Coospo AP-B1 Bicycle Tyre Inflator Review

The Coospo AP-B1 is one of the new breed of tyre inflators that have become popular in the last few years.

One of the biggest frustrations for cyclist who have a puncture when they’re out on the ride is re-inflating the tyre. Traditional hand pumps struggle to get to the high pressures that road tyres need. CO2 cartridges have been popular but aren’t the easiest to use and will leak through rubber in about 24hrs. The answer to this is a rechargeable, pocket-sized tyre inflator.

So, let’s take a look at the Coospo AP-B1 unit:

Features

The Coospo AP-B1 comes equipped with the following features:

• Adaptors for both Presta and Shraeder valves
• Inflation up to 120 PSI
• Auto shut off at desired pressure
• Adaptor tube for wheels with limited access
• Overheat protection.
• Switchable from PSI readout to Bar
• Built in LED light
• Ball adaptor for footballs, basketballs, rugby balls etc
• USB-C charging port.

Set-up and operation

Once charged via the USB-C port, the AP-B1 is easy to operate:

• A long press of the on/off button will start the inflator up.
• With the inflator on, pressing the + and – buttons will set the desired tyre pressure.
• After setting the pressure, a brief press on the on/off button will initiate inflation. 
• Two quick presses on the ‘-‘ button will switch between PSI and Bar pressure display
• Two  quick presses of the ‘+’ button switch the built-in LED light on (or off if it’s on)

Whilst the unit itself can’t be attached directly to the tube valve, it comes with two adaptors allowing it to be used with both Presta and Shraeder valves. There is also a handy tube adaptor for use on wheels with limited room between the spokes. This tube adaptor also accommodates both valve types. 

In testing, we used a 28mm wide road tyre / inner tube combination and inflated the tube from flat to 80 psi in around 1 minute and 20 seconds. On a full charge, we were able to inflate this tyre twice fully, and on the third attempt, we reached around 45 psi before the battery was depleted. One of the things many road cyclists struggle with is reaching the higher pressures with a hand pump. A good application for this pump would be to use it to ‘top-off’ the tube once the pressure becomes difficult to achieve with a hand pump. This would substantially improve the number of possible inflations on one charge of the battery. 

In use, the unit is a little noisy, however, we don’t anticipate this being a problem for most people. The unit also gets very hot during use, so caution (or gloves) is advised.  

Specifications

Weight – 129g

Size – 7.4 x 4.8 x 3.4 cm

Battery – 5000mAh

Connections – USB-C for charging.

Overall

Generally, the AP-1B performs well. The inflation time for an average road tyre is likely to be less than most people would achieve with a hand pump. However, a CO2 cannister would be quicker if speed is an issue. This pump is available on Amazon for £50 at the time of writing, which is between 20% and 50% cheaper than similar pumps. For occasional use, we can’t see anything that detracts from this great little pump.

Advantages

• Cheap.
• Easy to use.
• Multiple attachment options.
• High maximum pressure of 120psi.
• Can be set to a specific psi.

Disadvantages

• Noisy in operation.
• Gets very hot during use.
• Likely to last for only a couple of full inflation cycles unless used as a ‘top-off’ device.

Overall rating  – 4.5/5.0

If you want to try one of these for yourself, buy through this Amazon link in the UK – https://amzn.to/3UpfaQR

To see more about this device, visit our YouTube video at – https://youtu.be/FmIGVPd3g5I

Note – This unit was provided by the manufacturer free of charge for this review. The opinions in this review are purely those of the author and apply only to the unit provided for review. Specifications are subject to change and may vary by country / region.