Muc-Off AirMach Electric Mini Inflator

The Muc-Off AirMach Electric Mini Inflator does a good job inflating tyres of all sizes, at least twice on one charge. It’s small and easy to use, charges quickly and is relatively quiet and cool to the touch in use. However, there’s no pressure gauge or ‘target pressure’ preset mode, and swapping between valve types is a faff. This means in a field with stiff competition the AirMach struggles to justify its price tag.

Our best bike pumps buyer’s guide covers all sorts of pump and inflating options. 

The battery-powered bike tyre-inflator market is a hot mess of reputable brands and unknowns these days – and it seems everyone is rushing to have their own branded take on cycling’s new must-have. It’s probably safe to say that no bike brand is actually making their own inflator – these are almost certainly all rebranded items from electronics manufacturers, where the bike brand in question is simply the specifier and packaging logo owners. That brings into question the premium one pays for a bike-branded inflator, compared with one from any number of online outlets. Which brings us to the Muc-Off AirMach Electric Mini Inflator…

The AirMach is small – easy to fit in your palm and to hold between two cupped hands. So stashing it in a jersey pocket or saddlebag is not an issue. It comes with a black silicone rubber case, to aid with grip and more importantly to protect you from the heat it generates when it’s running.

You get a short USB-A to C charging cable (because no-one has anything they’re already charging, right?) and a tiny – and I mean, drop-it-and-it’s-gone tiny – adaptor for use when inflating Schrader valves. Like most battery inflators the AirMach runs so hot there’s a risk it’ll melt a TPU tube such as a Tubolito – so there’s a £5 extender hose accessory available. This is also critical for inflating tyres on smaller wheels where there’s not enough space between the spokes to fit the inflator, machines such as kids’ bikes or prams.

The spec charge time is 25 minutes from empty – but if you’re using a 15W USB-C charger it’s more like 18 minutes (BYO USB-C-C cable). A single press of the power button shows the battery level with a green LED meaning 80-100%, Yellow is 50-80% and red sub-50%.

Let’s blow

Muc-Off claims the AirMach is good for inflating a 700×25 tyre to 80psi twice – or to 60psi four times.

For the headline 700×25 size, 85 seconds gave me a pressure of 93.5psi first go, and the second 85-second session provided 86psi – so job done. A third go lasted 30 seconds, giving 40psi.

For larger tyres, Muc-Off says the AirMach will do a 26 x 1.95in up to 35psi twice, or to 50psi once. I’m not sure who’s still using 26in tyres, but my comparison is with 650b and 29er tyres.

I got a reasonably chunky 650b x 2.6in tyre to 21.5psi in 85 seconds, while on a 29×2.25in I hit 26psi in 85 seconds. Going out to 120 seconds gave 33psi.

For the gravelistas, a frame-fit-envelope-pushing 650b x 55mm tyre inflated just fine. A 60-second effort provided 24psi, within a smidge of my go-to 25psi (I weigh 85kg). Ninety seconds gave me 31.5psi, which was do-able twice, the inflator giving up on the third go after 65 seconds and 21.5psi.

If your tyre is already partially inflated – if your tyre had slowly deflated, had a tubeless leak that sealed itself, or you had used a Dynaplug or similar and it needs topping up – Muc-Off advises you to start the inflator before attaching it to the valve. I noted several times that the AirMach does struggle to get started on a partially inflated tyre.

So far, so pretty much every electric inflator out there, which means we need to look at usability.

The Muc-Off AirMach suffers significantly here from the lack of a pressure gauge or a preset target stop function. Without a gauge you’re guessing as to your pressure – which may be good enough to get you home, but if you’re at the start of a long ride you’ll want to be fairly close to your optimal pressure. And no, your thumbs are not calibrated. If you’ve used a set-and-forget inflator you can appreciate how useful this functionality is. The Pro version does have a gauge – and a higher price tag of £100.

Then there’s the issue of the Schrader valve pin. It’s tiny. Like, minuscule. And getting it in place is a faff. In the four times I practised fitting it, it ended up on the floor twice. When it’s off the pump you really do need to keep it someplace safe.

You may not have a need to use the AirMach on Schrader valves – but if you do, take care! Though to be fair, the Cycplus AS2 has the same faffy-Schrader-pin design, almost as if they came from the same factory.

Value

The Muc-Off AirMach Electric Mini Inflator has a fair bit of competition these days.

The Cycplus AS2 Pro Mini Bicycle Tire Inflator costs £85 and for that you not only get a gauge and a set-and-forget function in a package the same size and weight as the AirMach, you also get a 120psi maximum capacity. And Cycplus also gives you the extension hose for free.

You’ve also got the Pro version of the Muc-Off AirMach that Stu rated highly. This does get you a pre-set function, a gauge and a higher 120psi maximum pressure, even if it’s dearer at £100.

Six years ago I reviewed the £109 Fumpa Mini, which is a similar bare bones design to the AirMach Mini. The Fumpa Mini is a lot louder at 79db than the Muc-Off’s 70db at half a metre, which means in practice it’s virtually twice the perceived volume. And while the Fumpa Mini is still the same price as it was then, our test AirMach represents better value.

Conclusion

Looking at battery inflator value, these days for £75 you’d expect at least a gauge, ideally set-and-forget. So out of the blocks Muc-Off is behind the curve. Throw in the faff with Schrader pins and the extra £5 for the hose to inflate hard-to-get-at or TPU valves, and it’s a challenge to recommend the Muc-Off inflator above the Cycplus AS2 and the Pro version of the Muc-Off in what is becoming a crowded and competitive market.

Verdict

Effective inflator but its lack of gauge and preset function means it struggles against the opposition

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