LIGHTS MEGATHREAD - all questions on riding lights asked and answered here!!!
- Thread starter Oracle
- Start date
Dreggsy
Likes Bikes and Dirt
No I haven't,
How did i find it, well its on the map.....
It was strong enough at MT Stromlo except for the super fast DH bit.
( DH track back to transition part)
Where I don't think that many peoples lights would have lit up that section nicely.
or it could be that the course was that bumpy by them it was my head bouncing around which made it hard to see.
cha_cha_
Likes Dirt
i rode narrow+medium at stromlo last year and i did 2 x 50 minute night laps on the red course. i reckon i was going pretty quick on the downhill sections (enough to make up the couple of minutes i was conceding on the way up) and i felt it was good enough.
I've used them at speeds up to 60 in the bush and 70 on the road and i think they're good enough for that too. i don't think i'd want to be doing those sorts of speeds with inter+medium...
I've used them at speeds up to 60 in the bush and 70 on the road and i think they're good enough for that too. i don't think i'd want to be doing those sorts of speeds with inter+medium...
chrisp2087
Likes Dirt
I was just checking the Ay Up site, looks like some good stuff there, when you say you got 2 sets for your wife, are you talking 4 lights
What sort of trails is your wife riding?
Decisions decisions!
DaGonz
Eats Squid
I had a chance to compare a lumin8r Led vs the later_but_not_Q5 Ayups. Light wise, the ayups wern't really in the same league basically. Did the job, probably value for money, Not the light nirvana I would be looking for.
HTH
Cheers
Gonz
Yeah I guess 2 sets is 4 lights (each set comes with 2), My wife mainily commutes with them they would be enough for off road but not quite for racing. If she does end up racing with me which would be in a team she can use my HID well she could actually have the HID and 4 luxeons on her hemet if she wants
. Each set of 2 Ay up's use 7.2V batterys, as my HID battery's are 14.4V's I ran the Ay up's in series giving 7.2V accross each one. But I have to have them both on at the same time. I would not recommend this unless you wanted to keep the same battery's accross different lights or to same you money on buying new battery's and charger. The 2 set's of Luxeon 3's is brighter than 1 cree but 2 crees are a fair bit brighter than 2 luxeon 3's.
In theory, it looks as though the Lumen8R is going to produce about 768 lumens - 3 leds producing 256 @ max of 1000ma.
The Ayups use the same LED now, but only use 500ma, which gives about 120 - so 4 of those only gives 480 lumens.
I'm not sure what the iBlaast using 3x P4s outputs - I assume they are less powerful, and probably less efficent too.
Anyone know?
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bashncrash
Squid
Hey all
From the data sheets from Cree and SSC the relative outputs would be:
Lumen8r LED - 3 x Cree Q5 - 3 x 228lm @1000ma Total of 684 Lm
Nightlightning - 3 x SSC P4 - 4 x 240lm @ 10000ma Total of 720 Lm
Ayup - 4 x Cree Q5 - 4 x 140 @ 500ma Total of 560 Lm
I have just brought the Lumen8r and am waiting for delivery. the reasons I used to decide were that you cant adjust the angle on the nightlightning unit so it has to sit well on top of your head. Also the Lumen has been designed to be upgraded later, Cree have already released a R2 LED (270lm) and have other releases planed... It seemed to me that there is likley to be a nice upgrade path for this unit above the auyps. I have not seen any info on new releases fron SSC. I know Nightlightning are making a 4Led system and a dual 3 led system but the money and weight didnt stack up.
Any thoughts?
From the data sheets from Cree and SSC the relative outputs would be:
Lumen8r LED - 3 x Cree Q5 - 3 x 228lm @1000ma Total of 684 Lm
Nightlightning - 3 x SSC P4 - 4 x 240lm @ 10000ma Total of 720 Lm
Ayup - 4 x Cree Q5 - 4 x 140 @ 500ma Total of 560 Lm
I have just brought the Lumen8r and am waiting for delivery. the reasons I used to decide were that you cant adjust the angle on the nightlightning unit so it has to sit well on top of your head. Also the Lumen has been designed to be upgraded later, Cree have already released a R2 LED (270lm) and have other releases planed... It seemed to me that there is likley to be a nice upgrade path for this unit above the auyps. I have not seen any info on new releases fron SSC. I know Nightlightning are making a 4Led system and a dual 3 led system but the money and weight didnt stack up.
Any thoughts?
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bazza
look at me
whats the pricing on these 3 systems just to act as a guide?
STS01
Likes Dirt
DIY!!
These are about $240-250 for a pair of doubles inc lights, batteries, charger and put out more light than the AYUPs. You could even do it cheaper by making a single, triple or quad LED light.
http://forums.farkin.net/showpost.php?p=978577&postcount=121
http://forums.farkin.net/showpost.php?p=1008284&postcount=158
Also check out the 'Budget XC Lights" thread: http://forums.farkin.net/showthread.php?t=122694
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You're not kidding. Brett and I bought some R2 Crees to fit into our old halogen lights. We've done Brett's with a 3xR2 and are doing mine with a 4xR2 tonight. It's certainly a big step up on 20W and 35W halogen, and on the numbers should compare favorably to HID tech and Nightlightning's LED lights. Time and a side by side comparison will tell
.
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Trevor_S
Likes Dirt
I went for a set of cheapie halogens from Torpedo 7, what a waste, they were horrible.. useful for riding along an illuminated concrete bike path but not for single track MTB. I then ditched them to a mate who persisted for 3 months and then got a set of Ay Ups as well after seeing mine in operation. The cheap ones were a waste as they were useless, the AY UPs are brilliant
Unless you want to go down the DIY path, just grab a single AY UP light for your helmet, the helmet mount, one 3hr battery and one 240V charger. A few guys use the single light combo with much success up here.
Put the 4xR2 bin Cree light together tonight, and all I can is wow. Haven't had a chance to go MTBing yet, but it sure is bright! I've attached some beam shots to compare it to a 30W halogen light. They don't really do it justice. The 30W halogen is what I was using before, and the LEDs are certainly a big improvement! Shot at F5.6 1/40th on a Canon 350D @1m.
From left to right 3xR2s, 4xR2s, 30W Halogen.
From left to right 3xR2s, 4xR2s, 30W Halogen.
Attachments
tmarsh
Likes Dirt
Erin, care to elaborate on how you retrofitted them into your old lights?
I bought an MR11 LED PCB, heatsink, and optic. Most halogen bike lights (including mine) use MR11 globes, so the LED parts fit straight in. Well mostly, some filing was required in both cases. Feeding the LEDs the correct voltage and current is a bit more complicated, and depends on your battery, switch, and requirements. You also want to make sure you get good thermal conductivity between the PCB, heatsink, and light body to keep the LEDs cool.
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Are you running the Crees in series or parallel? If you are running them in series you'll need a >18v battery pack. EG a 5 cell lithium pack or 15 cell nimh pack. If parallel those batteries would be perfect, but I believe the driver would be running each LED at 250ma, which is not very bright.
Edit: You could get three 7.2 nimh packs and run them in series for 21.6v, but how would you charge them?
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