AY-UP Light System Review: The Light System You Have Always Wanted – No Joke!
October 29, 2008 by Matt Brady
Filed under Uncategorized
There is a lot to complain about these days: Work, the economy, gas prices, elections… One of my biggest complaints in the bike world is light systems that don’t deliver. Through my time in retail I spent many hours checking out the latest and greatest, yet each one was lacking in one department or another. It seemed like most manufacturers were just out of tune with the market. All of a sudden I get a box delivered to my doorstep, a ring of light glowing around it. I open it up and I find Ay-up. Ay-Up sells several different lighting systems and I received the MTB version. It includes two three hour batteries, one six hour battery, a dual battery charger, a 12v DC adapter for the car, a wide beam light for the handlebars, a narrow beam light for helmet mount, and several different pouches straps and zip ties. After unpacking everything I decide do some research; check out the company and see their claims.
One of my biggest complaints with light systems is awkward batteries with miserably slow charging times and a lack of a smart charging system (you have to unplug the battery when it is fully charged otherwise it can be damaged). Ay-Up claimed to solve it all, but not one to be satisfied with manufacturer claims, I wanted to see for myself. The charger was indeed a smart charger and allowed you to charge two batteries at the same time. Later I discovered they had another version which allowed up to six batteries to be charged at once, and you can mix batteries of different charge levels and hour ratings with no problems. In just a few of hours I had all three batteries charged and ready to go. A lot of the other light systems on the market can take six, seven, even eight hours or more to completely charge! Combine that fact with the lack of a smart charging system and you have some battery headaches on your hands. But the Ay-Up batteries also feature built-in short circuit protection, do not suffer the dreaded memory effect (so you can recharge them without fully discharging them), are water proof to 1 meter, and can withstand a drop 5 meters to a concrete floor! That’s pretty hard to beat. I was already very impressed! The other thing that immediately struck me is the battery size: They were small and light. The 3 hour versions weighed in at just 70 grams (.15 lbs.) and were 1 3/4 inches, by 3 inches, by 1 inch in size; the 6 hour weighed 130 grams (.29 lbs.) and measured 3 inches, by 4 1/2 inches, by 1 1/2 inches. Each one has an integrated switch and a little pouch to make mounting easy.
Then I looked at the lights: The stylish anodized housings were available in 12 different colors, and the MTB kit included one wide beam and one narrow beam light. I examined them carefully and though at first glance I questioned their durability, some close examination and accidentally slamming my helmet mounted set into the wall proved they were darn near bullet-proof. Not to mention Ay-Up says; “You break it… we want it back. A new set will be delivered to your door as soon as physically possible.” I haven’t heard of any bike light manufacturer that stands behind their product to that extent… amazing! That being settled I installed the lights, plugged in the batteries and hit the trail. As I blazed down the trail I started to wonder why they had dual beams if they both pointed to the same spot, then an epiphany. I rotated one of the beams slightly above the other and viola, a longer beam. What a concept, a longer beam to see more of the trail in front of you… no need for a brighter light that sucks down you battery juice twice as fast just to see more of the trail.
A lot of people look for the system with the brightest and widest possible beam, but because the Ay-Up system uses a helmet and handlebar mount light together, you can see the area on the trail immediately around you, as well as details in the terrain, and use your helmet mount to scan further up the trail. Ay-Up does not offer the brightest or the widest beam on the market, but you don’t need either with the combo of head and handlebar light. That is not to say the system lacks power; the handlebar light or headlamp alone are enough to easily find your way on the trail. And because of the compact super-light design, you can barely tell the weight difference with a battery pack and light on top of your head.
Some other things to note, besides the if you break it they replace it warranty, is a 1-year full replacement guarantee for any failures during normal use. Ay-Up has a commitment to spreading innovation, so they soon plan to offer a discount upgrade program so current Ay-Up users can get the latest gear without paying the full price. Who else does that?
Staying on the subject of complaints this article was very hard to write. Every time I finished a paragraph I remembered another great bit of info from Ay-Up. There is so much thought and effort not only in the design of the system, but in the warranties and support. Below I put together a quick feature list with some of the main points:
Huge Variety of Mounting Options
Helmet Light and Handlebar Light for Most Versatile Platform Available
Dual beam adjustable lights
Stylish Look
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This post was written by:
Matt Brady - who has written 24 posts on Mountain bike product reviews, bike builds, trail reviews, forum, and tips – MTOBikes.com.
Born and raised in the Arizona desert, Matt loves all things outdoors. Always consumed by a passion to bring information based on different perspective he has pursued writing as a means to spread his approach to a variety of topics. Check out Matt's blog here: http://www.themusicmatcher.com/mattsworld
I completely agree with everything you have detailed here. These lights are amazingly bright for such a compact and light weight system. When I think of other light systems that compare to the Ay-Up none come to mind. Ay-Up is worth every dollar!
These lights are great! I use them on the mountain bike and when commuting to work…. I even used them when we had a 26 hour blackout the other day – I just pointed them at the ceiling, and it lit up the entire room! :) Good stuff! Go AyUp – a great Aussie product!
[...] wrote a review awhile back about Ay Up’s mountain bike and road bike light system. Ay Up’s lights [...]
Seems particulaly one sided. Several issues with using cable ties for helmet mount, handlebar mount etc. A pain in the A$$ to remove or move from bike to bike for example.
Most other manufacturers have quick release systems that work for lenght of system not just one month. Ayup offers only a one month warranty on these parts.
