If you’ve ever had that sinking feeling while cycling home, Bristol’s new roadside bike pumps could be the thing for you.

Five municipal pumps are now being installed around the city centre, courtesy of local cycling promotion body Better By Bike. Funding for their installation comes from the West of England Local Sustainable Transport Fund, but the pumps will be completely free to use; maintenance will be supported by local businesses.

Bristol Cycling Campaign reports that the first one has been sighted outside the Roll for the Soul cycling cafe. Other locations are Temple Meads station, Clifton Down Shopping Centre, the M-Shed, the Watershed and Ashton Court Café.

Believed to be the first in Britain, the heavy-duty pumps are designed to withstand constant public use, with a robust stainless steel pump handle and an armoured air hose. Designers Cyclehoop say they needn’t be obtrusive, either, pointing out that the pumps “can be neatly incorporated into a row of bollards”!