Forum menu
Shouty folk would either tell me to get a bell or complain that I startled them by ringing my bell.
Oh yes I get that. Schrödinger's Bike Bell.
with my Exposure Diablo on, plus my exposure sirius on blinky mode
Blinding other road users is inconsiderate and counterproductive.
complain that I startled them by ringing my bell
That's mad. Never had that ever. People always seem pleased to have been warned by the bell.
"Oh yes I get that. Schrödinger’s Bike Bell."
Or the walkers who don't hear the bell because they are wearing over ear headphones on a shared path.
Thankfully, very few incidents result in physical violence, but, on the whole, men are 2.5 times more likely to encounter this than women are. Maybe chivalry ain't dead 😉
Oh yes I get that. Schrödinger’s Bike Bell.
You cannot ever win with a bike bell.
If you ring it, it's not loud enough, it's rude, it's aggressive and "ooh you made me jump!"
If you don't ring it, it's rude, it's inconsiderate and "ooh you made me jump!"
Weirdest one was a guy walking towards me on a towpath, he saw me, stepped to one side, I rode carefully past and said a cheerful thank you and he said "you should ring a bell!"
What, just in case you thought you were hallucinating seeing me riding towards you, you wanted to hear me too?!
at least he saw me
He noticed you, that's not the same thing. If you're blinding oncoming pedestrians then your beam is way too high. It's no wonder drivers don't see you, they likely don't see anything for several seconds.
Do we all need to chip in about the bright lights?
often along the canal. Shouty folk would either tell me to get a bell or complain that I startled them by ringing my bell. On the whole, it was mainly middle aged women.
Same experience here, very common.
Trundling along the towpath barely above walking pace, approaching a group of middle-aged women walking 37-abreast in front of me.
"Ding" from quite a way back so as not to startle them. Nothing.
I get closer. "Ding." Nope.
Ding. Ding. DINGDINGDINGDING!!
Practically on top of them, I say "excuse me!" and they react like the air raid siren has just been sounded, scream "BIKE" and scatter like bowling pins. I give them a cheery "thank you!" as I pass and get shot back "where's your bell?" Where's your hearing aid?
I don’t think I’ve ever been shouted at, but a guy who worked in the same office as me and with a similar commute had a couple of major incidents.
On one occasion he ended up in a shouting match with someone who got out of their car and just banged him out and on another occasion, following yet another altercation, a motorist chased him down and forced him off the road, putting him in hospital.
I don’t know anyone else who’s had stuff like this happen and I know loads of cycle commuters. There’s probably a simple explanation for this in the fact that this guy is the most pompous, arrogant and confrontational prick I’ve ever met in my life and could start an argument in an empty room, I don’t doubt that he provoked these situations and probably thoroughly deserved both.
I bought a Spurcycle bell for my gravel bike and it's glorious. A walker even complimented me on how nice it sounds!
That said, I've still had 'please ring your bell' and 'please don't ring your bell' from horseriders so who really knows.
Do we all need to chip in about the bright lights?
I dunno, it's definitely a pet peeve of mine. And actually get a specific mention in the list of things you can soon be given a FPN for so it clearly pisses a lot of people off.
Especially when the question of what commuter lights comes up and people say Diablo / six pack and a joystick to make eye contact with. Forgetting that a car's main bean is 1000lumens each side. They're basically riding round with something 4x brighter than a car's main beam.
That and the exposure RedEye. I assume it was named after the bloodshot look of anyone who's had the misfortune to follow someone using them.
I bought a Spurcycle bell for my gravel bike and it’s glorious.
I've got fakes* on all my bikes, they are indeed great bits of kit, although there's no way I could justify the price tag on >1 bike.
*Judge all you like but I bet you own some non-Campagnolo QR levers and derailleurs on your bikes.
Reminds me of one I encountered riding over Kings Highway near Accrington. Hardly a soul around apart from a few cows and one person about 10 yards in front with a dog. Rang my bell, she looked up at the sky. Rang it again, same result. Rode past her, loud exclaimation, instant jump 3 feet to the left like I'd transported in front of her Star Trek style.
I commute a few miles to work and back every day and cannot ever recall being shouted at. I have had numerous close passes, dangerous turns in front of me and on one occasion was knocked off my bike by a car that drove onto the roundabout I was going round. I would swap a bit of shouting for more considerate driving every day of the week.
this guy is the most pompous, arrogant and confrontational prick I’ve ever met in my life and could start an argument in an empty room,
What's his STW account name?
