The Xiaomi Portable Electric Air Compressor 2, its full name, was made official in September 2023. This electric pump can also inflate bicycle tires, electric scooters, cars, scooters or balloons. We tested it, here is our verdict.
Announced in September 2023, the Xiaomi Portable Electric Air Compressor 2 – which we will abbreviate as Air Compressor 2 in the remainder of this test – aims to be the worthy successor to the Xiaomi 1S, sold at the same price (59.99 euros). You therefore have no interest in purchasing the first version, which is more limited in functionality than the second.
This Electric Air Compressor 2 is an electric pump capable of inflating five types of products: electric bicycles, electric scooters, cars, scooters and balloons. We have tried it in several cases, the opportunity to give you a little feedback. Spoilers : reinflating a tire has never been easier.
Key information to know
Before getting to the heart of the matter, you should know that this new generation has received several improvements compared to its predecessor: a new mode for electric scooters, a new adapter, a check of the tire pressure of any Xiaomi Electric Scooter and an inflation speed boosted by 25%.
The dimensions have evolved marginally: a length shortened by 1 mm, a width extended by 4.5 mm and a depth greater by… 0.3 mm. In short, you have roughly the same size, for a weight of 490 grams. Let’s say that you feel it in your hand, without it being too heavy either.
Adapters
The Xiaomi Air Compressor 2 contains several adapters in its box. The idea is to adapt to as many valves as possible, and to check in advance the type of adapter that corresponds to your tire.
Schrader valve adapter : for muscle, electric or mountain bikes, electric scooters and motorcycles. This is the default adapter installed on the air pipe, and onto which the other adapters are screwed. Works with the Decathlon LD 500 E, for example.
Presta Valve Adapter : for certain racing and mountain bikes; it is necessary to connect it to the Schrader adapter to use it, via a simple screwing mechanism.
Needle valve adapter : for footballs or basketballs for example; Here too, you just need to connect it to the Schrader adapter installed by default on the pump.
Quick connect valve adapter : for muscle, electric or mountain bikes, electric scooters and motorcycles; It also screws onto the Schrader adapter and has a handle to lock it. Works with the NCM C5 bike, for example.
Our test on a bike
Our tests mainly focused on e-bike tires. For cars, scooters and balloons, the principle remains the same: you just have to respect the indicated pressure, which can be found on the sidewall of each tire. This pressure is expressed in bar or in PSI (pound per square inch), which corresponds to the Anglo-Saxon unit of pressure.
The good news is that the Xiaomi Air Compressor 2 pump offers pressure levels in the two aforementioned standards. To consult each of them, simply hold down the button bearing the “intertwining arrows” pictogram. Before that, it will be necessary to turn on the pump. To do this, nothing could be simpler: remove the air hose.
The same aforementioned button allows you to select the desired mode. The “+” and “-” buttons modify the pressure level, while the “sun” button activates a small flash which is very useful for connecting the pump to a valve when the light is low. A second press triggers an “SOS flash” in the form of flashes.
Source: Robin Wycke – Frandroid
Source: Robin Wycke – Frandroid
Source: Robin Wycke – Frandroid
Each mode is configured to a default pressure level:
- Bike: 3.1 bar or 45 PSI;
- Electric scooter: 3.4 bar or 50 PSI;
- Motorcycle: 2.4 bar or 35 PSI;
- Car: 2.5 bar or 36 PSI;
- Balloon: 0.6 bar or 8 PSI.
Once your mode is selected, you can either keep the default pressure or increase it to a higher level if you prefer to ride with a harder tire. Where this pump is “smart” is that it analyzes and indicates the current pressure level of your tire once the adapter is attached to the valve.
After this step, simply press the large central button to start the inflation session. The small screen then displays the evolution of the pressure. When the preset level is reached, the machine stops itself. Simple, practical and effective.
Note: the pump is particularly noisy, at 80 dB at 1 meter distance. For discretion, you will have to iron. Inside the editorial team, it’s hard not to hear him even from the other side of the room. You have been warned.
Source: Robin Wycke – Frandroid
Source: Robin Wycke – Frandroid
Source: Robin Wycke – Frandroid
For our part, we tested this Xiaomi Air Compressor 2 on the NCM C5 electric bike. To do this, I had to screw on the quick connect valve adapter and insert it into the valve. The device told us a tire pressure of 1.6 inches, when the manufacturer’s recommendation ranges between 3.4 and 5.1 bars.
We then set the pressure to 4 bars, before pressing the central button. It took a total of 30 seconds for the tire to reach the desired 4 bars. And presto, that was it. The turnkey aspect and speed of execution bring real comfort to the experience. It’s hard to go back after that.
Obviously, the inflation time varies depending on the pressure of your tire and the number of bars to which you want to inflate it. But in reality, you should probably never wait too long to achieve your goals.
Be aware that each mode is limited to a maximum pressure – whether in bar or PSI:
- Bike: limited to 4.4 bars or 65 PSI;
- Electric scooter: limited to 4.1 bars or 60 PSI;
- Scooter: limited to 3 bars or 43 PSI;
- Car: limited to 3.5 bars or 50 PSI;
- Balloon: limited to 1.1 bar or 16 PSI.
For its part, manual mode allows you to exceed these thresholds, within the maximum limit of 10.3 bars or 150 PSI.
To turn off the Xiaomi Air Compressor 2, there are three methods:
- Store the air hose in the location provided for this purpose;
- Keep the central on/off button pressed;
- Wait 4 minutes without touching the pump, which will turn off automatically.
Autonomy and recharging
The Xiaomi Air Compressor has a 2000 mAh battery. Difficult to quantify its autonomy very precisely. What is certain is that we had fun several times with it, and on several products, without it running out of energy.
Be careful however, it will be impossible to reinflate a completely flat car tire because of its autonomy. For this, there are devices to plug into the cigarette lighter socket.
In fact, if you don’t use it every day, it will last you several weeks without incident. To know the status of autonomy, a small gauge displayed on the screen acts as an indicator via a bar system.
The 5-volt charger allows it to be recharged in 3 hours via a USB-C port located under the pump.
Our opinion
Our opinion is relatively rave: for 60 euros, you are dealing with an ultra-practical, versatile, modestly compact and turnkey electric pump, which can also be used on a car, a scooter, a bicycle, a scooter or balloons .
Its ease of use and speed of execution make it an ideal accessory for inflating tires in no time, and above all without tiring in the least – this is its strength compared to a manual pump.
The various adapters also make it possible to adapt to any type of valve. The only notable flaw is the noise it generates when inflating, and the weight which could seem a bit high for some, without this being prohibitive however.