[Closed] Cyclist shouted at me for using my bell!

You are right for warning with your bell.

Mamil is wrong for not being prepared to slow/stop and buzz past them incase they ruin his KOM.

As a bikeist and a doggist I really appreciate a warning of bikes approaching for obvious reasons.

He was whistling quietly when 2 m behind the folk - I had watched him for a bit as I caught up with him. He had already startled one lot before I was close enough that my ping on the bell was before he passed someone

When he shouted at me I pointed out that using a bell smooths the way and keeps most folk happy. He said " I have already ridden 3000 miles this year I know what I am doing" to which I replyed - "clearly not"

Part of his angst might have been I was faster than him and dressed in ordinary clothes and no helmet. I did pass him as he shouted at me and he bust a gut to catch up with me to shout some more.

This isn't a "who is right" question at all, is it.

It's 1) a "today I encountered a ****" thread, and a 2) "I overtook a roadie" #HumbleBrag

I see you, Jezza, I see you.

Imo you are right and he is a massive nobber!

Aaaand that simul-post confirms both of my suspicions. (-:

Cougar nails it

In that situation I just usually slow down and wait until past the walkers so I don't cause confusion, kind of what the MAMIL was saying, but shouting is clearly a dick move.

He was probably just pissed about getting overtaken.

I bet he wears jeans too.

Do you really ring your bell 50 meters away? Ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding, how many dings before people usually hear ye? 😆

This isn’t a “who is right” question at all, is it.

It’s 1) a “today I encountered a ****” thread, and a 2) “I overtook a roadie” #HumbleBrag

I see you, Jezza, I see you.

Exactly what I thought to be honest , I overtook a roadie (who acted like a dick) and also I was wearing ordinary clothes and no helmet. FFS Tj , you really love a bit of attention seeking.

When he shouted at me I pointed out ...

Always a good start to a sentence.

Not meant as a humblebrag. I was hurrying to an appointment 2 miles away, he might well have done 50 miles before I saw him. I mention the clothes as maybe the fact I was not in cyclists uniform caused him to judge me ( as perhaps I judged him?) He was angry before I overtook him.

seosamh77

I always ring the bell from 50 - 100 m behind walkers so as not to startle them. single ping - wait for a reaction, if not ping again. 90% of the time it smooths the way, on this shared path ( water of leith path, leith end for those who know it) I get thanked regularly for using a bell. I was twice thanked today. I do practice "polite cycling" ie I always thank folk when they move over to let me past

I always cycle up and talk to them. Never had the need for a bell.

Excuse me, how's it going, great day for it, eh, cheers, see ye later....

Bells do my dinger in tbh! 😆

I don't really see them as automatically polite, particularly when it's not even you trying to overtake them!

Inserts something funny.
Then realises it really wasn't funny.
Edits post.
Still not funny.
Deletes words.
Looks at empty reply box.
Wants to post something to be 'involved'.
Posts this.
Wonders what is happening in his head.
Tries to remember you are just his Tamagotchi.

Goes and plays some Rick Wakeman.

seosamh77

This is a main route for cyclists and has a lot of folk on it. If I were to do that I might as well walk or go on the roads. single ping usually works

Oh - and also posted this knowing it would be an opportunity for you all to take the piss.

Just be aware that you might look like a knob horsing it up behind someone dinging away from 100 meters away! 😆

This is why I always carry a medium sized stick whilst out bicycling. That way when I encounter angry MAMIL types I have something to shove through their spokes.

Some of the above may not be true.

eddiebaby, I hear you brother.

50-100m is a bit pointless, I generally ding about 3 times at about 20m, if I don't get a reaction I'm on the brakes and give another ding barrage at about 5 m.
Then you just have to make a judgement call, slow down to walking pace or wide bearth and overtake if there's space.

Maybe he was on a traditional road bike that doesn't have proper brakes 😀

Hmmm - maybe I don't use it at 100 m but certainly 50. It gives them time to move without panicking. although its a single ding bell it is very loud. too close to folk it makes them jump

He was on a posh looking road bike with discs. teal and orange in colour if that means anything

He was on a posh looking road bike with discs. teal and orange in colour if that means anything

Just means you're overly opinionated about this dude! 😆

🙂

I do find I get very different reactions from people depending what I am wearing and what bike I am on. I was on the hipster bike today.

Teal is not a colour that men can see.
We work in primary colours only, everyone knows that.
So cast doubt over this whole encounter 😉

Devils advocate: I probably wouldn’t use my bell until I was number one behind the walkers. He might have a point that they might assume the bike was 50 metres away and move into the one 20 metres off.

I was number one behind the walkers

Worried....

I was number one behind the walkers

You're the Duke?

” don’t ring your bell they might jump infront of me”

I tinged my bell at a young woman walking along in front of me engrossed in her phone, whereupon she promptly walked straight in front of me, resulting in both of us crashing to the ground. Her phone hit the path, flying into pieces, she picked up the bits and walked back the way she had come from. She never said a word, me, being a polite Englishman, apologised for her walking into me!.
I used to call out “hello, excuse me” sometimes, and I’d get nagged at for not using a bell, and I’d use a bell and be nagged at because it was ‘impolite’ and I should say ‘excuse me’. Just proves that, no matter what you do, you’re going to piss someone off!

