Inflating a mountain bike tire in your home garage with a big floor pump or even an air compressor is not a task you give much thought to. But when you are on a trail with a flat tire and you have to inflate it with a small hand pump it’s a completely different thing. It becomes a time consuming task and on a hot sunny day, it’s a sweaty pain in the ass. Especially if you are riding through some thorn infested terrain in you get lots of flats. I ride a lot on Mediterranean trails filled with rocks and thorny plants and my record was 5 flat tires in one day. And on top of these 5, when I got back home both my tires were flat. That day an electric tire pump would sure come in handy. Small pocket sized electric tire pump might be just what you need on your rides, making it a reusable alternative to CO2 cartridges or a much more comfortable alternative to regular small hand pump.
When I got my hands on the AS2 PRO MAX E-Pump for mountain bikes I was eager to test it out. Cycplus rates this pump as great for mountain bikes and also motor bikes, but by coincidence, my first use of the pump was something much bigger.
Camper Van tire test
When I got the AS2 PRO MAX in the mail my camper van was parked outside with a completely flat tire. It was probably the tire valve that was slowly leaking air from the tire and while we were away on a surf trip to Indonesia the tire got completely flat. Like the rim was in contact with the ground. With a flat tire like this is was impossible to drive the van even to the closest gas station to fill it up.
Can the small, pocket sized AS2 PRO MAX E-Pump handle this? I put it to the test, it took me two full charges of the pump to pump the tire, but it would have been a life saver on the road with even one battery charge. With a full battery it inflated the big 225/65/16 van tire halfway and when I recharged it and pumped the tire again it was ready for the road. I mean, I usually inflate the van tires up to 4.5-5 bars, these are special heavy duty reinforced tires ready for higher pressures so it would take a couple more charges to get the tire all the way up there, but to drive to the closest gas station even emptying the battery one time would have been enough. The sturdy e-pump got quite hot, but it handled everything without a problem and was pumping air into the tire from 100% battery to 0% without a hiccup. Quite impressive.
Here is the video proof:)
Mountain bike tires test
Off course, I later also used the pump to inflate my mountain bike. No problems there either.
Inflating mountain bike tires with tiny electric pump.
Now lets take a look at what this pump brings to the table:
Size, weight and construction of the AS2 PRO MAX E-Pump
AS2 PRO MAX e-pump with power button and + and – button for pressure adjustment and settings
The pump is compact and lightweight (205g). There are a couple of models, I got the most powerful one that weights a bit more, but it still easily fits inside your pocket. I mean, I suggest you put it in your hip bag or biking backpack as it will be more comfortable, but if I had to I could also put it my bike shorts pocket. The epump is made out of aluminium alloy construction and comes with a silicone case that makes holding the pump easier when it gets hot (it get hot if you use it for a long time, topping up one MTB tire it’s only warm) and also ads some extra protection against water and scrapes.
Top pressure and air flow
How much air can it pump? If you are in a hurry and need to pump your tire as fast a possible the AS2 PRO MAX E-Pump will pump 30 L of air per one minute and can reach it’s top pressure of 120 PSI in 75 seconds (of course depending on the size of tire you are inflating, with a camper van tire it takes a bit longer haha). As said maximum air pressure this pump can achieve is 120 PSI (8,2 bars) which is probably more that any biker would need. It is way way more than any mountain biker will ever need, I think is more than enough for the roadies as well.
Features and battery life
There is a LED screen display on the epump that shows you real-time air pressure while you are pumping your tire. You can also use the screen to adjust the units (PSI or bar) and to see how much battery life you have left. Adding some air to my mountain bike tires, 2 times from 1.6 bar to 2.6bar and the battery indicator didn’t move at all. With a full battery you should be able to fill 29″ mountain bike tire about 7 times from 30PSI – 50PSI (2-3.5bar). I hope you never need to use it more than then during one ride. You can also preset the desired pressure and the pump will stop once the pressure is reached. The pump needs about 1 hour to fully charge, it uses USB-C interface so you can use nay cable you have already at home.
Checking the tire pressure in bars on the LED screen of the AS2 PRO MAX E-Pump.
Presta or Schrader valves.
You can use the AS2 PRO MAX E-Pump on either Presta or Schrader valves. All the adapters needed for that are included in the package. The pump also comes with an extended hose kit that makes filling the tire easier for small diameter tires or it’s just more comfortable and with thermal insulation for use with resin valves.
Technical data
Tech specs for all three models. AS2 is super lightweight, but it’s meant to be an emergency pump and not a replacement for your regular pump. No LED screen as well. AS2 Pro comes with LED screen and enough power to be regular pump replacement for road bikes and AS2 Pro Max is strong enough to replace your regular hand pump for bigger mountain bike tires and even motor bike tires.
AS2 PRO MAX E-Pump Coupon Code
You can get an extra 5% off the price if you use this AS2 PRO MAX E-Pump Coupon Code: 360GUIDE when you go to Cycplus shop.
Final review
A great pocket sized epump that can easily replace your regular hand pump. It is lighter than some heavier hand pumps, a bit heavier than your average hand pump but on the other hand the square and flat shape makes it possible to really put this pump in your pocket, if you don’t have a hip bag or a backpack. Some regular hand pumps can be attached to the bike frame, so you don’t need to carry them, this is not possible directly with this e-pump but you could use a saddle bag or some other tool bag to carry the bag on the bike frame, if you prefer that. Pump looks and feels sturdy and well made, performed without a glitch even when pumping big van tires and comes with all the features I can think of. Simple to use even without instructions.
