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Škoda design cycle bell to overcome pedestrian noise cancelling headphones

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I thought this was an April fool initially, but it seems legit.  Looks like it works and really cool that they've released the design specs so others can make it.


 
Posted : 08/04/2026 8:03 am
ChrisL, P20 and avdave2 reacted
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Well it might be real but those deliveroo riders are actors, no black balaclava and wearing helmets, not a chance they are genuine 😂

Great product though and really good that they have made all their work available for anyone else to use, they deserve credit for that 


 
Posted : 08/04/2026 8:12 am
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Posted by: avdave2

good that they have made all their work available for anyone else to use, they deserve credit for that 

I think Volvo did the same with the 3 point seat belt design in the 50s or 60s. It doesn't happen often, but it's great to see a bit of altruism like this from corporations. Especially when it's a safety product.


 
Posted : 08/04/2026 8:17 am
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Looks (sounds) good… where do I get one?


 
Posted : 08/04/2026 8:18 am
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Posted by: gowerboy

Looks (sounds) good… where do I get one?

No info on that yet, I reckon there might be quite a wait!  If they've made enough to dish out to London couriers and Deliveroo riders for testing, it does suggest they have some kind of manufacturing up and running, at least at small scale.  It'll be interesting to see whether they upscale to mass production, or let others take it up. Škoda have sold lower tech bike bells before, so maybe they will sell it?


 
Posted : 08/04/2026 8:24 am
 nbt
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As above, show me the "buy now" button and I'll buy three or four


 
Posted : 08/04/2026 8:39 am
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Love that searching via google for it brings up video doorbells and no mention of bike bells, bloody dead internet


 
Posted : 08/04/2026 9:15 am
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I think Volvo did the same with the 3 point seat belt design in the 50s or 60s. It doesn't happen often, but it's great to see a bit of altruism like this from corporations. Especially when it's a safety product

Also sawstop who have done the same with there safety cut out for table saws. 

Amongst all the shit going on at the moment, driven by a handful of psychopaths with unchecked power it's refreshing to be reminded that there are still people driven by the greater good rather maximum harm 


 
Posted : 08/04/2026 9:34 am
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good that they have made all their work available for anyone else to use, they deserve credit for that 

First thing I did was google it and take a look at the actual page, they've shared a study report, not any actual design information (from what I could see, maybe I missed something?). 

So yeah, it's useful to know that a ~750Hz ping gets past noise cancelling headphones, I still don't know what geometry, materials, temper or anything else helps create a bell that achieves that... 

The video still showed some chonkier looking bells, their packaging of it was neat, but I can't see many wanting that particular configuration on (for example) a gravel bike... 

If it was an actual Skoda product, available to buy (at a reasonable price) I'd be interested, something more timber-like with a vibration operated pinger would make sense for my own use as I encounter more headphone clad numpties when rattling along our local NCN paths than anywhere else. 


 
Posted : 08/04/2026 9:47 am
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The promo video above doesn't accurately reflect the research

Video: "We found a narrow frequency window that ANC can't fully suppress, then engineered a bell that hits it exactly."

Research: "Given the observed attenuation profile across all headphones tested it is advised to tune the bell to below 1000 Hz in order to target the range of frequencies which are less well attenuated by ANC."


 
Posted : 08/04/2026 9:59 am
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So yeah, it's useful to know that a ~750Hz ping gets past noise cancelling headphones, I still don't know what geometry, materials, temper or anything else helps create a bell that achieves that... 

I suppose it's all rather irrelevant whether it has any patent protection, as soon as one arrives in China they'll be on AliExpress within no time. It's got to be pretty easy to copy.


 
Posted : 08/04/2026 10:23 am
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In the Salford uni acoustics report, they consider the pros and cons of all sorts of other mechanical and electrical bells and horns.  This made me laugh!

Squeeze Horn / Bicycle Horn (Clown Horn)

  • Pros: Simple pneumatic operation; distinct, recognizable timbre.
  • Cons: Rubber bulb could degrade in UV light/weather; difficult to tune to specific high-frequency harmonics; low SPL; potentially too comical.

 
Posted : 08/04/2026 10:38 am
ChrisL reacted
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Posted by: blokeuptheroad

In the Salford uni acoustics report, they consider the pros and cons of all sorts of other mechanical and electrical bells and horns.  This made me laugh!

Squeeze Horn / Bicycle Horn (Clown Horn)

  • Pros: Simple pneumatic operation; distinct, recognizable timbre.
  • Cons: Rubber bulb could degrade in UV light/weather; difficult to tune to specific high-frequency harmonics; low SPL; potentially too comical.

Not to mention the matching shoes will have front wheel overlap issues.

 


 
Posted : 08/04/2026 12:21 pm
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Interesting that internally they look like the good old fashioned ratchet type "ding dong" bells. Modern isn't always better.


 
Posted : 08/04/2026 12:31 pm
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Does Hannah Fry lurk on this forum?

Hannah Fry's Instagram


 
Posted : 08/04/2026 3:40 pm