The Ritchey Comp XC pedals offer excellent value and good performance with enough adjustment and an open, mud-shedding design. With several colours to choose from besides black they offer something a bit quirky, although the paint rubs off easily and the size of the platform might not suit everyone.

The Look X-Track Race pedals offer positive engagement and disengagement, a big platform and a decent weight, but the bearings are not as smooth as some.

The Gravel Wide++ is an alloy wheelset from Scribe with a generous 25mm internal rim well suited to wider gravel tyres. They're not the lightest out there, but they offer good all round performance, instant engagement and are cheaper than most comparable wheelsets.

The Pipedream 600 from Alpkit is a goose down sleeping bag designed for winter cold, with a high (750 FP) fill and a water-repellent coating. It packs down small enough to fit into many bikepacking saddle bags, but this level of spec comes at a price.

The Filoment vest from Alpkit is a down vest made from 100% recycled fabrics that gives excellent warmth for the weight and size. It is not cycling specific and the fit is generous, but it offers plenty of warmth for a reasonably small pack size and weight.

The Ritchey WCS Trail Pedals are SPD compatible pedals suitable for various styles of off-road riding. The're lightweight and engage and disengage positively, although the performance comes at a cost.

The Halo GXR is a 650B gravel tyre that delivers a smooth ride and has more grip than you would expect from the minimal depth tread, but you need to be running the smaller sized wheels – it's currently only available in the one size.

The Maxxis Receptor is a new gravel tyre that's light, has minimal tread and delivers an incredibly fast ride. It has a supple design and some puncture resistance that are brilliant on hardpack and roads – it could be a great race tyre if you know the conditions will suit.

Ritchey WCS Pave Bar Tape is reasonably thick at 3.5mm, and helps make a more comfortable ride on gravel and adventure bikes. It isn't the easiest to wrap around tight bends, although the silicone backing (rather than glue) means it's at least easy to keep re-doing or even reuse.

The Alta wheels from Parcours are a very lightweight full carbon wheelset, weighing just 1360g for the pair. The freehub design is basic, but a good quality rim creates an agile ride and overall package that makes for a good value wheelset.