Anybody here use Ay-Ups on their commute?

[jonredhornet]

Mine arrived today ready for my winter commutes, narrow beam helmet lights and medium beam handlebar lights. They seem REALLY bright and I'm concerned they'll dazzle people even on the low setting.

Do any of you use these on your night time commutes? I'd be very interested in knowing how you get on with them, whether they cause problems and whether you dip your lights towards the road more than normal bike lights.

The helmet light in particular seems very severe, I may use this on flashing mode with one light turned backwards with the red lens cap on. I wasn't planning on using these as rear lights tho.

Cheers

 

[fossyant]

Probably ditch the helmet light for off road use, not commuting.

I run 2 x Hope Vision 1's which output a bit more than the bar mounted Ay Ups (but not as much as the full set) and run them onlt on low/medium.

 

[benborp]

Hi Jon, I run a set of bar mounted Ayups on my commute bike and find that aiming them low works well on my urban runs. The beam still picks out signs etc. well above the road and I can still see the spill reflected off of objects well ahead. I haven't had any complaints yet; I used to get them with my 5 led Polaris though.

 

[Virtual DBP]

turn the helmet ones both round so that you're handlebar ones onthe front and the red ones on the back should mean nobody misses you.

 

[jonredhornet]

Cheers guys. On that advice I'll dip the handle bar lights towards the road, but I'd feel safer with the helmet light on as well. I might place the one helmet light dipped towards the front wheel and use the second helmet light as a rear light.

I have a Cateye TL LD 600 and a Cateye TL LD 1100 as rear lights already. If I'm not careful I'll look like Blackpool Illuminations riding up the road :/

 

[jonny jeez]

At first, I assumed this was an Ad and that you sell these things...if it was, then I took the bait and looked at them (I'm such a gadget Whore!) and as far as I could see the battery life is around 3 hours.

Also, I checked the vid on the the website and thought that the "pulse" setting was way too slow for commuting, the light is "off" for like half a second on each pulse.

Any thoughts from owners on battery life or pulse rate?

Jonny

PS, looks like another rider dropped their "aye ups" in the water on the vid (halfway through the woods)...very helpful of them

 

[phil_hg_uk]

I just use the bar mounted AY UPS and find them fine for on and off road I think having both helmet and bar mounted is a bit overkill for road use.

Jonny you can get both 3 hour and 6 hour batteries.

 

[jonredhornet]

Na I don't sell them

I thought the same about the pulse mode, seems way too slow. People could easily miss it when glancing around at junctions.

 

[summerdays]

At first, I assumed this was an Ad and that you sell these things...if it was, then I took the bait and looked at them (I'm such a gadget Whore!) and as far as I could see the battery life is around 3 hours.

Also, I checked the vid on the the website and thought that the "pulse" setting was way too slow for commuting, the light is "off" for like half a second on each pulse.

Any thoughts from owners on battery life or pulse rate?

Mr Summerdays has older ones with only one light level, and he charges them I think once a week and does 40 mins each way on his.

 

[HJ]

I use a DiNotte 400L, which a similar light output to the Ay-Up, on a headband. When in town, I generally reduce the light setting to it's lowest level and have yet to have any complaints. One of the great things about getting a good set of lights with a modern battery pack it that they can be fully charged from flat in a couple of hours, cheap lights are just a false economy...

 

[BentMikey]

I use a MaxxD, almost three times the output of Ayups on full. I usually use it on flashing mode, the effect on drivers in a queue is quite startling when filtering on the offside.

I feel nothing if the light is too bright - I don't think so though, as I don't normally get flashed. Besides 12W of LED is nothing much compared with the hundreds of watts of light many cars put out.

 

[jonny jeez]

I don't think it is possible to have a light that is too bright. I think it's important for everyone to not just see you (and your light mounted) but also see the effect of the light on the walls, cars, the road etc

If you are alongside another vehicle they will often see the light reflecting and bouncing way before they see you, just as I see the lights from oncoming vehicles around corners way before I see the vehicle.

Brighter the better….

Mikey how long does the MaxxD last between charges (given the cold mornings etc)?

(Too lazy to look it up)

 

[mattybain]

I use a MaxxD, almost three times the output of Ayups on full. I usually use it on flashing mode, the effect on drivers in a queue is quite startling when filtering on the offside.

I feel nothing if the light is too bright - I don't think so though, as I don't normally get flashed. Besides 12W of LED is nothing much compared with the hundreds of watts of light many cars put out.

Quick question about the MaxxD, would it fit around a fat handlebar? I've looked at pictures and it seems like it's designed for a thin handlebar only, from what I can see whatever enables the ring to get bigger/smaller doesn't have much travel on it.

Is this correct or would it fit around a fatty?

Also and I guess I know the answer to this, is the charger standard i.e could I pick up a cheap generic one to keep in the office?

 

[BentMikey]

It's 3hrs on max, 10 on medium, and 24 on low. Flashing lasts for days. To be honest it's way overkill, I could easily have used just a Joystick (smaller edition), but I've got a light fetish, and it's nice to have the extra power when riding dark country lanes.

@Matty, I think it'll do many sizes of handlebar. See the USE website maybe?

http://www.exposurelights.com/

You'll almost certainly need the USE charger as they contain lithium ion batteries, which is why they are so small.

 

[Bodhbh]

I use them, but angle them pointing down 3-4 metres in front of the bike in town. I found I was getting flashed with them just pointing ahead, and if you use any shared-use paths you are liable to get sworn at! Even if they're pointing down I notice you can see their reflection a couple of hundred metres ahead in living room windowns etc.