By Brandon Bilyeu
Hot!
- Can often be found on significant discount
- Presta and Schrader compatible with included adapters
- Quick and effortless to pump up a tire
- Automatically stops pumping when your preset pressure is reached
- Easy to read LCD screen with battery level and accurate pressure gauge
Not!
- No waterproof carrying bag included
- Loud and hot, but this applies to all mini electric pumps
- Another battery to worry about keeping charged
Cost:
X1 Mini Electric Pump – $90, common to find discounted
How obtained: review sample from company
RBR Sponsor: no
Available: online with Coospo and Amazon
Website: X1
Coospo X1 Mini Electric Pump – A Flat Tire Story . . .
I’m lucky enough to average less than one flat tire per year running butyl tubes on my road bike, so on my first ride with the X1 it was only to test how it felt to carry the pump in my jersey pocket and certainly not to use it on a flat tire. The X1 takes up a similar volume to a smartphone, but in a boxier format. It easily fits in a jersey pocket or saddle bag and at 120 grams it weighs less than my relatively small 160-gram iPhone SE. Electric mini pumps are not waterproof because they must move air in and out, so I put the X1 in a small plastic bag before dropping it into my jersey pocket that would shortly be drenched with sweat. It would be nice if Coospo supplied a dedicated waterproof bag for the X1.
After a few hours in the saddle, I was 15 minutes from home when I got a flat in my rear tire. I was stuck completely exposed on an open road with no shade and the sun roasting me at 90 F (32 C). Sweat was pouring off my head onto the wheel and tire as I was wrestling to change tubes.
With the new tube installed I reached for my manual mini pump, dreading the hundreds of stokes in the hot sun. Thankfully, I remembered the X1 in my rear pocket before I started with my manual pump. I powered on the X1 by holding down the center button and then used the ‘+’ and ‘-” buttons to set my desired psi on the large display. The X1 is designed to directly connect to presta valves, so I pushed the pump onto my valve and clicked the center button to start the pump. It is surprisingly loud for such a small device, but I was happy to see the displayed pressure going up quickly. I run 80 psi in my 700x25C tire and in just under a minute the X1 automatically shut off once it hit the preset 80 psi. For consistency, I always check my pressures with a digital pressure gauge and was pleased to see that the X1 readout perfectly matched my gauge in a pre-ride test.
With the tire now at pressure, I removed the X1 and started to screw the presta valve shut. I immediately pulled my hand back as the valve was burning hot. The X1 had gotten very warm in my hand while pumping, but the presta valve was painfully hot. This is standard for mini electric pumps, with heat an unavoidable part of the pumping process. Coospo includes a presta extension hose that helps isolate the valve from the heat, and this extension hose must be used if you are pumping a TPU tube with a plastic valve. Also included are a schrader adapter and a ball inflation needle.
X1 Performance Specifications
The X1 has an inflation pressure range of 3 – 120 psi and only displays the pressure in psi. It uses a 500mAh battery to run the pump that puts out a loud ~85 decibels at one meter. Charging is done via USB-C (USB-A to USB-C cable included), takes about 40 minutes to fully charge from empty, and the charge status is visible on the display as 4 dots for fully charged.
Numbers of tires per charge varies based on tire volume and pressure. All electric mini pumps generate heat, and to keep the mechanicals/battery happy it is probably best to limit usage to flat tires and topping up pressure before a ride. Pumping up multiple tires in quick succession could cause damage due to overheating. Coospo provides pumping data for 700x25C tires, and this matches my real-world experience.
Bottom Line
The Coospo X1 Electric Mini Pump is easy to operate, pumps up tires quickly without any operator effort, and is compact enough to fit in a jersey pocket or saddle bag. I would recommend the X1 for those who flat often and/or want a quick and accurate way to top off their tires before a ride.
Brandon Bilyeu is an avid recreational roadie who lives in Regensburg, Germany. He’s a year-round bike commuter and is a mechanical design engineer by trade. Click to read Brandon’s full bio.
I recently bought this epump on Amazon. It works pretty much exactly like most epumps, is cheaper than the one you reviewed, Brandon, and does come with a waterproof bag.
https://a.co/d/jaGnUmE
https://a.co/d/jaGnUmE
I bought this one recently, and it works great. Cheaper than the reviewed and does come with a waterproof bag.
No thanks. I don’t need another battery to maintain. Hand pump works just gone.
Brandon, Does your epump actually work with Presta valves? I purchased one from Flextail, and it works fine for schrader valves but does not work reliably with presta valves. And all my bikes have presta valves. I’m contacting the seller to see about returning it.