations are the volume of air and the pressure you have to contend with in the tyre.

There are LED status indicators. Providing you’ve charged it the night before a ride you’ll be confident of one inflation but wary of a second. One rainy, roadside day it will make tyre inflation super easy for you but you will relish that other occasion where a mate gets a puncture and you whip out your Cube after s/he’s got the tyre back on and inflate it to a good state of usefulness in a few minutes. Everyone in your group will not need to take a turn to make one of those rubbish small pumps do the job that they patently weren’t really designed to do….inflating bike tyres.

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