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Ayup lights
Hi all
I am looking to get some lights which I can use for trail riding at night as well as on a commute home from work at night. I was thinking about buying ayup v4's, but before buying I thought I would see if others are using them and what they think, or if people have other any lights they prefer for around the same price.
Thanks
Adam
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I run ayups and love them. They are the older versions with just on-off on the batts and the second gen LEDs. The latest version is meant to be heaps better. The thing I love most about them, is their versatility. I have a headband for them, as well as just using them by like a hand held torch whilst camping, under the house, in black outs they light up a whole room by pointing them at the roof.
If you are just after a riding light, also look at the Light & Motion Seca 700. A mate has one and it's freakin awesome as a riding light. It lights up the trail heaps better with a shed load more ground definition. The only thing I don't like is the battery has to be put in either a back pack or your jersey pocket. But if that doesn't bother you, it's certainly worth looking at. I just personally like the ability of having the battery and light mounted on the helmet, when winter comes around I just leave it all rigged up and charge it etc all still attatched.
I bought a set of AyUps about 4-5 years ago and upgraded the bulbs last year. I really like the fact that you can put a narrow beam spot on your helmet, with battery, and hardly notice that it is there. Match that with a medium beam on your handlebars and it should provide enough light for most off road adventures. One of my small batteries still provides 3+hrs of life but the other now struggles to stay working for 2 hours. My pack came with a 6hr battery that I haven’t used yet.
When I bought them, they were unbeatable for value/output/weight etc but lights have evolved a lot since then. Before you spend a large sum on a set of AyUps, do a search for a P7 or a T6 LED light on eBay. My riding buddy uses 2 x P7 LEDs for night riding and they bury my AyUps. The battery won’t last as long but they are generally good for 2 laps of the Dam. Not bad for about 30bux a set. I have a set of P7s for the commuter bike and am quite happy leaving the lights on the bike in the garage. If I didn’t have a set of AyUps in the cupboard, I would be looking for 2 x P7 or T6 LEDs to meet my needs.
Ferei BL200's are good for bar lights at under $300 and put out good amounts of light. My son was happy with them at the Mont last weekend.
Ayups are good for commuting and very soundly engineered. You will get years of use out of them. My issue with them is the beam is too narrow with too bright a hotspot with insufficient spread, and for off-road the overall output is too low for anything more technical than firetrail use. We still used them as helmet lights last weekend, but will be looking for something stronger next year.
I had a much better time this year at the Mont 24 with a MyTinySun 2700x on the bars, but they aren't cheap. I actually did my fastest lap at night with this light, but at $649 a pop it requires a certain commitment.
The photos below I took at different times, but using the same camera settings. Location is the entry to Bantry Bay fire trail. The vertical reflective "Keep Left" sign you can see is 275m away.
Ay-Up V4's:
Ferei BL200's
MyTinySun Sport 2700x
Muvro, if you have the 6 hour battery and you haven't used it yet I would pull it out of the packaging and give it a charge and wack a light on it. Batteries are designed to be used, and have a shelf life. Especially rechargeable ones. IF you don't use it, it will eventually die from lack of use. I would hate to see a perfectly good 6 hour battery go to waste because of that.
Firstly I will disclose that I am supported by Lupine Lights and Virtuascape (www.virtuascape.com.au)
If you want some of the best quality, brightest lights in the market then Lupine is your bet. German designed and engineered, they are not cheap but will not let you down.
The new Piko light head weighing in at 50 grams for the light head is perfect for helmet mounting or the weight conscious roadie.
For broad powerful beam go the Wilma or the Betty with up to 3600 true Lumens you will turn night into day. I tried the Betty R12 out the other day, and came up behind the group I was riding with, they all pulled over to the left because they thought a car was approaching from behind the beam was so strong.
For some independent reviews check out the links below:
http://reviews.mtbr.com/lupine-betty-r-12-2013-m...
http://m.
http://youtu.be/jVgPXJa5AMc
Thanks for the advice everyone, the lupine's look great but I think could be a little out of my price range.
Hawkeye - the ferei lights in the picture look pretty good and i might be tempted to buy those, just wondering though which light do you use on you helmet if you have those on the bars? (Also the my tiny sun lights look good but just a bit expensive for me)
Go onto eBay and look up Cree bike lights, 1200 lumen light delivered for under $40 bucks, I've had them for over a year and have had no problems. Heaps of power.
Just be aware tbere is usually a marked difference begween theoretical output (the marketing number) and the actual light emitted. The 2700 number is the actual *measured* lumens supposedly with the MTS lights. They are the brightest i've personally seen including the elite teams that were passing me on the weekend.
Magicshine is another brand i'd look into if you are after bang for buck. They have a neat little two emitter unit that would make a great helmet light. We used my old Ayup V4s on our lids on the weekend but will be looking for more light output for futurr events
I have the Ay Up V4 set and love the versatility.
I use them for off road ( Mont last weekend ) and for regular commuting.
I agree that there are others which are more powerful etc. but the v4 set is still an excellent set of lights.
They come with everything you need and are very light
If I wanted more power, I'd probably get an extra pair on the bars but I haven't quite convinced myself that I need it yet.
I had a set of the original ones which I sold to a friend about 2 years ago. They a still going strong. My current set developed a ' flicker ' about a week before the mont. I sent them up to Ay Up and they were fixed under warranty and returned to me within 3 days. .... Exceptional backup
CB
My Tiny Sun looks pretty impressive though.......
Radar, I use my 6hr often and is the battery I use when I use the lights as a torch or under the house. But thanks for the tip.