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Lights Again.... I know.... I know...
NB: Originally posted elsewhere on the Global Riders Network and appears via syndication.
Hey guys, I know this topic comes and goes all the time and some people might be tired of it, but I need some insight. I want to get some kind of lighting system for my bike in order to be able to go to night rides, but since I’ve just bought a new and expensive bike, my treasurer/better half/CFO cut my bike funding to a bare minimum so I got to get something that is really value for money. I was thinking of Ay Up (www.ayup.com.au) as you can put a simple system for $180~200 with 2 3w LEDs. Has anyone used or at least seen one of those up close?
Cheers,
Leo.
PS: No patience and/or skill to build my own as Rob did.
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Ay-Up lights are very nice and aside from DIY are probably the best bang for your buck around right now.
Several guys here have them. Come along one evening to see for yourself.
I've got a set of the Ay-ups, they're well made, burn a long time and are very light. not quite as bright as you can achieve with a home-made job but they're not going to fall apart if you fall off...
You can't go too far wrong with em, especially at the price.
and very happy with them
Oh dear, I'm going to have to upgrade my lights if I am to do the Scott 24hr solo as my homemade lights won't last a 17km track with out a recharged battery. I am considering the Ay-ups but to get a system to last all night will cost over $550 with helmet and bar mount lights, so I need to do a night ride with someone who has a set soon. The latest AMB has a test on mtb lights but unfortunately doesn't include the Ay-ups. Another system in the tests I like is the HID technologies 10w HID set,(aussie made) that has a 5 hour burn time, with a 2.5 hour recharge, perfect for an unstoppable solo guy for about $600. Yes I am going to ride for 24 hrs non stop this time. (Sorry I need to keep saying this for the next 78 days, especially on the 78th day)
One advantage with the Ay-ups would be the depth perception of having bar and helmet mounted lights but I'm not convinced they'll be bright enough, the HID's will be bright but only have one light on the helmet and the terrain flattens out with one light. I'm open to suggestion on this.
John
I'm not certain about doing the Scott yet but I'm training for it.
I did the Mont last year with a pair of borrowed HID's and the main problem was they were so bright they illuminated all the dust in the air, so it was very surreal and hazy.
I have a pair of Ay-Ups now and I cant be happier. They are bright enough for single track, fire trail, the works. I've ridden Terrey Hills, Oxford Falls and Manly Dam at night without issue.
A plus for the Ay-Ups is the the helmet light and battery attach to the helmet (300 grams I think) so no wires dangling to hook you up or snag on trees. The handlebar light and battery can also be positioned together to eliminate wires.
I go to most mid-week rides so come along.
Ay Ups for $395 delivered come with 1x6 hour burn battery for the handlebars and 2x3 hour burn batteries for the helmet (way lighter than the 300 gr mentioned above more like under 100 gr all up. Comes with normal 220 v chager but also a 12 v charger that can plug into the power sockets of cars (cigarette lighter). By my reconing the only extra you may need is 1 additional 6 hour as the 3 hour can be charged from the car when the first one burns down.
if you get the endurance kit it has enough battery power to run 2 x lights for the whole night (12hrs)
you get 2 x 6hr and 4 x 3hr batteries, so you can run helmet and bar mount the whole night if you wish.
Have the 6hr attached to the bike and 2 x 3hrs in your camelbak for the helmet.
At or around midnight swap them out for the other 6hr and other 3hrs lights to get you till 6am. Just make sure they are all charged when you leave home, i think its $490 + gst + freight, good value i think
Don
dont buy them just yet, new models being realeased using Cree XRE-P4 leds, apparantly running at 600lumens, i think thats more than double the old model.
check out the website, bottom right is a link, it says "giddy up, the crees are here"
more details to come, doesnt mention kit prices yet and beam shot's are coming also.
www.ayup.com.au
That's top news for light buyers. I had a mail from the Ay-Up dude about this a while back but they didn't confirm dates. If they now have XR-E emitters then go for it, these will improve the already great design to the point even die hard DIY'ers like myself should be swayed.
I suspected this was coming, and decided to wait. Looking forward to getting a set!
I've been thinking about buying a set - even though I have only been on two night rides in six months with my T7 cheepo halogen set and one of those times the battery was flat.
However, night riding is the best and with Ayups I'll be going every week, I'm sure.
