Lezyne CNC Tubeless Drive review – the swiss army-knive of mini-pumps?
The Lezyne CNC Tubeless Drive was developed to handle all sorts of punctures. Our Puncture-King Felix put the pump to the test almost every week for a total of 5 months. But was he able to keep riding without an inner tube?
Here at ENDURO, no one destroys more tires than our test-boss Felix. This is due to his impressive body mass (95 kg) combined with his uncompromising riding style. Of course, we run all our test bikes tubeless, but with less robust tires, punctures and slashes are inevitable – especially on the weak sidewalls. While the Lezyne CNC Tubeless Drive pump won’t make you immune to punctures, it will help you fix your tire quickly and get back to business in no time. The pump weighs 275 g and is rather voluminous, which makes it hard to carry around in your pocket or attach to the bike frame. That being said, the pump makes good use of its size, combining three tools in one. Inside the machined-alloy pump, hide a tubeless plug kit, a 20g CO2 cartridge and even a inflator-head. And what an awesome coincidence, the pump fits perfectly into the SWAT box of our Specialized Enduro test bike!
The Lezyne pump just fits through the opening of the Specialized Swat Box and sits firmly in the frame without making any rattling noise.
The voluminous pump was designed specifically for MTB tires. While it pumps a high volume of air in a short time, the pump doesn’t let you exceed a pressure of 2-bars. However, with MTB tires this is not a problem at all. In combination with the generous hose, the CNC Tubeless Drive can also be used as a mini floor pump. However, it doesn’t deliver enough pressure to pop a tire back onto the rim. In this case, you’ll have to use the CO2 inflator. Like with most Lezyne pumps, you have to be careful when using Presta valves with a removable core: Once you’ve pumped up the tire and want to unthread the valve head, you could accidentally remove the valve core with it – and lose all of the air. To prevent loud cursing on the trail, Lezyne rely on the ABS button, which releases the pressure within the pump when connected to a Presta valve. Nevertheless, we always recommend checking your valve-cores before pumping your tires. Unfortunately, there’s no valve core tool included in the CNC Tubeless Drive itself.
By the time you’ve undone the three threads to get to the tubeless plug, the air will be gone. This takes too long!
Since 20g CO2 cartridges come in different shapes and sizes, not all of them will fit into the CNC Tubeless Drive. We had no issues with 16g cartridges and of course with Lezyne’s own-brand CO2 cartridges.
Like most Lezyne pumps, the CNC Tubeless Drive has a thread-on valve head. When removing the head, be careful because the valve core can come undone with the head.
With pinch-flats and snakebites, you have to be quick and insert the plug before the tire loses all of its air. Now, this is a bit tricky, because the tubeless repair kit is stored inside the pump, meaning you have to unwind three threads before you can access the kit. On top of that, the plug isn’t inserted in the tool yet, so you have to thread it in first. However, once you manage to get hold of all the bits you need, the plug is easy to install.
Thanks to the long hose, the CNC Tubeless Drive can be used as a mini floor pump, bringing even voluminous 29 “x 2.6” tires back to pressure in no time.
If you got a little too excited in the last berm and managed to blow the tire off the rim or if the tire bead dropped into the rim bed, you have to use the 20 g CO2 cartridge, which provides enough pressure to pop the bead into place. The CO2 cartridge and valve adapter are separated by a spider, which prevents the parts from rattling and the cartridge from discharging the CO2 inadvertently. Unfortunately, there isn’t an interface for the multitool on either the pump head or the spacer, which means Felix couldn’t always separate them from each other when they were dirty and had to use an inner tube instead. We recommend putting a bit of silicone-lubricant on the threads of the pump to prevent them from seizing up.
The Lezyne CNC Tubeless Drive is the Swiss Army knife among tubeless puncture kits. Thanks to the MTB-specific design, tires can be repaired quickly and inflated in no time with the robust, high-quality alloy pump. Like with most Lezyne pumps, you have to be careful when you remove the threaded valve head to prevent the valve core from coming undone.
Tops
- Perfect for MTB tubeless systems
- High-quality and robust
- Voluminous but the space is used well
Flops
- Tubeless plugs are hard to get to
- The pump-head can unthread the valve core
- Not compatible with all 20g CO2 cartridges
Tester: Felix
Duration: 5 months, countless punctures (like loads!)
Price: € 79.95
Weight: 277 g (incl. 20 g CO2 cartridge)
More info at ride.lezyne.com