Topeak E-Booster Digital Mini

The Topeak E-Booster Digital Mini is a slightly smaller and lighter version than the not-Mini named variant, as reviewed by our Ben recently. It’s easy to use, battery life is plenty good enough and it works well. On the flipside, it’s more expensive, less compact and does fewer inflations than some competitors.

We’re all different, aren’t we. Our Liam wrote a nice piece about why he doesn’t like electric pumps. Well, I don’t like hand pumps, and I love me an electric pump.

I never liked hand pumps. I’m definitely not carrying an awkward shape like that, which could really hurt in the case of a crash, in my back pocket. Mounted on a frame, they just get really dirty in winter shitlaning conditions and make it harder to wash my bike; something I don’t do enough of. I always wonder whether that hand pump that is caked in mud actually still works.

CO2 pumps are the devil’s own work in my opinion. They only do one inflation – get it on the valve incorrectly and it might not even do one, and they’re disposable.

An electric pump is about the size and weight of a CO2 canister. It is reusable, you can do multiple inflations and they don’t freeze your hands. I don’t have a problem with keeping it charged; I’m charging my radar light and GPS unit anyway, no problem plugging in another gadget.

I get that a hand pump will always do the job, no matter how many punctures you get. My counter argument is that if I’m on the sort of ride where I might need to fix more than two punctures, I’m going to be carrying a power bank anyway. Which means I can recharge the inflator on the go, if I need to. It’s not been an issue yet in the two-ish years I’ve been using one.

On to the Topeak then

Topeak’s E-booster Digital Mini is the smaller version of the E-booster Digital as reviewed recently by Ben. It’s both smaller in size: 72 x 54 x 32 vs 86 x 59 x 35, lighter in weight: 120g vs 162g, and smaller in battery capacity: 500mAh vs 600mAh both at 7.4V.

You don’t get the SmartHead with the Mini, though you can still inflate Presta, Schrader and Clik Valve. If you want to switch between Presta and Schrader (with the Mini), you have to unscrew the valve thingy, turn the rubber bung and the plastic doohicky around, and screw it back on again. Or you can use the hose it comes with, in which case you just unscrew the Presta thingy and you can screw the hose onto your Schrader valve.

Using the hose is a good idea on TPU inner tubes with their lower melting point, as these inflators have a tendency to warm up a bit. I found myself using the hose by preference anyway, because it means there’s less chance of breaking your valve. And also, without the hose this inflator just doesn’t work with some Presta valves. I haven’t been able to work out why, but I’m sure it’s the inflator and not my ineptitude, because the same valves work just fine with the Cycplus Cube. I mention that one, because that’s the only other one I have to hand (and experience of).

Capacity

I mentioned that the Mini’s battery capacity is a bit smaller, which obviously translates into fewer inflations, because physics. I don’t have any 25-622 tyres available to exactly replicate the test that Ben did. I’m not sure it matters; I think that how many times you can inflate a tyre from flat is not necessarily representative of what’ll happen in the real world.

I run tubeless on everything; my tyre is almost never completely flat when it needs a boost. It usually just needs a bit of top up after the puncture either self-seals, or with the aid of a plug.

Because of physics, if an inflator has a larger battery capacity, then it stands to reason that you’ll get more inflation before the battery runs out, all else being equal. I think that’s a better way to compare than how many times you can inflate a tyre of a given size from completely flat.

Having said all that, it’s still useful to know, so I used the 35-622 Schwalbe G-One, tubeless, on my winter bike. The Mini managed four full inflations to 50psi (because that’s what I run them at), and a fifth to 26psi before it conked out.

For my use case, that’s plenty good enough. If I was concerned, I probably would inflate it to 40psi, which would still be plenty to get me home, and would eke out battery life. If I’m on the sort of ride where I’m on my own and it’s taking up a significant part of the day, I’d be carrying a powerbank anyway, so if the battery runs out, I can just recharge it.