Cheers
Nic
for everyone's input, I'm getting fairly convinced that Ay-up is the way to go and I did read about the new led's, they are worth waiting for, also they are working on a switch with lower power settings so that a 3hr battery will last 5hrs but they didn't say if that would be available on the 20th Aug. or not.
I'm still keen to meet up for a night ride with an Ay-up owner, so if you're doing a night ride and mention you own Ay-ups I'll try to get there.
Cheers John
It's also a bonus that it's easy to get spares at a fair price.
Paul has a set Ayup's - twin LEDs on his helmet, twin LED's on the bar. Reported happiness.
Pretty bright. I should know - my halogens were flat, so I rode by the light of others - Paul's Ayup quartet and Stuart's DIY sextet (I think).
The new Ayups should be a bit brighter still (or last longer) and of course we all really want lights that vapourise every obstacle in the track (but with an environmentally friendly dim option too)!!!
Nic
Leo,
I will be at the Terrey Hills night ride on 1/8 so you can check out the Ay-Ups.
Paul
but thanks anyway to you all as the inputs were very valuable. It really seems that Ay Up is the way to go, now I just have to wait for the new LEDs.
Thanks,
Leo.
On Lights, I noticed there is a huge spread and review of lights in the new Australian Mountain Bike mag (aug/sep) if anyones interested.
I should have bought them straight up!
I can't even see my 20w halogen anymore....
those Ay-ups get behind you and your looking at one long shadow friends
....time to upgrade soon!
My next set will make those with Ay-Ups feel like they're in one long shadow.
Just waiting for a deliver of parts at the moment
I see that there are two beam options with the Ay ups. i think its narrow vs not so narrow. Any opinions on which option to go for?
I've ordered one narrow and one broad. Although sight unseen I plan to use the broad beam on my handle bars and the narrow beam on my helmet. I'm a current Ay-Up owner and I'm very happy with the lights.
When I receive them I will post my opinion of the beam choices.
Paul
for all those waiting on the new ayups, they are now available for order on there website, it says they are in stock so hopefully delivery times wont be too long
Don
Ordered a set this morning, they say the 20th is the official release date, so hopefully will have them this time next week
Who knows I may even attend the odd night ride now?
They were getting too fast as it was Bruce
Sadly I was up at 2.47am placing my order for the upgraded cree's.
An email to existing customers said they would ship them on Wednesday the 23rd.
what beam angles did you get?
I ordered one of each. My thinking is to have the broad beam on the handle bar as a main light and the narrow beam on the helmet to light upcoming obstacles.
I was a bit dissapointed with the 12 colour choices, they were all a bit wishy washy and no Yeti turquoise. They purposely didn't produce the Cree's in the original 12 strong colours so you can differentiate between Luxeon III and the Cree's.
I can't wait to do a side by side comparison of the Ay-Up's, then check out your mega-lumen death ray.
i ordered one of each also, i am interested to see how they compare with my hid.
i plan to run the hid on the handlebar and one of the ayups on the helmet and have one as a spare (or for extreme light have all three going)
will post a report on the led vs hid when i get them
Don
I keep stuffing up, just melted the switch, back to Jaycar.
I gather you get complete new light bodies for that price? If so you'll be able to unload the originals to one of the many that are aying them up. Just need batteries
Being a conservative guy, I was tempted to keep the Luxeon as a backup because they estimate the LED's only have a 100,000 hours of life. That's 952 years at one night ride a week or 8,333 24 hour races - maybe that's too conservative.
Can someone please forward on to me the e-mail that AYUP sent out about the upgrade to existing sets of lights? I had it but have deleted the bloody thing and looking at their (awful...) site can't figure out how you get the upgrade.
My e-mail address is "dyslexic_cant@yahoo.com.au".
Ta,
Matt.
I just sent it
Jesus that was fast, thanks very much!
the upgrade price for exisitng customers seems quite good, alot of upgrades coming i think
I just ordered mine!! How exciting!
Soon I can finally find out if it is true the one rides faster at night!?!
Bruce, did you get the pink ones????
Happy days!
Ayup lights look the way to go for a great Aussie made led system of lights for road and trail and I'm almost committed to buying some.
My only issue is with the mounting system. Are cable tying the mounts to helmet and h/bars the only option? I ride in the dark less then 20% of the time and am not keen on having permanent mounts afixed. Are reusable cable ties available or can hose clamps be modified for this purpose.
