December 27th, 2007 by 
Francois
Mtbr Lights Shootout Main Page | Mtbr Lights Reviews | Mtbr Lights Forum
Ayup bar (regular kit) $ 380.00
Ayup helmet
| Light | Price | Claimed Lumens | Runtime | Battery Type | Light head weight | Battery Weight | Installed Weight | Lumens per gram | Lumens per dollar |
| Ayup bar (regular kit) | $190 | 280 | 5hrs | Lithium Ion | 68g | 94g | 152g | 1.84 | 1.47 |
| Ayup helmet | $190 | 280 | 5.5hrs | Lithium Ion | 66g | 94g | 150g | 1.87 | 1.47 |
Light Meter charts and comparison table available here.
Description:
The Ayup ‘regular kit’ is a light system from Australia that features two light heads. Each light head has two LEDs that can be tilted up and down independently. The kit includes two small batteries and a large battery. Aside from the 110 volt charger, a 12 volt car charger is included as well. The whole system comes with a handy neoprene case to transport everything.
While some lights are full-featured, fancy sytems, the Ayup is a no-frills light system. It sticks to the very basics to deliver the most light and battery power possible for the price. Thus for $380, you get two lights, an extra battery and a home/car charger. What you don’t get is a light switch, fancy electronics and a flexible mounting system.
The beam patterns are selectable at the time of purchase. The patterns available are wide, intermediate and narrow. We tested the intermediate on the bar lights and the narrow beam on the helmet light.
Light Head Close ups:
Mounting Options:
The ‘regular set’ comes with two lights, one for the handlebar and one for the helmet. The mounting system uses zip-ties and thus can’t be moved to other bikes/helmets easily. The battery is so small that it is meant to be mounted on the stem and on the helmet.
Light Output Measurements:
On our light meter, measuring ambient light, the narrow helmet mount measured 16 Lux and the wider bar light measured a 17 Lux. The closest competitors are the Knog 605 at 16 and the Exposure Race Maxx at 24.
Complete package comes with an extra battery, a car charger and a carrying case.
Strengths:
- Incredible value with two lights, three batteries and a car charger
- Very, very light
- Great run-time
Weaknesses:
- No light switch.
- Liberal use of zip ties for mounting. Makes it difficult to move between bikes
- Plugs are not weather proof. The wires are small and unplug too easily
- Wiring is small and can be easy to cut
Bottom Line:
If you want the lightest, affordable high-powered system, this may be the lightset for you. The light output is pretty bright for the pair. And the beam pattern is quite nice. The flood bar and and spot headlight blend together very well. The weakness of the setup is the lack of light switch and rudimentary mounting and wiring components. It’s a good minimalist light at a great price. The batteries are so small that they can be easily mounted on the stem and on the helmet. This is a great feature since the wires do not get in the way of riding.Also, racers will be pleased with it’s light weight and compact setup.
Beam Pattern Photos:
Ayup Bar, Ayup Helmet, Ayup bar and helmet
Ayup Bar, Ayup Helmet
Beam Pattern rollover and side by side comparison page available here.
Value Rating:
5 out of 5 Stars
Overall Rating:
4.25 out of 5 Stars
Read or write reviews:
http://www.mtbr.com/reviews/Lights/product_131912.shtml
| A word from the Manufacturer: Dear MTBR, Many thanks for including the Ay Up Lighting System in your lights shootout. We can’t get a more thorough review from any other organisation, well done on your continued great work!Darren Clarke mailed me the proposed review and I would if I could, like to comment on a few points you have made. See below. Also we are bringing out new product all the time and the 08 Kits that will be available begin Feb include switched batteries and dual chargers etc etc. Please see attachments.We spent many months researching the battery cable to be used with our system and because we run our lights at a lower current than most we could use a smaller, lighter, less clumbersome wire. The wire used is a top quality wire which has sheilding around the two inner cores which acts as a reinforcer and protector. Our hang tests on the battery cable exiting the battery is in excess of 25 kilo’s. Cable breaking strain is in excess of 45 kilos. Since we moved to this cable in August we have had zero returns from over 4,000 batteries sold worldwide.  Battery Cable - This cable is a shielded two core cable at 16 gauge. The braid (sheilding) reinforces the cable whilst keeping the cable flexible. The light current draw is so low we can go to this size cable unlike the more higher current draw lighting systems. The cable strain exiting the battery and plug is moulded around the wire and is completely waterproof. Lightset Power Connector - This connector has been glued into the injection moulded lightbar on the lightset to not only retain it but to completely seal the unit. Our lights can withstand minimum 10 metres water depth.Weather proof connectors - As we are running our lights at 0.5 amps and at max 8.4V it is completely safe and possible to place the battery and light unit underwater and plug in the lead to the light. There will be no extra battery drain and the internal battery circuit will not shut down as long as it is fresh water, ie rainwater, rivers & lakes. Washing under the tap is also encouraged to remove any dirt, food matter from the light and battery connections. After drying smear a little vaseline or silicone grease on the connectors to keep them like new. see http://www.ayup.com.au/howto_care.htmlOnce again many thanks for your time taken for this review. We look forward to supplying you new product as it comes along. Usually every 4 - 6 months. I will write a manufactures comments article over the next couple of days and send to you. If you require any high res images or further information please do not hesitate to ask. ayup.andrew@optusnet.com.au
Kind regards Andrew Patten Director / Designer / Sole Owner / MTB’er - Ay Up Lighting Systems Australia |
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January 6th, 2008 at 6:16 pm
I’ve been running Ay-Ups for over a year, I started with their luxeon 3s have have since purchased the 2 Cree lightsets. These things are tough and can handle anything that the trail dishes out. The product is great, the customer service is exceptional. Thanks MTBR for reviewing these lights.
