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What light set up?
Ok I know this would have been asked in the past but can't easily find the thread!
I am looking at getting into a bit of night riding but I am not sure what I will need in terms of lights? I really don’t want to buy some only to think they are not bright enough etc. Would be looking at some of the fire trails around Terry Hills and a trails like the dam etc. Any help would be great. Also have a limited budget..... but saying this I couldn’t see myself making a set.
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If you have a limited budget and are looking for good light output, it's hard to go past Ay-Up. For $500-odd, you get a helmet and bar set up and 6 hours worth of battery life. www.ayup.com.au
You can get cheaper but you don't get the battery life. There is one set on the market now that I saw advertised recently that is nominally more light than the Ayups and a little less coin ($200 each for bars and helmet = $400 total) but they only give you 3.5 hours run time. Ayups are pretty light, so they may be more weight on your helmet as well. Haven't heard any feedback on how useful the beam pattern is either.
If someone who has tried them out has some feedback on them, it would be welcome: www.nitelights.com.au
This thread might be of interest to you: http://nobmob.com/node/9475
I have seen these and they are super bright, and also the battery lasts well (well enough your TH rides anyway.
Check this thread: http://nobmob.com/node/12312
I compared the light from the ayup and my magicshine side by side and i think mine was tip brighter... but in any case they are good enough to ride even the north shore stuff in Menai... If you need more battery life you can get an extra pack of batteries but the each last over 2.5hs, still have to find the limit when they die, and for the helmet mount you will probably need an extension cable (4AU$ in dealextreme).
http://www.nitelights.com.au/index.php?page=shop...
With this you won't need a bar mounted light.
Check Google for reviews.
at local bike shops depends where u live ? They are also on ebay cheap brand new
I was in the same situation and caved and bought Ayup's while at The Fling. I have used them twice and have been very very happy with them.
The helmet light and battery is super light and you hardly feel its even fitted. This was pretty high on my list as i suffer from neck pains.
I havent used other lights but bang for buck i reckon Ayups are pretty good. They supply you with everything in the kit as well which is great
Ayups are the shizzle!
AYUPS!!! It's all been said before. Best bang for buck IMHO.
I used to use Ayups and while they are good lights for the money you can also get a single HID technologies light (just about as good as 2 ayups I reckon)
I am running a magicshine currently as well, they are a greart light for the money as well. I am looking at buying a new HID pygmy MAX at some stage soon though http://www.hidtechnologies.com.au/Lumen8rPygmyMa...
+1 more for Ayups. Can't be beat for overall price, light weight, ease of set up and put away, and battery life.
Ay Up are a nice set up bu they don't really give you a lot of light/buck any more.
A mate has been manufacturing the housings for these Aussie made lights.
http://www.cncdelite.com/
We had an early proto type to test and it was awesome. Heaps of light and quick charge times
Kit 5 is simplythe best light I have seen and price a lot nicer than most
Flynny, did you go with bar or helmet setup?
The thing I like about my ayups is you get both, I think it helps with depth perception but I don't do all that much night trail riding so I wouldn't consider my view as well informed as others. Mine get (got) most of their usage commuting.
Interested in yours and others views.
Hawkeye, I find that once you get over so many lumines (About 500 for me) depth perception ceases to be an issue.
The old one on the helmet to see around the corner and one on the bars to cut through the shadows is a thing of the past.
I ran it on the helmet as I like to look around corners. I know Mick and another mate use it on the bars and run a different lenz to spread the beam.
NiteFlux - I just got the Enduro 8 and P Max 20! Expensive (close to $900) but, what an amazing lighting system that is extremely powerful.
Yep, I run Ay-Ups as well and love em!
However, since losing one of the lights, I bought a second hand Hope HID light.
In the back yard, it seems like a very similar light output to a intermediate Ay-Up at around the 10m mark. Howver, even though the Hope light has as much intensity as the Ay-Up at that focused point, it has a much better flood effect, which would be better than the wide angle Ay-Up as there wasn't a massive difference between the intermediate and the wide as far as light spread was concerned. Well not that I could notice anyway. (I have, well had all three lens types they offer). But the down side is the light colour. It's a real blue sort of color, instead of the Ay-Up's very natural colour. But i'll be giving the Hope/Ay-Up combo a try out this week, so I'll let you know what i think of it.
I personally much prefer a spot light on my helmet to put light where I point my head, and having a light on my handle bars I feel is important to be able to keep light out the front to help your periferal vision focused on where you're going even if you're glancing to the side. If you get what I mean.
I found the best setup I had was a intermediate setup fixed to my headset tube, so it was always pointed where the frame was pointed, a wide set on my bars and the narrow on my helmet. I've been told i look like a UFO landing, but damn it was awesome lighting. Turned late night trail riding into daylight! haha It also made going fast at night so much more comfortable, and not relying on track knowledge.
ayups for sure.. they are awesome.