Here’s how I decided which pumps to test, and how I evaluated floor pumps and mini pumps during testing:

Valve compatibility: For floor pumps, I only tested those compatible with both Presta and Schrader valves, so that they’d be suitable for all situations. For mini pumps, I did test a few that were Presta-only, using the logic that most people riding far enough away from home to need a pump are probably on a bike equipped with Presta valves (that’s most adult-sized bikes above the $500 budget).

High volume versus high pressure: Bike tires (and pumps) fall into two categories: high volume and high pressure. Mountain bike and fat-bike tires are high volume — that is, they’re fatter and require a lot of air to fill. High-pressure tires, like the skinny tires found on road bikes, hold less air at, yes, a higher pressure. Hybrids, gravel bikes, and cruisers fall somewhere in between. I tested floor pumps from both categories, including some claiming to handle all kinds of tires.

Like floor pumps, mini pumps built for high-volume tires tend to be larger in diameter and will push a lot of air — but they require an insane amount of muscle to force air into a skinny, high-pressure tire. You’re better off with a high-pressure pump for road tires — or one that you can toggle between high-pressure and high-volume. I tested — and liked — several with this option.

Pump head design: The pump head is arguably the most crucial feature on a pump. I tested all kinds of pump heads, assessing which were the most and least likely to frustrate you. I even did a fit check on notoriously hard-to-fill balance-bike tires (mini valve stems — argh!), noting which pump heads fit most easily between the narrowly spaced spokes.

Efficiency: The more efficient a pump, the fewer strokes you’ll need to fill a tire. I set up a standardized testing gauntlet that included counting the strokes needed to fill three different-sized tires with each pump. For floor pumps, I counted the strokes required to achieve a specific tire pressure across the three tester tires: 20 psi for my 53 mm (2.1-inch) mountain bike tire; 50 psi for my 38 mm gravel/hybrid tire; 90 psi for my 23 mm road bike tire.

For mini pumps (which don’t typically have a built-in gauge), I pumped each handle 100 times, then measured the resulting psi with my handheld gauge across all three tires. For the two rechargeable mini pumps I tested, I measured the psi after one minute of inflation, repeating that process until the pump battery died.

Price: When it comes to bike pumps, you get what you pay for, according to my testing. “I think often people look at a bicycle pump and think a pump is a pump,” former pro bike mechanic Eric Saletel said. “In my experience, the chucks on inexpensive pumps aren’t user-friendly and wear out quickly under normal use, leading to frustration.” I tested floor pumps ranging from $40 to $140 and mini pumps from $20 to $100, and I found that quality dropped off drastically below about $50 for floor pumps and below $30 for mini pumps.

Pump materials: I tested pumps with lots of plastic and those with all-metal construction. A plastic pump handle flexes under your hands while pumping, making it harder to overcome the natural resistance of air as it’s forced into your tube. And a plastic pump head feels flimsy and cheap compared with an all-metal head. None of our pumps broke during testing, but the user experience is vastly different.

Warranty and rebuild kits: Most pumps carry between a two- and five-year warranty, but some pumps I tested have a lifetime warranty. Just as important, though, is whether a pump is rebuildable. Several of the pumps came with a rebuild kit that included some of the more common wear items, like O-rings, gaskets, and seals. Even most mini pumps are now rebuildable — which is good, as a frame-mounted mini pump will get blasted with water if you get caught in a downpour, and even tightly sealed mini pumps can wear out over time.

Gauge design and accuracy (floor pumps): The best gauges are oversize, with clear contrasts between their numbers and the background color of the gauge. (I only tested analog gauges, as we could see little point in paying extra for a digital gauge.)

To test accuracy, each time I pumped up a tire, I cross-checked the number shown on the built-in pump gauge against a pair of hand-held tire gauges, one designed for high-volume tires and another more general-purpose gauge. You’d be surprised at how often the numbers clashed between the built-in gauge and the handheld gauge. Saletel corroborated my findings, noting, “built-in gauges aren’t always accurate. Repeatable, yes — but grab a few pumps and compare their gauges. It will often be different.”

Hose length (floor pumps): Saletel swears by a long hose, noting that it’s great for pro mechanics who frequently air up tires while a bike is in a repair stand. However, you don’t have to be a pro to appreciate a hose that reaches your tires even when your bike is on your car.

Size (mini pumps): All of the mini pumps I tested include hardware to mount them on your bike. That helps offset the annoyance of carrying them, but I still considered only pumps that were 12 inches or less (keeping in mind that the smaller the pump, the less efficient it’s likely to be).