Dinotte or Cateye

[Daniel B]

where does it say that?

Here we go - under battery power:

"Our batteries have been designed to be mounted within 100mm from the light, be it on handle bar stem or helmet."

The kit features one 1.2m extension cable, so assume this provides the extra reach for a rucksack or what have you.

Expect if you are handlebar mounting you only want 10CM of cable anyway?

I'm either thinking of going for the dual one, or going for a roadie one, and just buying an additional light, and big battery for my gf.

Dan

 

[bonj2]

Expect if you are handlebar mounting you only want 10CM of cable anyway?

Dan

well yes if you've got a long XC stem... grr

 

[bonj2]

battery's pretty light though at only 70g for the little one

 

[Daniel B]

well yes if you've got a long XC stem... grr

Presumably you could velcro it to the stem could you not?

or are you saying your stem is too short?

 

[bonj2]

Presumably you could velcro it to the stem could you not?

or are you saying your stem is too short?

my mtb stem is too short yes, it's only 65mm. I was primarly looking for my roadbike but if they're really good in terms of brightness I might be inclined to take up night-time mtbing.

 

[Daniel B]

Ah I see, my primary reason is to get them for my MTB for a bit of night time off roading, mainly to helmet mount I think, but might use them for my commuter in the depths of winter (Handy as the mounts are nice and cheap) and for the roadie on occasions also.

 

[bonj2]

Ah I see, my primary reason is to get them for my MTB for a bit of night time off roading, mainly to helmet mount I think, but might use them for my commuter in the depths of winter (Handy as the mounts are nice and cheap) and for the roadie on occasions also.

the benefit of getting a dual kit is that you can have one narrow beam and one wide angle. Narrow beam is better for penetrating deeper into the night but is only useful if you can point where it's shining.

 

[bonj2]

One of the pics on the site shows it strapped to the back of the steerer.

where's that pic just out of interest?
tbh though that's where i thought it would have to go. although probably more on the side of the steerer than on the back.
those ayup lights do look *really* nice though. I want a set.

 

[bonj2]

oh yes i see there's this one in 'your gallery' section on a lefty (grr!!)
but the principle's the same as what i'd probably use

 

[Noodley]

oh yes i see there's this one in 'your gallery' section on a lefty (grr!!)
but the principle's the same as what i'd probably use

That's what I do on my road bike. I have dinottes and the battery pack started interfering with my Polar computer when I fitted a shorter stem. So I stuck the battery pack on the side and it works great - it also means the battery pack is vertical and the batteries do not seem to be subject to vibration shift anymore where as when they were horizontal on rough road surfaces they had a tendency to shoogle (Scottish word which you can Google for the definition! ) about and slip from the battery magazine. Not good when going down hills.

 

[bonj2]

That's what I do on my road bike. I have dinottes and the battery pack started interfering with my Polar computer when I fitted a shorter stem. So I stuck the battery pack on the side and it works great - it also means the battery pack is vertical and the batteries do not seem to be subject to vibration shift anymore where as when they were horizontal on rough road surfaces they had a tendency to shoogle (Scottish word which you can Google for the definition! ) about and slip from the battery magazine. Not good when going down hills.

hmmm... it's good to hear ayup seem to boast about their customer service levels "if there's anything wrong we want it back!". So if it falls off they can have it back.

 

[doyler78]

They haven't but ever hopeful. At least they have now made it out of Austrailia. Just have to get them across the Irish Sea and on to a van now.

Not sure what the "potential connection delay" is all about. Guess I will soon find out if it doesn't move in the next day.

This is its progress from the TNT parcel tracker:

Pick up date 24 Oct 2007
Destination Belfast
Delivery Date
Signatory
Date Time Location Status
28 Oct 2007 20:31 London Heathrow Hub Consignment Received At Transit Point
28 Oct 2007 20:25 London Heathrow Hub Potential Connection Delay
26 Oct 2007 19:50 London Heathrow Hub Consignment Received At Transit Point
24 Oct 2007 23:56 Brisbane Shipped From Originating Depot
24 Oct 2007 19:19 Brisbane Consignment Received At Transit Point
24 Oct 2007 15:53 Brisbane Consignment Picked Up

 

[doyler78]

hmmm... it's good to hear ayup seem to boast about their customer service levels "if there's anything wrong we want it back!". So if it falls off they can have it back.

