With the advancements in tubeless tire technology and tubeless-ready wheels, it’s common to see tubeless setups on everything from entry level bikes to high-end models. Thanks to the puncture resistance and lower pressures that come with tubeless setups, they have become increasingly common throughout the bike industry. This rise in popularity has led to a number of accessories aimed at tubeless tire installation, repair, and maintenance. Today, we’ll be looking at the Topeak Tubibooster tire inflation system that is designed to simplify installation of tubeless tires. The Tubibooster is designed to properly mount a tubeless tire on a rim by releasing a high pressure burst of air to seat the beads against the rims.
The Topeak Tubibooster is a clever portable tubeless tire inflation system that allows you to use a standard bike pump to quickly and painlessly install tubeless tires.
At its core, the Tubibooster is a 1000cc aluminum air canister that provides a portable solution to discharge high pressure into a tire without the need of an air compressor. A removable dual inflator valve makes it easy to inflate the Tubibooster to the desired pressure and discharge it at a high pressure burst into a tubeless tire.
| Category | Bicycle Pump |
| Rating | 8.5/10 |
| Retail Price | $69.95 |
| Measured Weight (in g) | 844 (tank) / 32 (inflator) |
| Likes | + Premium build quality + Inflator head can be used with CO2 canisters + Fills with standard bike pump |
| Dislikes | – Premium price – Awkward to hold when inflating – Doesn’t include an integrated pressure gauge |
| Where to Buy (US) | Topeak |
UNBOXING
Topeak packages the Tubibooster in a simple cardboard box with their iconic white and yellow graphics. Minimal environmentally friendly packaging is used with the Tubibooster security held in place inside the box.
In the box you’ll find:
- Tubibooster air canister
- 2 in 1 Inflator head
- Instruction manual
FIT & FINISH
Unlike bulky combination bike pumps that have secondary canisters attached for tubeless tire installation, the Tubibooster is a more portable and simple solution. The aluminum finish of the canister looks fancy and is lighter than it looks at only 844g. Topeak doesn’t include a storage bag though, so you’ll need to be careful when transporting or storing it to not damage the finish.The Tubibooster is essentially an air tank that can be filled using a standard bicycle pump upto 200 psi from the intake valve on the head and a secondary valve to discharge into a tire. What we like about this design is that you can use a standard bicycle pump with the Tubibooster without any additional tools or parts. It is also portable which means you can easily take this to any cycling event as a backup and be confident someone will have a pump to inflate it.
Topeak also boasts that the Tubibooster is a 2-in-1 design, as the head can be unscrewed and used as a CO2 inflator with any threaded canister. The inflator head tipped our scales at 32 grams which is heavier than others on the market. This is due to the fact that it has two valves, one to inflate tires with and another to inflate the canister. Topeak was clever to use the same threading though, which gives the inflator more functionality. In use, the Tubibooster can be a little awkward to hold during inflation as the canister is fairly large. However, Topeak also offers a $10 more expensive Tubibooster X that replaces the inflator head with one attached to a hose more similar to their Joe Blow bike pumps. This makes it easier to use as you don’t have to position the entire canister when inflating a tire – only the lightweight nozzle head.
TUBELESS TIRE INSTALLATION
We ended up using the Tubibooster for two different tubeless tire installations. One was to convert to stock Decathlon Triban RC 520‘s stock tubeless ready wheels to tubeless Hutchinson Sector 28 tires. Despite preparation, this went quite poorly due to our inexperience and the stock Triban wheel’s resistance to mounting the bead. As a result, we ended up having to refill the Tubibooster nearly a dozen times which quickly became exhausting. Our second use was with Token’s D’Huezz alloy climbing wheels and a set of Hutchinson Galactik tires. Being brand new wheels, the first time setup went perfectly with the Tubibooster resulting in the characteristic popping noise on the first try for each wheel.
These two contrasting tubeless tire installations really highlighted how effective the Tubibooster could be. With newer wheels and tires, the Tubibooster made installing the tires quick and painless. For more stubborn wheel and tire combinations you may need multiple applications of the Tubibooster to get the bead to snap in place. This means you’ll need to inflate it multiple times, requiring you to connect/disconnect a bike pump multiple times. While the Tubibooster is a great tool for installation, if you plan to do a lot of installations it doesn’t beat the convenience of an air compressor.
THE VERDICT
Overall, we found that the Topeak Tubibooster is a clever and portable tool for tubeless tire installation. The premium polished aluminium finish gives the Tubibooster a sleek look while keeping the overall weight down. With a good tire/wheel combination and correct prep work, the Tubibooster makes tubeless tire installation quick and painless. With the Tubibooster you don’t need a bulky bike pump-tubeless air canister combo (like the Joe Blow Booster), and can instead use standard bike pumps to inflate the Tubibooster. For those without air compressors, the simple design of the Tubibooster allows for fast tubeless tire installation without additional tools or parts.
Disclaimer: The product for this review was provided by Topeak. The views expressed on this website are solely those of the authors and are here to help people make an informed choice before a purchase. The authors or the blog itself does not get any monetary compensation from the product manufacturer or third-party websites/vendor links that are posted here.