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A new fleet of lighter, comfier and more manoeuvrable hire bikes is on its way to London’s streets.

The upgraded Santander cycles, known as “Boris bikes”, boast smaller wheels, a lower frame, a new gear hub and an improved gel saddle.

The bikes begin to appear on London's streets from next year. After that, around 500 will be introduced each year as the older models are phased out.

The new bikes are being developed by Pashley Cycles.

Mayor of London Sadiq Khan today said he is “delighted” to announce the next generation of the bikes, highly popular with both tourists and Londoners.

“It’s already known across the world as a convenient way to get around our city, so it’s great news that these lighter British-made bikes will make it even easier for everyone,” he said.

The bikes, which can be rented out and dropped off at docking stations around the city, were introduced in 2010 by Mr Khan’s predecessor as mayor, Boris Johnson.

Paul Cowperthwaite, Transport for London's General Manager of Santander Cycles, said: “We’ve had six successful years of London’s cycle hire scheme but we’re looking to the future and are excited to be able to bring the next-generation of Santander Cycles to London’s streets.”

British firm Serco has been awarded a contract to distribute the bikes and continue maintaining the scheme for the next five years.

There are currently 11,500 bikes in circulation, with 6,000 dating back to the launch six years ago. These will be the first to be replaced by Pashley Cycles’ upgraded model.

Steven Bell, Pashley’s General Manager, said: “We are delighted to be working on such a prestigious and important scheme. Although we are still in the product development stage, our Research and Development team’s design has been selected by TfL as one that meets its requirements.

"We will now work hard to turn that design into a production ready bike to bring to London’s streets.”

In a further change from next year, customers will be able to use a single log-in to access all of their TfL travel history, including Santander cycle hire as well as tubes and buses.

This will pave the way for future discounts on cycle hire for those who have reached daily caps after traveling on other TfL services.