January 8th, 2008 at 10:28 am
I bought a regular set of Ay-Ups for this winter’s riding in the UK. Fantastic lights, the build quality feels indestructible. Both the lights and the batteries are small and light which stop them from bobbing on the bars and make them joy to wear helmet mounted. As a result of seeing mine, 4 other friends have ditched their existing hope/light & motion combos for the Ay-Ups. If you are looking for a minimalist, no frills, well priced, bright set, look no further.
January 8th, 2008 at 7:30 pm
I have been using these lights for adventure racing and mountain biking for the last 6 months and they are great. My friends have been having trouble with their HIDs lately and after seeing how light and bombproof my ay-ups are, they’re seriously considering buying some themselves.
January 11th, 2008 at 2:47 pm
I have had these lights now for 3 months and they have’t missed a beat. The have allowed me to have a lot of adrenaline fuelled solo night rides, wouldnt do that with lesser lights. One thing from the test, the mountings though can be difficult to pass from bike to bike, you can easily order spare mountings which are extremely cheap. Two of our riding mates have ordered them now after being amazed by my set.
January 11th, 2008 at 9:59 pm
After trying out just about all the available lights in Australia today, it boiled down to the superb but insanely expensive Lupine Wilma 6 or the locally made no frill’s Ay Ups. The true test came at this years Kona 24 hour race, as bright as Lupine was, I could not get over the simplicity and bullet proof design of the Ay Ups. When you’re dog tired 3am in the morning, last thing you want to worrying about your lights. The Ay Up required zero brain cell to operate and it survived my team mate accidentally stepping on it at the change over! Tough lights for racers who just want to get the job done. Superb service from Andrew Patten at Ay Up too - lights arrived in 3 days and service team responded to my queries in 2 hours. It took Lupine a week to answer my email….. Thanks Ay Up!
January 11th, 2008 at 10:11 pm
I bought the original Ay-Ups when they first came on the market after months of research into lights and even making 2 sets myself. I love how the light and battery attach to the helmet (190grams) meaning there were no wires to my backpack to get caught up or snagged.
I upgraded to the cree’s and couldn’t be happier selling my old lights to a buddy.
These lights are so bright, lite and simple to use out of our regular night riding crew (20 plus riders) 14 have Ay-ups.
Can’t beat them for brightness, weight and price.
January 12th, 2008 at 7:55 am
It is hard to compare the A-yup and Dinotte lights the pictures with the fence look like they are taken from different distances.
January 12th, 2008 at 10:30 pm
>>It is hard to compare the A-yup and Dinotte lights the pictures with the fence look like they are taken from different distances.
They are from identical distances. We’ll have side by side comparisons soon.
January 14th, 2008 at 3:14 am
AY-UPs are my second light system after a very expensive ‘loaner’ HID. The first time I used the AY-UPs was the first night lap of the SCOTT 24hr in Canberra. I was gobsmacked how good the AY-UP Crees were! Brilliant, light weight, ultra simple fittings, and cheap. And the service from Andrew et al is fantastic. More than twenty of my MTB collegues now also use AY-UPs.
January 31st, 2008 at 10:48 am
looks like a good product but i’m confused on the price…their website only lists a regular kit which is $380 with bar and helmet lights…can you buy a helmet kit (what i want) separately for $190?
February 1st, 2008 at 11:28 am
Awesome lights ! I did’nt know anyone who had them so took a chance and am so,so pleased with my purchase. They are light, very bright and bullet proof. Great customer service.
Oh, and the range of colours are a nice touch!
February 18th, 2008 at 9:59 pm
Just bought the new 08 combo kit and could not be happier. New kit with Cree light sets is substantially brighter than model tested and has very ergonomic switch on battery.
I think the 2 zip tie attachment works well - neat and secure with rubber seat bands supplied. Changing to another bike could not be simpler so long as it has the mounting in place. Spare mounts are cheap. (If your mate doesn’t have you can’t lend him one - shame
February 20th, 2008 at 10:54 pm
What beam should I run on the road with only one set of these lights and will they throw far enough light up the road and still see the road edge.
February 21st, 2008 at 9:29 pm
In a word, AWESOME!! I will NEVER use another light system and several of my close friends and riding partners are now riding with AyUp!s
Thank you Andrew!!!
March 30th, 2008 at 12:41 am
After going night riding with the owners of AyUp Crees a helmet mounted light became a MUST HAVE!
I bought the ‘08 MTB kit. The weight, robustness, power and astonishing burn time compared to the cost made it a no brainer… Seriously, you put the narrow beams on your helmet with a 3hr LI-Polymer battery you can barely notice it except even on the twistest of single track you can turn your head and see every rut…
I think if you ranked every light by (Power * Burn time)/(weight * cost) or suchlike, AyUps would perform right up at the top…
April 13th, 2008 at 8:22 pm
I have a single set of CREE AYUPs, that I run on my helmet in conjunction with NR HID on my bars. I got the MEDIUM setting (broadest) as I found my HIDs a bit narrow beamed. The AYUPs absolutely rock! And now that some mates have bought INTERMEDIATE sets I am considering buying intermediates for my bars and scrapping HID altogether. The MEDIUM setting is excellent on the helmet for looking around corners/switch backs etc just what I needed.
The new 08 versions are great with switches on the batteries (shame I got 07s!) and with the mounts being so cheap buy one for each of your bikes and helmets!
I can’t rate these highly enough when it comes to bang for your buck they rock!
I have been night riding for 10 years and have used NiteRider Classics and Digital, plus other cheaper halogen and NiteRider HID, Lupine HID (still a favourite).