Prestacycle Prestaflator GO Lite

The Prestacycle Prestaflator GO Lite is a genuinely handy pocket-size pump which offers fuss-free inflation. It’s easy to use, as powerful and long-lasting as it needs to be for an emergency pump, and seems reliable. It’s no quieter than most of these pumps but a little slower than the best ones, however.

The ease-of-use, packability and reasonable inflation speed have been particularly useful on multi-day trips, saving the hand-ache and pressure guesses usually found with traditional mini hand-pumps.

Prestacycle Prestaflator GO Lite – Technical details

As the name suggests, this little pump is designed to be compact, measuring in at 80mm x 50mm x 30mm, and at 133g it’s comparable to most small hand pumps.

The valve head is reversible between Schrader and Presta, and features a lever lock keeps the pump securely fitted to the valve stem. It utilises two 480mAh batteries which drive a brushless motor, and it charges quickly: a full recharge taking just over an hour via a USB-C charger.

Controlling the system is a small digital screen giving a pressure readout, and you can set your target anywhere between 4-120psi in 1psi increments.

Prestacycle Prestaflator GO Lite – Performance

The GO Lite truly is pocket sized, fitting in a jersey or trouser pocket without any issue. I’d usually class an electric pump as a bit of a luxury, however it is light enough to not feel burdensome. The battery level indicator is handy, too.

Using the pump is a simple affair. The valve-head lock keeps the pump secure and it works on Schrader and Presta valves with no issues, while setting the target pressure is easy. It cuts off when it reaches the required pressure, making it a set-and-forget kind of affair.

The pump is loud during operation, almost offensively loud, and it does get hot if you’re using it for a while. This isn’t an issue if you’re topping up pressures in a couple wheels, but longer operations across multiple bikes may require a cool down period.

Testing has been carried out across a range of high volume, low pressure mountain bike tyres and narrower, higher-pressure gravel tyres, and the Prestaflator Go Lite performed well. It’s quite slow, particularly when trying to achieve higher pressures, so it’s best for topping up. That said, I was able to seat a tubeless gravel tyre with it, so it’s not exactly feeble.

Airing up from flat to 35psi on a 50mm gravel tyre took 90 seconds, whilst taking a 2.4in 29er mountain bike tyre to 20psi took 60 seconds. Interestingly, a 5psi top-up took 14 seconds on both tyres – the lesser strain of lower pressures clearly balanced out against the extra air volume it had to shift. It’s consisent then. It consistently makes a racket the whole time too, but then most of these little pumps do.

It was invaluable on a recent bikepacking trip, where one of my gravel tyres lost all its air overnight. It would have been a pain to get up to 35psi with a mini pump, but with Go Lite it was no inconvenience at all. I even had a coffee in the other hand!

Prestacycle Prestaflator GO Lite – Verdict

At £75 the GO Lite is about mid-market for this rapidly growing segement. The Coospo X1 Electric Tiny Bike Pump we reviewed less than a year ago is now only £54.55, for instance, while the Truflo Electron Compact Electric Pump is £50.

At the other end of the scale you’ll find known-brand options such as the Topeak E-Booster Digital Mini at £110. The Topeak is a little heavier than the GO Lite, but also a little quicker.

The Prestacycle Prestaflator GO Lite is a very handy, pocket-sized inflator which does an admirable job. It’s easy to squirrel away in a pocket or bag, charges quickly and has a tough aluminium exterior. It’s loud though, as most of these are, and it’s not the fastest inflator out there if speed is of the essence.