As mentioned, I’ve been using the Cycplus Cube Mini with a battery capacity of 300mAh for the last couple of years. There hasn’t been a single instance where that wasn’t enough and I had to actually recharge it from the powerbank.

That also answers the question whether I’m convinced about battery inflators: yes. Based on the performance of the first one we reviewed, probably with the smallest battery capacity.

Features

The Mini has a full colour showing battery level (four bars), tyre pressure, set pressure and unit. You can set the pressure unit to psi, bar or kg/cm3. According to Topeak, it will go up to 120psi if you have enough patience. I don’t run anything higher than 60psi, because tubeless. It does 60psi just fine, I’m sure it would do 120psi, but obviously that would take more battery life to get there.

Inflation is easy. You just switch the thing on, set your desired pressure, connect the hose and press the button. Then probably step away, because this thing is LOUD. They all are. Once the desired pressure is reached, inflation stops, disconnect, switch off and pack away. Inflating a 35mm tyre to 50psi takes about 60 or seconds. That is quicker than I can do it with a hand pump. A CO2 canister is quicker, if you don’t mess it up. I personally don’t need it to be quicker than 60 seconds.

Reviews of this type of inflator usually mention that the unit heats up. Again, because of physics. This one does too; but even after 4.5 pretty much back-to-back inflations (the manual suggests you leave five minutes between inflations) the unit certainly wasn’t too hot to touch. I would very unscientifically guess at around 40°C. Not anything you need to worry about. Unlike the CO2 canister freeze.

The Mini also has a light which you can switch on by double-pressing the ‘-‘ button. Is this useful? I mean if it’s dark, I’ll have a light on my bike. And my phone has a torch function. If it was up to me, I’d ditch the torch to decrease the unit’s physical size. It probably wouldn’t make much difference.

Charging

Topeak’s E-booster Digital Mini charges via USB-C. A cable is included. It takes about 45 minutes.

The battery status indicator on the screen is not to be relied upon. In the inflation test, the battery went down to two bars out of four after the first inflation, then down to one after the fourth and conked out after half of the fifth.

Something to note is that the inflator does not work while charging; if you’re about to run out, and you’re carrying a powerbank it’s worth charging it up a bit before you need to use it.

Value

Topeak’s E-booster digital mini costs £109.99. That is a lot more than a mini pump that you can use as many times as your arms will allow, or a CO2 canister that you can use a maximum of once.

Compared to other battery mini inflators, this is the most expensive one we’ve reviewed.

For example, the Cycplus AS2 Pro made it into our road.cc recommends, and costs £89.99, though that price varies with exchange rates. Its battery capacity is slightly lower at 420mAh at 7.4V, and its physical size is also slightly smaller at 70 x 49 x 28mm.

The other inflator that made it into our road.cc recommends section is the Prestacycle Prestaflator Go. It costs £99, though if you want a hose (the Prestaflator is TPU safe without it, the Topeak isn’t according to the respective manufacturers) you need to spend another £7. Its slightly bigger at 78 x 51 x 32mm and weighs 30g more than the Topeak Mini. The battery capacity is where the big difference is – you get 750mAh with the Prestaflator, and so more inflations before you have to recharge.

For a wide range of pumps including track pumps, battery inflators and more, check out our best bike pumps buyer’s guide.

Conclusion

Topeak’s E-booster Digital Mini is a decent battery mini pump. It’s easy to use, its battery life is plenty good enough and the set-pressure feature means you don’t have to think too much.

It is expensive, however, more expensive than the Prestaflator go, which has a larger battery. On the face of it, it’s (slightly) heavier and bigger, but with the Topeak, you have to carry the hose, which is not included in the weight or physical size figures. So actually, including the hose, the Topeak is bigger and the same weight, with a smaller battery, than the Prestaflator.

Verdict

Decent electric mini inflator that is a doddle to use but the battery capacity is not as large as the competition

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