A few weeks ago, my buddy El Ciclista Común posted a story on their Instagram account. They were on the side of the road fixing a flat, and used a little cube to pump the tire up. I quickly replied to him asking what that thing was. He said it was a CYCPLUS Cube, and more importantly, “It actually works!” I decided I had to check it out.

My wife and I were about to do a cycling trip to Europe and honestly, no one wants to travel with a floor or a hand pump. Floor pumps are too big. Hand pumps are a pain to use every day – we did it last time and it was fine but it gets old very quickly. This little Cube pump seemed promising! They also have a Review program, so I emailed CYCPLUS and they sent over a Cube pump to try out.

The Test

This pump is actually intended to be taken on rides, as a replacement for Co2 inflators. It is not advertised as a travel solution; in fact, CYCPLUS has other electronic pumps that might be better solutions for travel. However, I wanted something small that we could also carry on a daily basis because I did not want to travel with Co2 canisters/cartridges, nor have to deal with finding a bike shop to find some when we got there. It’s also worth noting that air travel in Europe explicitly forbids Co2 pumps in luggage (we were asked several times).

Here’s how we used it:

• Topping up tires for 2 bikes every morning before riding

• As a flat fix solution on rides

• Inflating tires between travel destinations

CYcplus cube review: the good

• As stated, this thing actually works!

• It is small and packs easily in a saddle bag.

• It comes with a protective rubber sleeve so it’s not banging or scraping around everywhere. This is pretty clever.

• One charge was enough to top up our tires 15-20psi each every morning (4 tires), and still have enough to confidently fix a flat on the road. (Probably not enough would be left for 2 flats though.)

• I did not actually time the charging but it charged rather quickly. Website claims 20 minutes for a full charge and I would say that is about right.

• We had no issues flying with it, avoided any issues regarding Co2 canisters in Europe travel, and reduced our waste

• It’s actually quite fun to use and will definitely make an impression on your riding buddies

CYcplus cube review: the NOT SO GOOD

• The Cube intakes air thru the charging port. This itself is not a problem but if you intend to keep the Cube in a saddle bag, try pointing the charging port away from where any dust or sediment might collect inside your saddle bag. Luckily, I caught this quickly but I foresee this could become an issue if enough stuff goes into that charging port.

• Similarly, if you are going to ride in the rain make sure that charging port is not facing upwards to collect water. It makes sense that the charging port wouldn’t have a plug to it because people would certainly forget about it and not remove before trying to pump air. In any case, this is not necessarily “bad,” just something to keep in mind.

• Battery consumption when not in use is minimal, but you do need to re-charge this thing. I kept it idle for about 4 weeks before we went on our trip and used it, and in that time it ran out of battery. This is a point in favor of Co2 canisters, as you don’t have to remember to charge those

• The cube inflates at 1 psi per second. This isn’t that bad, but it is considerably slower than a Co2 canister. If you are doing multiple tires like I was, it might take a few minutes.

CYcplus cube: Add2cart?

At $89, it’s a pretty steep price. By comparison, a Co2 cartridge is probably about $2-3 each. At $3 per Co2, the CYCPLUS Cube is the equivalent of about 30 canisters. I have definitely had more than 30 flats, and I have almost always used Co2 (I hate hand pumps). So if you are riding locally, it might not be worth it. However, if you are like me and want a solid solution that will both save you out on the road AND make traveling with a bike slightly easier, then I say it’s worth it.