AY UP Upgrade - Anyone tried this?

[posty26]

I have been regularly using a set of Ay Up lights for 3 years now and they have been faultless however I checked out their site the other day and was tempted by an upgrade they are offering. http://www.ayup-lights.com/products/76/ They have a list of options you can choose to have modified to your existing lighthead. These include upgrades such as updated LED's, optic swap out and higher current setup.

The prices are very reasonable and the LED update for my 2008 model is claimed to give nearly a 50% increase in brightness so I will definitely be giving that a go. I would be interested to know if anyone has tried the higher current mod which obviously improves output but is claimed to decrease the 3hr battery runtime to around 2hrs and since my night rides average around this time I don't wan't to get caught in the dark. To date in my 3 year experience I have never run my half epic batteries flat and I am sure a number of rides have gone beyond the claimed 3 hr runtime. I could use the bigger battery but prefer to run the little one on my helmet.

The site indicates they are getting plent of clients getting in on the deal. Any Rotorbuners among them?

 

[Knopey]

I didn't know they did this... very interesting especially for those of us with older model Ayups. LED upgrade and optic swap should yield big dividends for my old faithfuls

 

[jamespierce]

Mine are back, highly recommended. I got the more power option, and changed the lenses to the all rounders for my bar lights. I've got early 2010 LEDs. Whole process took about 4 days.

 

[slowK]

Thanks for the heads up!

Just taken up the upgrade offer. Getting a pair of allrounders for the handlebars (and for use as a headtorch), and a narrow + allrounder for the helmet.

 

[paggnr]

Mine took 4 days as well new all rounders on the bars and power options in both. Big differnece - only issue will be shorter battery life.

 

[tegski]

Mine sent last week - looking forward to trying the new upgraded LEDs and higher power set up. Have been very happy with service in the past - looking forward to being amazed this week! Great people to deal with - love the product.

 

[posty26]

Thanks for the heads up!

Just taken up the upgrade offer. Getting a pair of allrounders for the handlebars (and for use as a headtorch), and a narrow + allrounder for the helmet.

That is the optic combo I was interseted in trying actually. I have found my narrow helmet and intermediate bar lights don't offer as much peripheral as I would like. Keep us posted.

 

[cam-o]

Mine are back, 4 days door to door.
I got the LED upgrades only, decided I didn't want any reduced battery life so didn't go the power up option. I haven't ridden them yet so can't comment on how much brighter they are. A garage test seemed pretty bright.

 

[bikerboy85]

Got mine back aswell, i bought mine back in 2009 and got both the LED upgrade and the power upgrade. Im still yet to try them out on the trail but mine do seem allot brighter in the garage. Very Happy:cool :

 

[willsy01]

Yup, I went for more power and new LEDs. I've got 2008 and 2009 lightsets......haven't used them yet but they seem a helluva lot brighter than before.

Took a little longer than anticipated, I think they'd forgotten mine

 

[willsy01]

Gave 'em a go last night.......money well spent as far as i'm concerned. Much brighter, whiter light.

 

[akashra]

Interesting. I have two original versions of the lightsets with the shorter barrels, so I wonder if they can be upgraded without being entirely replaced.

 

[RichJS]

The "upgrade output" option is interesting. Didn't they design the lights originally to use 500mA because that's not far off the mark (350mA) for maximum efficiency, and therefore best battery life and least heat? Sounds like heat would be more of an issue as well as the reduced battery life.

Isn't it about time they came out with a MC-E-based upgrade or new product? While they're infinitely better made than nightlights, Ayups are hardly winning the bang-per-buck race.

XR-E R2's aren't really cutting edge anymore. Don't get me wrong, if you're going from the P4 Ayup set to R2 with extra current, that's quite a step up - .. but 2 * MC-Es with, say, 3 dies each running at 350mA would be more than double the brightness of 2010 models (with halved battery life, of course.)

 

[pistonbroke]

While they're infinitely better made than nightlights, Ayups are hardly winning the bang-per-buck race.
)

Look at how many bad stories you hear about nightlights/magicshine lights. There seems to be a lot of people having problems with battery failures and the like, and just accepting that that's what you get with Chinese products.
Now look at how many people love their Ay Up's. They are rock solid. For about $500 you get 2 light sets, 3 batteries heaps of mounts, a charger that will charge 2 different batteries at once and a storage box for all of it. I think it's great value. But I am bias as I own a set.
If you want a cheap light, buy a cheap light. If you want an amazing light set that is built to last, get the Ay Up's.
I will be upgrading mine shortly. I think I will get the all rounder optic, power up, and led upgrade for the bars and led upgrade and a combo all rounder/narrow beam for the helmet.

 

[HerdingCats]

Combo beam

... a combo all rounder/narrow beam for the helmet...

A few posters suggest a combo all rounder/narrow for the helmet. I'm interested in this to get a broader beam spread, but retain a longer beam view.

However, when I checked with Matt @ AY UP today, he recommended sticking with narrow/narrow. He reckoned the split approach diffuses the light too much and you end up with a poor compromise.

If you've actually tried this combo, what was the outcome?

 

[pistonbroke]

A few posters suggest a combo all rounder/narrow for the helmet. I'm interested in this to get a broader beam spread, but retain a longer beam view.

However, when I checked with Matt @ AY UP today, he recommended sticking with narrow/narrow. He reckoned the split approach diffuses the light too much and you end up with a poor compromise.

If you've actually tried this combo, what was the outcome?

No I have not tried it at all. If they don't recommend it it, I don't think I would not do it. Maybe better off sticking to the narrow/narrow helmet and all rounder for the bars.

 

[cha_cha_]

If they don't recommend it it, I don't think I would not do it.

i don't not understand.

my thoughts are that mixing beam will cut your centre intensity to less than a normal power narrow/narrow and then give you a similarly low intensity diffusion around the outside but only in the range that your bar light should already be hitting there by making it ineffective. just my 2c.

 

[pistonbroke]

i don't not understand.

my thoughts are that mixing beam will cut your centre intensity to less than a normal power narrow/narrow and then give you a similarly low intensity diffusion around the outside but only in the range that your bar light should already be hitting there by making it ineffective. just my 2c.

Oops. I meant to say I would not do it if they recommend against it. I just put an extra word in there.
My current helmet set up is narrow/narrow. I tend to aim the 2 beams individually, one a little higher than the other. This gives a bit more of a vertical spread. A bit like a figure 8 pattern. Do others do this? Or do you aim them together?

 

[bunchie34]

Oops. I meant to say I would not do it if they recommend against it. I just put an extra word in there.
My current helmet set up is narrow/narrow. I tend to aim the 2 beams individually, one a little higher than the other. This gives a bit more of a vertical spread. A bit like a figure 8 pattern. Do others do this? Or do you aim them together?

I do the "figure 8" thing with my helmet light for the extra spread.

I find the broad beam bar light I have works best (for me) aimed together though, by contrast.

 

[bluesmurf]

Slight thread hijack here Sorry! I am looking at getting some AY-Up lights in the very near future but can't afford the V4 set so looking at the single set for helmet mount for now. What beam pattern/s does anyone recomend? I might add another set down the track to mount on the bars.

I am thinking narrow/narrow at the moment. Any recomendations greatly appreciated.