I do find I get very different reactions from people depending what I am wearing and what bike I am on. I was on the hipster bike today.

Oh – and also posted this knowing it would be an opportunity for you all to take the piss.

I'm glad I didn't disappoint.

(I wasn't being entirely serious, in case it wasn't obvious.)

You’re the Duke?

... of New York?

I'm with you on this one TJ that path can be a bloody nightmare if you don't have a bell, the jumctions the dog walkers the cyclists the prams the dodderers the groups 4 abreast the headphoned runners.

Sounds like he wasn't having fun on bikes... which always makes me sad.

Sometimes I just ring my bell even when there is no one around 😀

In seriousness, sometimes people are so oblivious they won't (or choose not to) hear multiple bell rings and a hope hub in good time.

So you always have to be prepared to stop on a 2 pence piece when passing a walker or a dogger unless there's an 8 foot gap
Especially of they are old and/or have a dog in tow.. Sometimes they just don't clock you so it's your responsibility not to go burning past them if your not 100% sure they know you're coming.

It's a shared path, after all. Joggers with thier headphones on or people waddling on thier iPhones blocking the path are fair game though. They should stick to the sides.

of New York

Yay! Someone got it.

In that situation I just usually slow down and wait until past the walkers so I don’t cause confusion, kind of what the MAMIL was saying,

I do wonder about this - but then I become complicit in the not using a bell and pissing off the walkers which I really don't want to do.

Yay! Someone got it.

Probably in my top three movies.

then I become complicit in the not using a bell and pissing off the walkers

TBH, practicalities aside it's worth having a bell just to deflect the "where's your bell?" brigade.

Who is right?

You are right. You are always right. Never forget that.

Which path is it? I sometimes struggle on Portobello prom, and sometimes avoid it in summer, which irks me.

Yay! Someone got it

Which film are you referring to? (I thought it was a GoT reference...)

Water of leith path right at the leith end - between sandport bridge and junction bridge

Sounds like you are going a bit fast for a shared use path if you have to ding from 50 yards away. My commute takes me along a path used by kids/parents to get to the local primary school and I have to use my bell about three times of the approx 150 metres. Normally when 15-20 yards behind the pedestrians.

Kudos for polite cycling but part of that is passing at a speed where you can easily slow down/stop to avoid collisions - you may do this already but your OP had hints of excessive speed about it.

I do slow but not to walking pace. This is a main route for cyclists in the area and most of the path is wide. Excessive speed is very relative. I'll be slowing from say 15 - 18 mph to 8 - 10 as I pass folk on the wider bits. slower on the narrow section. the ding from a distance seems to work better - avoids the panicked jump out of the way from the walkers so allows me to pass with less slowing.

no helmet.

Oh dear TJ, Oh dear...

OP in yet another personal confrontation shocker.

I just go as fast as I can past walkers in the forest, the more time you give them the more likely they are to do something stupid.

I just go as fast as I can past walkers in the forest, the more time you give them the more likely they are to do something stupid.

Pro tip: walkers cannot detect movement at speeds of 20mph or more, so by going more quickly, you are in effect, invisible. Using a bell in these circumstances just causes confusion.

If you are having 'issues' like the OP, you are probably simply not riding fast enough. Beware dogs though, bikes are invisible to at much lower speeds.

Pro tip: walkers cannot detect movement

FTFY.

Sheep are a more highly evolved species than your average rambler.

If you are having ‘issues’ like the OP

I don't get any issues, I am going too fast to hear what they are shouting at me. I am guessing it is something about how good I am on my bike.

Was it one of those stupidly expensive bells only bought by mugs? You can tell they are cos you can hear them over 100metres away as they are so much better than cheap bells. SO I always shout at people with those.

me? buy something stupidly expensive? Nope. Does have a delightful ring tho - nice and loud with a really long sustain.

My bell sounds exactly like the ones you get free in a box with your enduro bike for legal reason but never fit.

fit a hope hub - so bloody noisy no need for a bell!

I have. Bell is better if for no other reason its stops the "where your bell" shouts

Riding along a busy shared path I was catching up with this mamil.

Translation: A cyclist that doesn't share my views, and had the temerity to be wearing a helmet and other cycle specific clothing was taking it easy along a path, minding his own business. when all of a sudden his quiet spin was disturbed by

As usual giving a ping on my bell when fifty metres or so behind walkers.

Translation Oh dear lord, though the regular person, a self righteous cyclist who thinks that ringing a bell means that everybody in his way has to part like the red sea in front of him. I hope those other normal people don't think it's me...

The mamil was ten m infront of me.

Translation I still couldn't catch him regardless of the fact he was clearly taking it easy

After the third time ( all the walkers moved over and one thanked me) he gave me a mouthful of abuse. ” don’t ring your bell they might jump in front of me”

Translation, All right mate, we all heard the first ring, we're all going to get out of your way, as you're clearly much more important than the rest of us...

Who is right?