Its a clever marketing exercise of a few colored pieces of aluminium with a multitude of cheap bits like rubber spacers, cable ties to make a ‘kit’. For this its waaay overpriced. One carefully chosen torch with a modern led is way cheaper and more practical.
Lights may be bright to the uninformed when compared to the old techology but not when compared to modern tech. The light don’t even have a proper controller, just a resistor which will dimm when battery goes down.
Again, overpriced and as pointed out in your review one cannot even use the pouch it came in. Light does not have a flashing mode so limits use in commuting situations.
At a recent mtb race, the manufacturer was forced to replace many light systems after crashes when these are notionaly claimed as being robust. In practice this clearly was not the case.
James,
I have been using these for a few months now. I have never lost a light due to a cable tie failing and I have had a few hard bails. To complain about the ‘cheap’ mounting system is only looking for something to complain about. As you say…cable ties are CHEAP…you snap one you can get 100 more for $2 almost anywhere.
Flashing mode has been added for this year…but those of us who actually use the light to ride (which these units are designed for) have no need for flashing nonsense. In fact in most states here in the US it is ILLEGAL to have flashing white lights to the front of ANY vehicle and this includes bicycles. I am only guessing you are from the UK? Which I have no idea about in terms of bike requirements.
That being said, using this in the steady on mode for commutes works just fine and when it is dark out cars high beam you if you have them pointed up too far on the roadway. They have the new CREE led’s and for the money, you get a lot and not a mess of gimmicky garbage. Straight forward light and a lot of it…plain and simple.
Have you actually owed and used these or are you armchairing your own views based on…nothing?
James do you work for another lighting company or something? You are entitled to your opinions but no one is going to take them seriously when you clearly don’t know what you are talking about. AYUP is truly a great mountain bike lighting system and should be be seriously considered when purchasing a light set.
Is there a way to order an Ay-Up system in the US w/out having to go to the Ay-Up site (in Australia) and pay for the shipping and have to wait? I heard it can take a few weeks or more for an order from Ay-Up to arrive in the US. I have no idea if that’s true but that’s what the guy who _highly_ recommended the system told me (he loves his Ay-Up system).
Had my Ay-Up mountain bike kit for a year now and not a single flaw or regret with the purchase, awesome lights and quality. Ordered em back when there was a US distributor and that is no more for some reason. I’m planning to order some spare batteries soon and will have to get them from the Australian website, don’t care because there stuff is really great. No problems and super bright lights at a reasonable price.
The batteries that my kit came with are the ones with just the on/off button so that’s what I want to get. Ay-up offers newer batteries with high/low power and flashing modes but that just doesn’t interest me.
James (and more balanced people)
AyUps system is a quick release.
One of the advantages of Ay-Up’s is that the mounts are cheap.
We did a 2 x 4 team 24 hour. Those without lights just purchased a set of mounts each. ~AU$13.00 plus a proportion of postage. Easy and cheap. I got a couple of spare mount sets for my other bikes.
I have had a couple of sets (the first of the Cree’s) for over 2 years. Not one failure. (I have seen a guy flip a bike and break a bar mount. quite reasonable to expect)
I commute regularly and run both head and bar sets on a road bike (100km round trip) so they have had plenty of use.
They do have a proper controller. well after the nominated burn times they start to dim, then after a long while shut off. Exactly as supposed to.
If I want more bits, mounts, pouches, batteries etc, easy, jump on the net and buy what I want at reasonable prices.
I recommended them to my riding friends (I purchased sight unseen, but doing my homework). Since then many of my friends have purchased them and still talk to me (all happy and impressed). There are some competitive options out there now, but AyUps are hard to beat bang for the buck.
Andrew
I bought a set of Ay Up lights. They are an amazingly engineered and very bright. I think that they have an excellent product. I was very impressed with the overall design and the thought that went into the product. The packaging is second to none, and they are very bright with long lasting batteries. These are among the best lights you can get.
HOWEVER, my advice is that you *should not* buy them unless you can source them from a bike shop because the company’s customer service is off the chart in terms of how bad it was.
1. The web site is not clear and lacks guidance as to how to select the right product and options. Since they were so expensive I wanted to be careful with the purchase and so ordered a single battery system. When I got it I realized that I needed two batteries but I found that the charger would only do one at a time. When I asked to swap out the single charger for a dual and pay something extra the response was ‘too bad mate – no partial refund buy a dual charger and put the the single into a drawer’.
2. When I ordered the second battery they forgot to ship it. Ten days later I called asking where it was and they said they would send it that week. No explanation. No apology. Great except my race started a week later. Had them send the lights to me in Canada but never got the second battery in time for the race. They couldn’t be bothered sending them expedited mail and it took 2+ weeks to arrive.
3. Paying was a joke. The first time I tried using my Paypal. Their site would not accept my Paypal to ship to New Zealand. So I used their option of calling and leaving my credit card on their answer phone. I never heard a thing and after another 5+ attempts I got to speak to someone who said that the credit card number wasn’t received.
The hassles of ordering, poor support, and negligent shipping make this my absolute worst experience shopping for bike gear online. It is a real shame that they don’t take their customer service as seriously as their product design. Reminds me other other companies in the past who have gone out of business in spite of excellent products.
So, if you can find the lights in your LBS buy them. Otherwise the benefits of the lights compared to the problems of dealing with the company don’t make it worthwhile getting them.