Just a simple little bell...
- Thread starter runner
- Start date
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Because it is debatable how useful it really is. Problem with a bell is it is monotonic so there is no way to know if someone will take it as an "excuse me" or "get out of my way". The human voice is a vastly superior communication device in this respect.
Little yellow Brompton
A dark destroyer of biscuits!
- Location
- Bridgend
Mine isn't !
A quick flick of the lever gives DINGDONG, a slower Ding................. DOOONNNNNGGGG.
caimg
Über Member
But that's not a reason not to have one 'at all'. When cycling on a shared footpath or canalside towpath I use the bell to warn people that I'm behind them from a distance and then say an excuse me/thank you combo as I get near - shouting from further away EXCUSE ME! to warn peds of my impending presence doesn't seem cool to me. Bells are a polite way of alerting peds to your presence and so are a good form of safety and communication for a cyclist...if more use them then they'll become more accepted.
When I'm a ped and I hear a near-silent cyclist say something as they come up behind me at speed is nowhere near as useful as hearing a distant bell first.
- Location
- Glasgow
Big bell: works a treat 
Little yellow Brompton
A dark destroyer of biscuits!
- Location
- Bridgend
Yep! That's the one! Wonderfuly sonerous.Big bell: works a treat
TonyEnjoyD
Guru
- Location
- Newcastle upon Tyne
Jeez Pat 5mp, that's one BIG mother of a bell!!!
- Location
- Shrewsbury, Shropshire
If you're going to have a bell it may as well be a proper one!Big bell: works a treat
I have a similar type on both of my main bikes and I love the reactions I get. People actually thank me for having rung the bell at them.
Quite unlike the old "ping" type where the usual reaction was complete ignorance followed by "why don't you get a F-ing bell?".
MontyVeda
a short-tempered ill-controlled small-minded troll
- Location
- Lancaster... the little city.
well i think i've read more crap in this thread then on an SEO forum.
I didn't have a bell for years but when i finally got one i wish I'd had it from the start.
to all those who say they're useless... you just think you're too cool for one.
I didn't have a bell for years but when i finally got one i wish I'd had it from the start.
to all those who say they're useless... you just think you're too cool for one.
gaz
Cycle Camera TV
- Location
- South Croydon
Perhaps the people that say they are useless are not riding on shared use paths, where a bell is handy. On the road, a bell is pretty much useless.
MontyVeda
a short-tempered ill-controlled small-minded troll
- Location
- Lancaster... the little city.
it goes without saying that a bell is intended for peds.
- Location
- Shrewsbury, Shropshire
You can get peds walking in the road too (certainly round here you do) and I find a bell good for alerting slower cyclists if I want to pass them down a narrow lane.
I don't think anyone has suggested a bell would be good against a motor vehicle. That's not really what it's intended for.
PpPete
Legendary Member
- Location
- Chandler's Ford
Get a "noisy" freehub instead. No clutter on handlebars, and a quick second of freewheeling will produce a "buzz" that can only be a bike, without in any way being aggressive, after all if you are freewheeling you are slowing down to share the space more amicably with the peds. Similarly coming up behind slower cyclists or horses.
Of course it don't work with headphone users but there are better ways of dealing with them.
Of course it don't work with headphone users but there are better ways of dealing with them.
MontyVeda
a short-tempered ill-controlled small-minded troll
- Location
- Lancaster... the little city.
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