• £210, £140

I’ve always liked Sportful’s technical riding kit and because this year involved plenty of commuter-bike testing, I was intrigued to try out the brand’s take on commuter clothing.

At first glance, the Metro Softshell looks like any other sporty hoodie. Examine a little closer, however, and the understated looks hide plenty of cycling-specific detail.

The core material of the hoodie is a dual-layer lined softshell with a windproof front. The arms are lightly fleeced, slim-fitting and cut long.

Even in single-digit temperatures, I was comfortable enough riding in the hoodie with just a T-shirt underneath.

Add in a baselayer and more technical mid-layer and I’ve got use out of the Metro on cold gravel rides too.

The full-length zip is baffled to shield the wind, while twin zippers mean you can operate from both top and bottom.

The rear has triple cycling-jersey-style pockets and there are two more zipped secure pockets on the flanks of the front.

The hood even has a built-in peak, although it isn’t roomy enough to stretch over a helmet. The fabric is quite bulky to fit underneath all but the most generously sized lids.

The fit is slim and Sportful’s sizing is spot on.

The matching pants are made from a middleweight polyamide fabric, which has a similar texture to the outer layer of the hoodie.

The material has been treated with a water-repellent, which works well. Road spray and light rain beading on the surface is brushed away easily.

I have machine-washed the trousers a bunch of times and while they don’t quite bead up and repel water as well as they first did, they still perform fine in all weathers.

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Redshift Arclight pedals

• £138

Post-pandemic, so much more of my life has become about bikes for everything, rather than just bikes for sport. Shopping, tip runs, collections, social meet-ups, grocery runs and even dog walking have all been taken over by a bike.

It’s cheaper, better for my health and the planet’s, and let’s face it, it’s more fun than sitting in traffic or on a crowded train.

That has pushed my focus on to kit and components that make this type of riding better. Be it clothing, helmets with built-in lights for added safety (such as Bern’s Hudson) or these innovative pedals from Redshift.

The pedals are made very tidily, and rather than run sole-cutting pins (like a mountain bike flat-pedal) they use a series of bars that won’t damage your shoes or trainers.

What sets them apart is the addition of four light modules, two per pedal.

These modules feature COB LED strips that slide into hollows on the pedal body and lock magnetically into place. There’s full-length visibility forward and rear-facing, and windows for side-visibility too.

The clever part is that once the modules are in place (locating magnetically into the pedal body) they automatically turn on when they sense movement.

They also sense the orientation of the pedal and the dual-colour internals of the light units shine white for the forward-facing light and red for the rearward.

The run time is more than three hours in constant mode (or 36 hours in flash mode).

They come with a four-port USB charger so you can charge them simultaneously, and you can also buy extra mounts if you want to convert them into standard front and rear lights.