Anyone got a set of these lights

beefcake2

Hello

I have just started out in road cycling and am really enjoying it. So much so that I decided to go out last night when I got home from work. The wind and rain didn't bother me but I was surprised at how little effect my front light had on unlit roads. There was only a short section of unlit road on my route but it was downhill and I couldn't see a thing! Fair to say, I cra**ed myself. :shock:

Anyway, after searching the forums for what lights other people use I found that the ayup lights are quite good. I was looking at the Multisport bar mount version for £149 and wanted to know if anyone had this particular one and how good/bright it is.

http://www.ayup.com.au/uk-shop-kits.html

As I get fitter I want to cycle further and this will mean more unlit roads so I want to get a good set that will last.

Should I also consider something like these as well?

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Mode ... elID=31357

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Mode ... elID=31360

Thanks in advance

Beefcake 2

schlepcycling

I have the AyUp MTB set which has 2 sets of lights 1 bar mounted, 1 helmet mounted and I use the bar mounted one on my road bike for commuting and training and it's bloody marvellous, small, very bright and loads of runtime. If you search the forum for ayup there are a number of threads which should tell you all you need to know.

ride_whenever

Either get a fenix TK11 from the photonshop.co.uk with the trustfire batteries and charger, or a P7 from hong kong via ebay.


More light and good runtimes for much less money.

grimpeur

I have an Exposure Enduro Maxx 2 which I use for road riding....

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Mode ... elID=31356

It is a fantastic light. The output is simply amazing for unlit lanes and the fact that you don't have to muck around with battery packs and connecting leads means that it is very easy to put on the bike. Expensive but well worth the money!!

StrangelyBrown

+1 Ay Up.

Small, light, bright, well made, good battery, good support.

simon_e

StrangelyBrown wrote:

Small, light, bright, well made, good battery, good support.

Couldn't have put it better myself. A mate has a pair and is impressed (which doesn't happen often).

phearnde

Lights - the brighter the better - with that in mind I bought a Light & Motion Arc Li-ion - so bright that car drivers flash their lights at me as they go by (I think they're upset that my front light is brighter than theirs!!

See the spec here:- https://www.cyclesportsuk.co.uk/product ... cts_id=825

mtbhenry888

you won't need the Exposure and the Ay up, just the exposure is what i would go for, excellent back up and loads of spare parts from USE, very very good company for after sales serivce, and the lights are amazing, one of my mates does night time south downs way rides with his, i think it's like the marketing manager from cannondale rode the S downs way a few years ago in 24 hours with a USE exposure

Get the USE

Dr S

+ 1 for the Ayups

doyler78

+4 for Ayups though at this time of year I would hang to my money if you aren't ready to use them just yet as led technology is moving so fast that I wouldn't buy until I need them.

Kimboshay

i agree, i got a set of ay-ups a couple of months ago and they are superb.....had no problems with them at all and they produce a good light when riding through those pitch black lanes!!

andy jackson

have you considered the hope vision2 or even the vison 4? super lumen for the money, light weight decent battery life...


andy

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spen666

Ay up are excellent IMHO - just bought some beginning of the month- they are very bright and the battery is incredibly light for the output. Run time is good as well.

I think they were worth the money when compared to other lights on the market

beefcake2

I have checked out ayup's site and the roadie kit seems to give a good amount of light. I think the weight of the battery to strap to the bars is incredibly good for a 6 hour burn time. I have only just started road cycling but I want to get something that will last and the site says the lights are guaranteed for 10 years. The people selling on the UK site are based in Stroud as well which is only just down the road from me.

All in all I think a good bet! Just have to convince the missus to let me go shopping!

Beefcake 2

cougie

Are you really going to ride for hours and hours at night ? And a ten year life is great but a year down the road you can bet there will be a brighter lighter light anyway.
As you are new to cycling - i would go with a cheaper option - p7 and a fenix in combination. V versatile lights.

doyler78

These are lithium power packs that are being used therefore it may not be a question of whether you will riding hours on a single a journey however if you forget to charge them then you just can't pop into a shop (assuming one is open) to get another set of batteries so the extra battery life has other benefits too.

Just because lights are brighter in a years time doesn't mean that you have to buy the brighter lights. All you need is light that is sufficient for you to see and be seen. These do that. Yes I'm sure more will come along which are better and whether you spend the money on them or not will really be down how you want to spend to your money but not out of necessity.

I think they are neat and tidy, weight very little, look good and are very bright. I just don't like torches used as road lights clearly for a lot of others they represent the best option. Get what suits you and your budget.

As for being new. Never buy anything on the basis that you might not get the best use of them. Get the best you can afford and appeal to you that way you are more likely to be happy with your purchase and therefore use it more. You only have to look at the number of people who are told to buy bikes which are less than they wanted to spend but were talked into getting the cheaper option just in case they didn't take to it only to turn round in six months or a year and buy the bike they wanted in the first place.

