Last year, portable electric inflators took the cycling world by storm, and seemingly every brand got in on the action with an e-pump or two. Lezyne is arriving a tad late to the electric inflator party, but the brand’s new E-Drive sets itself apart with some unique design features. Most notably, the E-Drive is the first electric inflator we’ve seen with an easily replaceable battery. Additionally, it comes with a lever-locking Presta head that’s secure, quick, and easy to use.
“After testing all of the current e-pumps on the market, we knew our engineering team could build a better, more sustainable electric pump. With our new E-Drive, you’re getting superior quality, safer operation, and a longer-lasting, high-performance e-pump.”
-Terry Cooke, Vice President of Engineering at Lezyne
Lezyne sent me an E-Drive pump to check out, and it arrived yesterday. I ran it through some tests in the garage and have taken it with me on one ride, and I’ll share my first impressions at the end of this article.
Lezyne E-Drive Details
Lezyne says its new E-Drive inflator was fully designed and engineered in-house to create a pump that outperforms the competition in inflation, reliability, and sustainability. To do this, the custom-engineered motor reportedly “runs cooler and lasts up to four times longer than standard electric pumps.”
According to Lezyne, the key to the E-Drive performance is its thermal management system, which they have refined over years of LED lighting development. This system “pairs a dedicated internal cooling fan with a CNC-machined aluminum heatsink extrusion and specialized low-friction technology.” The brand states that this optimized cooling system protects the pressure sensor, improves accuracy, and doesn’t require a protective heat cover.
It features a large digital display gauge and an intuitive button layout that makes it easy to understand and use. The preset pressure can be adjusted in 0.5 psi increments, and it has an auto-shutoff feature when that pressure is reached. The E-Drive is powered by a 750mAh battery, which Lezyne claims is capable of inflating “up to six tires on a single charge to a maximum pressure of 120 psi (8.25 bar).” According to the brand, it inflates most tires in under 90 seconds. It charges via USB-C in three hours from completely empty.
Which brings me to perhaps the most unique feature of the Lezyne E-Drive: the replaceable battery. Lezyne says this replaceable battery design is the first-of-its-kind, allowing users to remove and replace the battery cell to extend the lifespan of the E-Drive indefinitely.
Another unique aspect of the E-Drive is the longer, 5” flexible extension hose and the lever-lock Presta chuck. This is unique because most other electric inflators thread onto Presta valves, which is a bit fiddly and can potentially unscrew the valve when removing it. The Presta chuck is easily removed from the extension hose to reveal a thread-on Schrader head. It is also compatible with a Clik chuck (sold separately).
Specs:
- 82 x 56 x 38mm
- 198 grams (pump only)
- Max 120PSI (8.25 Bar)
- Battery: 750 mAh
- USB-C Rechargeable
- Up to 6 full inflations on a single charge
- Multi Chuck
- *Clik Valve compatible (chuck sold separately)
- ‘Set and Forget’ function
- MSRP: $149.99
Availability
Lezyne’s E-Drive officially launches today and is available now. Head to the brand’s website or your favorite Lezyne dealer to learn more or purchase one of these new gadgets.
First Impressions
At this point, I’ve had Lezyne’s new E-Drive pump for roughly 36 hours. I weighed it, brought it with me on one ride, and ran it through one series of pumping tests. These impressions are very much first impressions, and I’ll follow up with some long-term findings in a few weeks or months.
The E-Drive is shaped like most other electric inflators that I’ve used. It’s a small, rectangular block, and I’d put it on the larger side of the models I’ve tested. It’s about the same size and weight as the Topeak E-Booster Digital (not mini), and the Cycplus AS2 Pro Max. It still fits in the palm of my hand, but it’s notably larger than Topeak’s E-Booster Digital Mini or the Cycplus AS2 Ultra.
On my scale, the pump alone weighed 204 grams. The extension hose with Presta Chuck added 35 grams, and the storage bag added 25 grams more. That’s a total system weight (pump, extension hose, and storage bag) of 264 grams. The minimum weight of this system (excluding the storage bag) is 239 grams. That’s at the upper end of the inflators that I’ve tested.
That said, the 750mAh battery is larger than most, which should equate to more pumping capacity. For reference, it’s 350 mAh more than the tiny Cycplus AS2 Ultra, and 250mAh more than the Topeak E-Booster Digital Mini. It also weighs quite a bit more than either of those.
To be clear, I’m not at all concerned with the size or weight of the Lezyne E-Drive. It’s still pretty darn compact, and it really doesn’t weigh more than my favorite mini-pump or a full CO2 setup. I appreciate that it comes with a storage bag, helping to keep everything together in my hydration vest or jersey pocket.
I didn’t need to use it on yesterday’s ride, but I snapped a few photos anyway. Yesterday evening, I put it through its paces to see how many times it could inflate a 29” x 2.4” mountain bike tire from 0 to 25 psi. In my quick round of testing, it did that 4 times, plus an extra 4 psi on the fifth try. Each inflation took right about 90 seconds. That’s a bit lower than Lezyne’s claim of six tire inflations, but pumping performance will vary significantly depending on tire volume and pressure, of course.
One thing I like about the E-Drive is the lever-lock Presta head. It’s a bit stiff right out of the box, but it’s still way quicker/easier than thread-on heads, and there’s no chance of me accidentally removing my valve in the unthreading process. It’s easy enough to unscrew it for use with Schrader, and a Clik head can also just thread right on, too.
Lezyne might be on to something with its thermal management claims. In my four consecutive inflations, the pump got warm, but nowhere near hot. But like any other electric inflator, the E-Drive is loud. That’s just the nature of the beast, and I’ve learned that it’s best to just attach it to your valve and walk away until it’s done pumping.
That’s all I’ve got for now. I’ll keep testing Lezyne’s new E-Drive and follow up with some longer-term impressions sometime in the not-too-distant future.