Thanks
The next ride will be the best ride!!!
You really don't notice the mounts.
The handlebar mount straddles the stem and I have mine rotated forward so it is out crash danger. It sits roughly where all the gear and brake cables cross at the very front of the bike. It is hardly noticable being dark like the handlebars themself. I was originally planning to remove it when summer comes around because you can just cable tie it on again, but I think I will leave it there permanently.
The helmet mount from memory has double sided tape and cable ties securing it and apart from the rubber flap sitting up it's hardly noticable. The little rubber flap is how you identify Ay-Up owners. Again you can remove it and re-attach it (or have two helmets) but neither weight anything so I can't see the point.
That's my opinion FWIW.
Any recomendation on which to go for? One of each possibly?
Cheers
Sam
You want a nice wide beam that doesn't really have to throw light very far on the bars - to illuminate what's directly in front of the bike.
Then you want a long throw beam (which means it will have to be more narrow) on a helmet to see into the distance and any other place you look.
So one of each is probably the go.
My 2 cents: 2 of my buddies just bought Ayup's - no question they're good value and have good burn times. As an alternative, have a look at Dinotte. I've got 2 of the 5W led's and they're great. So simple, light, strong, great burn times. They've also just released one in the 600 lumen range, which will not only light up the trail, but probably burn a hole in anything that gets in the way.
Dark pink or better known as red, to match my brakes of coarse!
With so many of us putting orders through lately, we should asked for some sponsorship deals
they just arrived a few moments ago. first impressions is very good, super small, lights are tiny and weigh nothing and the battery packs (even the 6hr) weigh even less, you could run 4 or 5 batteries mounted on the frame and would not even notice, they look very nice ( i got a light purple and a champaine one, very happy with the colour), they seem bright but cant really comment yet due to our very well lit office (even with all our lights off), i will try them out tonight at home and post a review of them plus also compared to my hid.
Don
They are so bright, I already had a go at blinding everyone in the office
I raced home early only to be disappointed - my lights haven't turned up.
Thanks guys for getting me all excited.
By the way, did anyone select the Intermediate beam light they had as a supplementaty offer.
I was working extra hours to make up some lost dosh after I broke my hand, so I could afford some Ayups then I did the collar bone, however I don't really need them now cause the 24 hour also out.
Sad, Sad John
The lights arrived only an hour or two after the email about the intermediates, think I might order one in the near future after I recover from the initial expense.
By the way, the lights are soooooo bright, tested them out last night, talk about turning night into day!
if you havent received your ayups yet you may have to wait for a bit
just got this email from ayup
Dear Customer,
Thankyou for your orders over the past few days. The new lights have been very popular with many existing customers taking advantage of the upgrade offer(s). We were swamped with orders and have been active working through them. However, we have experienced some problems with the Medium and Intermediate optics. Some of the stock was damaged and we have had to order more in. The Intermediate optics should arrive next Monday but the Medium optics are not expected in until 3rd September. We do not have a problem with Narrow optic stock.
We have sent out all of the just Narrow beam orders and will send out the remainder as soon as the optics arrive from the US. The optic assembly process is fast so we should be able to send out the same or next day.
If you need your part order urgently, please mail back in and we will send your order out.
We are very sorry for this inconvenience
Regards
Ay Up Team
Lucky i received mine yesterday
Don
i got the medium and narrow beam and i think will work well together, medium on the handle bar and narrow up top. The intermediate could be a good light to use on its own, as it should be slightly wider than the narrow beam but also produce a longer light than the medium beam, just guessing though as havent seen it yet. I plan to use the medium beam for commuting duties, will try it for the first time on the way home tonight.
For the 24hr races i plan to use the medium beam and my hid on the handle bar and the narrow ayup on the helmet, with enough battery power for 6hrs riding, allup will be about 7-800g with all batteries and lights, not bad considering how much light output i will be putting out.
They arrived - yippee - the luxeon Ay-Ups were good, but these are the bees knees.
The narrow has a good throw and a brilliant centre spot. The broad casts enough light to span a fire trail.
They are almost too good and will start to take the fun out of night riding.
Could anyone add which Ayup kit they purchased?
Roadie
Regular
Endurance
Do you need the Endurance kit if you are only going to do a few hours of off-road riding at a time?
The regular kit has 2 x 3 hours batteries and a 6 hour battery - unless you are going solo that's all you need