Who knows, in your head, you seem to be right all the time, why you chose to inflict the rest of us with it, seems more difficult to work out TBH.

Bell is better if for no other reason its stops the “where your bell” shouts

There's a contradiction somewhere in this thread but I just can't put my finger on it.

me? buy something stupidly expensive? Nope

Good. I'm pleased with this answer. Definitely the mamil was in the wrong then.

I got a Bell from Wilko for a couple of pounds. Works fine offroad too. Keep using your bell TJ. They make alot of difference. Old fork though cannot hear them i recon.

You can get new Recons. Chain Reaction do them I hear.

nickc not a TH fan then?
FWIW I think TJ is doing exactly the right thing, giving people plenty of warning that he is approaching. No different from what any other normal person would do. MAMIL is the one with the problem.

Just be aware that you might look like a knob horsing it up behind someone dinging away from 100 meters away!

Unfortunately, riding a bike means someone will think you're a nob regardless of what you do. Even on cycling forums...

I do exactly as TJ does, and ring a bell as soon as I'm within an audible distance. And I do it because over the years I've found this to be the most pleasant experience for everyone.

I've been told off for not having a bell, despite slowing to walking pace, literally following behind for a few paces before giving a polite excuse me. All too often, my experience is that people are startled by this approach. If you shout from further away it comes across as aggressive. But a single ping on a bell from a distance makes people aware of your presence and gives them time to prepare, call their dog, round up the kids, finish the conversation they're having, and just generally removes all stress from the interaction. People usually appreciate it and often thank me. That's why I do it.

As always though, what a cyclist should and should not be doing, is strictly defined. The problem is, it's defined differently for everyone.

In this incident if I had waited until he was past the walkers before pinging my bell I would have been pinging it from maybe 10 m or less away - far too close in my experience. My choice was to do as I did and pee the mamil off, not use a bell and pee the walkers off or ping it from too close and make them jump.

As I also said - " polite cycling" "ping" ( sometimes a " just letting you know I am here, I'll squeeze past when I can") then a "thank you " when they move over. I reckon I get thanked by walkers for this approach at least once a day often more.

any excuse:
[img] [/img]

thank you Port Melbourne Council, compulsory bells, signs on shared paths telling cyclists to ring their bells, lots of ped' keep left signs all so easy (NOT) still get ped's all over the place and riders overtaking as you slow because you know someone is going to jump the wrong way or scream and grab their child...

Actually I'm of the opinion that on a path like the one TJ is on, you really shouldn't need to ring a bell. It's a busy cyclepath. If you walk down it (& I often do) you should be expecting to have bikes going past you (not at 20mph, 2 inches away obvs). I find it irritating that some pedestrians on that sort of urban, obviously frequently used by bikes, path react like an alien has landed next to them on hearing a bell, or seeing a bike.

I would have been pinging it from maybe 10 m or less away – far too close in my experience

In my view following a cyclist through pedestrians isn't always a good idea, they are never expecting 2 close together.

I find it irritating that some pedestrians on that sort of urban, obviously frequently used by bikes, path react like an alien has landed next to them on hearing a bell, or seeing a bike.

Ditto, or the jump around panicing, as if you like to mow down peds.

I have some cat collar bells attached to bike and a comedy pet squeaker to reduce pedestrian conflict. If it’s a bumpy canal path I don’t need to ring bell.

He was wheezing quietly when 2 m behind the folk

FIFY

As someone who walks occasionally along things like canal tow-paths and Peak District rail trails, I'm quite happy for cyclists to ping bells - I prefer the Timber Bell approach, but let's not split hairs. The two things that I find a bit odd are the presumption by some cyclists, that just ringing a bell gives them some sort of right to scream past inches off my shoulder and the thing where folk can't be arsed to say thanks when you've moved over to let them pass.

Oddly, the one cyclist who really irritated me was a woman with her family who was riding up behind people on a narrow canal tow-path, then actually saying 'ding, ding' like some sort of village idiot. It was an odd mix of being incredibly patronising and supremely ineffective. I guess people were mostly surprised that an adult insisted on pretending to be a bell rather than, you know, actually using words. Mostly they just looked at her incredulously.

I would suggest that saying 'ding, ding!' is not an effective substitute for having a bell.

Edit:

Who is right?

Is that a trick question?

I tinged my bell at a young woman walking along in front of me engrossed in her phone, whereupon she promptly walked straight in front of me, resulting in both of us crashing to the ground.

People can be idiots and wearing headphones is another issue but as much as I get frustrated with people because I may have to slow to a walking pace because they clearly havent heard or seen me, I think you were going to fast to knock her to the ground. If people are idiots you should really slow right down.

I was hurrying to an appointment 2 miles away,

Hurrying on a shared path? Ringing your bell to clear a path, very bad form, should have left adequate time for your journey Mr Toad

saying ‘ding, ding’ like some sort of village idiot. It was an odd mix of being incredibly patronising and supremely ineffective

When I am bell-less, I find it works better to say this than "excuse me" etc.

How does this thread of the bell end?

Hopefully with a ring peace.

Next time this happens just loudly ring your bell right next to MAMIL and shout "END!!"