A pump is one of the essentials that you need to carry with you when you are out for a ride, particularly if you are taking part in an event or riding out away from home. It may be a long walk to the nearest bike shop.

You can get very small pumps that are designed to fit into a jersey pocket, saddle bag or bolt onto the frame.

These are lightweight – and again you can get carbon fibre options if weight is something you are concerned about, but be prepared to pay more for this.

Ensure the pump you get will fit the valve on your inner tubes; road bike tubes have narrow ‘presta’ type valves. Some pumps fit directly on, and others have an extendable tube, which means you can give the pumping action a bit more welly without worrying about breaking the valve.

Another option are CO2 pumps; these use pressurised carbon dioxide to rapidly inflate your tyre. Most canisters will do one road bike tube, so make sure you bring at least one spare with you.

These are very quick to use, and very small – they can fit into a saddle bag. The downside is that once you’ve used all the canisters you’ve brought, you are without a pump. To combat that, some companies now produce a device that does both.

Pumps will usually come with an attachment that allows them to be bolted to the frame under where the bottle cage attaches, allowing you to fit both to one set of bolts.