Axa Go (steady)

On the main pag I wrote in the section of taillamps that might be interesting, before having tested it:

Fender mounted taillamp Axa Go steady (the battery version has a different name for some reason, which is 'Retro'). The only reason I'm considering testing this is that the housing is matte. Perhaps this is good enough, but I suppose if there are no further optics in it, it will only be reasonable, and not better than the SP 15 with incandescent bulb... The cable connectors are of the crappy type as used on the Spark steady and Basta Ray. Axa needs to improve on this aspect of their taillamps (and the optics)!

Specifications:

StVZO approval no: K612
Mass: 48 g (with washer & nut).
Size: 43.3 mm width, 92.2 mm height (along the reflector), ca. 43 mm thickness (max. distance from fender).
Light source: 1 red LED.
Mounting method: On the rear fender.
Cabling/connectors: There are 2 clamp connectors for bare cables.
Construction: Plastic, with galvanised steel bol, washer and nut.

Price: ca. € 11,-

Pictures:



Experiences

Tested from: 2013-2-6

Yet another lamp with blinding point source. The housing isn't as matte in the section straight to the rear in front of the LED as elsewhere, which is different from the product photos. There's no real optic, so that it's a blinding taillamp is unsurprising. The lamp seems to light up as a whole fairly well, definitely better than the Spark steady.

I don't particularly like the looks of this lamp on the fender. This is a case where the lamp looks less good in reality than in the product photos (contrary to say the herrmans H-one S headlamp).

The connectors are crappy clamp connectors though they seem to grip the cables better than with the Spark steady.

For a comparison with some other recent taillamps see Medium distance test 1 of taillamps (2013-2-21). This test confirmed that the point source is quite blinding.

Beamshots

See the camera settings page for more on the setup and settings to make pictures of the beams of taillamps.

Out of a corner (showing how much light is cast upwards, forwards and to the sides) [ F3.9 & F1.8 ]:



Wallshot (showing the beam pattern):



Visibility from various angles (0°, 45°, 90°, 135°) [ 0.5m, zoom x3, F3.5, ISO80, 1/250s & 1/60s ]:




Comparing taillamps

Design- and thus review considerations for taillamps

See Theory for taillamps.

Conclusion

A friend of mine said the Axa Go is a "no go" :) That was based on its appearance only, and I agree but worse is that it is yet another bad taillamp with blinding point source. Not recommended.

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