Dr S

I headed out the other night for 20miles or so off road with a group, most people we running older Hid lamps. Twas universally decreed that the Ayups we're the best lights out that night. I use mine 2-3 times a week, you can achieve an easy 25mph off road (for which you'll want plenty of light unless your stark staring mad..)

I like the fact they have two beams in each light set, its really easy to get a spread that works well for the conditions and speed your riding at.

Ayup have an upgrade policy to allow you just to replace parts of the set if you feel the need to stay current.

IMHO they work great and I don't see that i'll need to change them for some years yet.

Nick

RC21

They are awesome lights; I use them all the time when commuting. It's like having your own set of headlamps In my opinion they're expensive. . . but definitely worth it!

Nack

I've also got a set Ayup lights and they're brilliant. I use them on both the road bike and the MTB. Make sure you set them up high enough when you ride in town so that you can blind car drivers :twisted:

daniel_b

Another vote for Ayup's here, I bought 4 pairs the christmas before last (Direct from Oz), one battery recently refused to charge, sent it ack to the uk distributor, and replaced immediately.

Great for offroading (With helmet light) and great for road riding/commuting with just the bar mounted light.

Dan

ownworstenemy

Ayups are great little lights - I use mine on and off road too. They're neat, bright, not stingy with the kit the come with (unlike some other brands) and come in lots of frame-matching colours!

However, the batteries are not ferret-proof as we found out to our cost - one of our little blighters knackered 2 batteries by chewing through the on/off switch rendering them non-waterproof. I'm guessing this isn't going to be an issue for alot of folk though....

nferrar

Had the Ay-Up roadie kit for a couple of months and really like it (having ditched an Exposure joystick + Fenix combo in favour of it). The only negative point I have is either you should be able to chose different beams on the same kit (e.g. one narrow one mid) or they need to boost the power a bit. They're *almost* good enough as they are but I just need a bit more penetrating light when descending on unlit country roads where I need to see 30-50m ahead so sometimes I have to back off a bit for safety. The only other thing is the battery mount - if your stem is clear then it's great but I have my Garmin 705 stem mounted and the top tube cabling doesn't let me mount it there either. In the end I mounted it to the head tube (in front) and fortunately the front brake cable just clears it.

bobpzero

had a look at the light test on wiggle.
been thinking about the light and motion seca race 700 which i like the short charge time and the reflector design which keeps light beaming on the road instead of the sky.
having tried the security/military torch thing for awhile. id prefer not to have a head torch. there doesnt seem to be alot of choice specific for roadies

Steve Kish

Buy my 'as new' Light & Motion one on eBay. Light bargain of the year:-

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll? ... :IT&ih=006

No bids but more watchers than an open-air sex show!

nellyp

I've got an AYUP "roadie" kit which i could be tempted to part with, it's only been used twice. they really deserve to be used... Any interest?

johnbirkby46213

ride_whenever wrote:

Either get a fenix TK11 from the photonshop.co.uk with the trustfire batteries and charger, or a P7 from hong kong via ebay.


More light and good runtimes for much less money.

+1 for the P7. Absolutely brilliant (in both senses of the word) Buy two and you could light up up a small village and still have loads of change to buy a decent set of rear lights!
Fix your P7 to the handlebars using a TwoFish Lockblock. A simple but VERY effective solution.

johnbirkby46213

P7 from Dealextreeme if I remember correctly - very efficient company!

beegee

Is it easy to take the ay-ups off when leaving the bike somewhere ? What about the porblem of theft ?

doyler78

beegee wrote:

Is it easy to take the ay-ups off when leaving the bike somewhere ? What about the porblem of theft ?

The attachment for the ayups is a rubber clasp which clip over the top of the middle section between the two lights and it secures under the bit that the battery connects to. It is a really simple and effective system. Makes putting it on and taking it off a breeze ie you just pull the rubber clasp back over the top of the battery connector and the lights can simply be lifted off - done in a second.

The only aesthetic thing is the mount itself can't easily be removed therefore if you want a clean look on the bike when the lights aren't being used it means cutting and refixing cable ties so I tend to just leave it on all the time and not bother too much about the aesthetics. Some may dislike this.

Mattinthezie

another +1 for ay ups

I thought I had a fairly bright headlight in the cateye single shot, but the ay ups are so much more powerful! Makes you a lot more visible that's for sure - the number of drivers that looked round to see where the light was coming from made me think that I've been invisible these last few months!

I bought a set last week and have had them out the last couple of nights on the commute home. They make a real difference on the unlit country roads that are part of my commute and inspire a lot more confidence on these sections which were fairly dodgy with the cateye light. Makes seeing all the potholes a lot easier! The whole set up was easy to install and is very light - I got the 3hour battery so it fits really well under my stem, making it pretty unobtrusive.

Definitely the best bike buy I've made for a long time. Also, the customer service was excellent!

maverick75

Another satisfied AyUp customer here. However, you need to be quick if you want a set as they are closing their European distribution shortly and then they will only be available from Australia.