Actually have heard from the other forums that they will replace any lights that are broken in the first year no matter how it happens. At least one person has tested this and was sent a new set out. The cost of sending them back should there be any probs will be quite high I would imagine so would rather not have to try this part of the service out myself

 

[doyler78]

Lights arrived this morning. They are really light weight. Haven't been able to test them properly yet but so tiny and neat as is the battery pack and that is the 6 hour battery pack with the 3 hour being even smaller though this included in the kit. Something which I meant to order but when I placed my order I was pissed so not thinking quite straight then .

Only quick test in the office. All lights out and blinds closed after dark. Was plenty bright enough to light up the centre of the office well ie wide enough for my side of the road and bit more or at least that's my estimate. Detinitely much brighter than the cateye el-530 in terms of its spread, whiteness and length. So better in all counts or at least that's how it appears in the office. Will try both tonight on the bike to see which is the better light system when actually out on the road assuming I don't run into probs mounting them.

Anyway will let you all know later - after I get back from the gym when I take the bike out for a quick spin on an unlit road - don't have far to go where I live.

Best of all I think from just printing off all the howtos is the cleaning one. You just through the whole lot (battery and all) into the sink to give them a good clean. Now thats what I call low maintenance. Will see how it all pans out in practice anyway.

Anyway glad to finally get them.

Should also say that they have now abandoned their policy of breaking up the delivery into smaller packages to save on insurance costs therefore less liklihood of part going missing (just more chance of all going missing - lol). That means that if you do get hit with customs charges and royal mail handling charges they will not be as high. I haven't been charged anything extra yet.

Anybody know when I will get charged or have I managed to get away with it.

 

[doyler78]

Ok,

Finally got to test these properly tonight on my normal commute but this time after dark for the first time.

First thing to say they were really easy to fit. Two cable ties through the mount and that's it. Wrap battery pack round the handlebar stem with the velcro strap and you are ready to roll. Two minutes sorts it. Secure - didn't budge during the whole ride.

The light was bright - cars had no probs in seeing me. Traffic turning left and right all stopped for me even when no other traffic was behind me to light me up. Having never cycled in complete darkness (done the old twilight bit) before it took me a few minutes to adjust to exactly what they best way to focus the lights was and where I should be concentrating. Its not daylight so I can't just look aimlessly ahead any longer. I found the best setup between seeing down the road and seeing in front of me was to focus the beam about 3-4 bike lengths in front of me and of course the light diffuses from there. This worked really well. Once I got used to where to look I just settled into what seemed to me to be a normal rythmn as my main prob wasn't the light in front of me it was the fact that I couldn't see my polar hrm and my gears so had no idea what my heart rates were, cadence, speed or what gear I was in. Had to ride on instinct which for me was never a good thing as I usually ended up over training by working that way.

Any going into a headwind the whole way home I was surprised when I did get home to find that I had actually done my normal time for riding into a headwind, in fact I had done worse by 3 mins during the summer. I now need to get a helmet light so I can see my gear selections and my hrm because although I got on ok today I really missed not knowing what I was doing. It gives me a little something to distract me especially on a rather boring road when there is no light - nothing to see.

How did it compare to the cateye el-530. There is no comparison so far as I am concerned. The cateye does have a wider spread but the intensity of the light is very weak. If you aim it down the road to see what is coming up then you can't see in front of you and if you aim in front of you to see what is right in front of you can't see much down the road. Neither is ideal. Whereas the ayups allowed me to see both right in front of me and down the road. I though I would have to use one light to point further up the road and the other to point in front however there so much light from the unit when both are pointed down the road that you can see straight in font anyway so I found it best to have the light focus down the road that way I could see any impending pot holes, etc but still see the pot hole once I was coming up to it so as to avoid it (hope that makes sense - its one thing knowing that something is coming up but quite another to avoid if the light isn't good enough when you nearly reach in order to be able to properly avoid it).

I didn't use the cateye at all - put in my bag as a backup and I didn't feel I needed it whereas with the cateye I wouldn't risk it at all.

Would two cateye's provide as much light. Haven't a clue but at the cost of two I would say get the ayups as you get a small, neat package, lithium 6 hour battery & charger (plus other goodies) all for £116. Seems to me to be the best option. Guess that's why I chose them.

It would of course be interesting to hear from anyone who has the ayups and has a mate using the dinotte 200l to see how they compare.