The Cycplus AS2 Ultra promises to replace your hand pump with a battery-powered inflator small enough to forget about. After 12 months of use on normal rides and bike tours, that promise has largely held true: it has never failed to inflate a tyre, it weighs less than my hand pump, and it has turned roadside punctures from a chore into a two-minute pause.
E-pumps used to be heavier and more bulky. You felt like you were sacrificing something to have the extra convenience. Now, though, you can have your cake and eat it, albeit at a price. On my scales the bare AS2 Ultra comes in at 88g, or 117g with the silicone protective sleeve fitted. My hand pump, admittedly a larger model, weighs 118g and takes up more space in a pocket.
Velora review
AS2 Ultra Tiny E-pump for Bike
Twelve months of faultless inflations from a pump lighter than most hand pumps. Set the pressure, press go, and you're riding again in under two minutes.
For
- +88g bare, lighter and smaller than a typical hand pump
- +Set-and-forget pressure selection with auto stop
- +60psi in a 30mm tyre in 56 seconds
Against
- –Battery limits you to roughly three inflations
- –Body gets warm during use
- –$119 is a lot for an emergency pump
Why the Ultra over the rest of the range
Cycplus sells four portable models: the basic AS2 without a digital gauge, the AS2 Pro, the larger AS2 Pro Max and the AS2 Ultra. The Ultra is our pick as it's the smallest and lightest while still packing enough power to cover virtually all real-world scenarios.
The obvious rival within the range is the Pro, which is slightly cheaper and has greater capacity. If you run fat-bike tyres or spend weeks off-grid, a bigger pump makes sense. But for most people the smaller, lighter Ultra is the one to buy.
Performance, battery and living with it
The + and − buttons set a target anywhere from 0 to 120psi on the digital display, then a press of the start button lets the pump run until it stops automatically at the chosen pressure. In a year of use, inflation has always worked, with no failures or fiddling. In my timed test, the AS2 Ultra took a 30mm tyre on a 25mm rim to 60psi in 56 seconds. Combined with tubeless tyres, you can now turn around a puncture in under two minutes.
On a ride from London to Paris, I punctured on a climb, plugged the tyre, reinflated and caught the group before the top. Try that with a hand pump, where reaching pressure is hard work, takes far longer and leaves you guessing at the final figure. The Ultra tells you the pressure as it works, and Cycplus claims 1psi accuracy from the gauge.
Battery anxiety is the only real downside. In the real world you can just about get three inflations per charge if you inflate to sensible pressures. Cycplus itself claims two tyres at up to 110psi per charge. It just means you have to be vigilant with charging it. In practice I’ve never had four punctures in a single ride in 20 years of riding, so three attempts covers realistic scenarios. Recharging takes around 30 minutes over USB-C.
The pump gets a little hot during use, which is why the silicone sleeve is worth its 29g, but I have never found the heat a real problem.
Drawbacks and verdict
The main drawback of the AS2 Ultra is its price. At $119, or around €100 in Europe, it costs more than a decent hand pump and far more than a CO₂ inflator. A hand pump also never runs out of battery and you don’t need to remember to charge it. CO₂ is lighter and faster for a single inflation, though each cartridge is single-use and the canisters get freezing cold – that may sound frivolous but can prove torturous on a mid-winter training ride. The Ultra sits between the two: rechargeable, precise and effortless, but finite on any given ride.
It is also noisy in operation, as electric mini-pumps generally are, and larger-volume tyres at higher pressures will eat into the three-inflation budget.
Even so, after 12 months the AS2 Ultra has fully replaced my hand pump as the thing I reach for. For road and gravel riders who want puncture stops measured in seconds rather than minutes and accept a battery limit that realistic riding will almost never test, it remains an easy recommendation despite the price. It comes with me on every ride I do.