Reminds me of one I encountered riding over Kings Highway near Accrington.
Well fancy that, I've never heard of it. How do you get to there then, past the gate on the A56 roundabout at the top of Burnley Road? I always assumed that was private property.
*Judge all you like but I bet you own some non-Campagnolo QR levers and derailleurs on your bikes.
All bolt through, but I suppose Ultegra and GRX are non Campag so... yeah?
What’s his STW account name?
He’s roady only…. you know the type, you can probably picture him now, so I’d go with #FullTeamKit****er
He got sacked for downloading loads of grot to his work laptop
Not really been shouted at as such, aside from the usual Scottish drive by patter. However on Wednesday night it was probably deserved. I'd dropped my car off at the garage with the view to ride home, about half an hour along the old rail line/cyclepath/footpath. didn’t realise until I was at the garage that my front light was sat on my stairs back home, so a very dark ride home.
passed 3 lads navigating the path by phone light. gave a ring on my bell, and they moved aside to let me past with nothing more than a 'you should get a light man'. roll on another 10 mins down the path and come across a jogger coming toward me, tinged my bell, and got a full on verbal about how I should have lights, it's dangerous, no one can see me etc. Now bearing in mind he was dressed in dark clothing, running, on an unlit path, with no light, I did think it a bit rich, but decided just to leave it and carry on.
did get me thinking though, on away from the road cycle paths, do we legally have to have lights? logically we should, but in Scotland, path designation is something different from roadways, isn't it? I suppose it follows that does a cycle path adjacent to a road still require the user to abide by road laws in terms of lighting, but separate from the road may not?
not that I suggest you don't have lights after dark, but more of a ponder...
All bolt through
I was being tongue in cheek given the ire Chinese made bells seem to get on here.
But I bet your bolt through axles are tightened with with tools made in China rather than genuine Allen brand Hex Keys.
I was being tongue in cheek given the ire Chinese made bells seem to get on here.
Hah, right over my head I'm afraid!
And while I have no idea on the provenance of my hex keys I'll have you know that I turn to face Buckingham Palace and sing the national anthem embarrassingly loudly before each time I use them.
Cleaning my bike can take quite a while.
this guy is the most pompous, arrogant and confrontational prick I’ve ever met in my life and could start an argument in an empty room,
What’s his STW account name?
Actually I think you'll find for the record that the room was not empty because myself was in it at all relevant times so kindly consider yourself corrected. Also,.technically it wasn't the grot on my laptop that got me fired, it was me browsing it in the canteen, so you're wrong again. I bet you feel quite the chump!
Tend to ride in fairly quiet places, so getting shouted at is rare, but did once get "W@nker!" shouted at me by a couple of blokes in a white van as I was next to the road fixing a puncture.
Hi Cougar, yes, exactly that way. Bit of a grind up that road though. Alternative way is from the Coppice, over the top and through the underpass. There's a sneaky shortcut that takes you up to the top of the quarry.
Fairly regularly - more in my village on the outskirts of London than once I get into the city. Years ago someone pulled over, got out and punched me. B'std was on stolen plates and the police never tracked him after several mornings surveillance. I leave after the mad school rush now, which is exacerbated by four closings of the level crossings per hour. I use a Fly6 for commuting too.
On the plus side, when I commuted on the trike I would get thumbs up and videos taken, never had an issue.
I bet you feel quite the chump!
What did the chump say about that?
Alternative way is from the Coppice, over the top and through the underpass.
You ride up the Coppice? Other than in the literal sense, are you high? Walking up there (assuming from Avenue Parade) is horsework enough.
Probably monthly in Exeter these days, usually on roads where there is unusable cycling infrastructure and queuing traffic. Yesterday's evenings classic was a mum pulling alongside for the teenage passenger in the back to shout at me, and the dad in the front passenger seat to tell me not to start....
Not helped here by the Tory controlled police force / highways authority really not being interested in reducing the increasing number of cyclists and pedestrians being harmed.
My partner has had abuse of a sexual nature a few times. I mean I've been called a gay boy quite a lot, but her abuse seems far more threatening. It's clear to me bullies seem to see cyclists as weaker and often seem quite shocked when I don't back down easy. I expects these idiots see a women on a bike as even more vulnerable so will seek to exert their perceived dominance
I always seem to get cheeky comments off groups of lads, and being Glasgow you first judge what type of a greoup it is before replying. But the best defence is something cheeky, but not aggressive back. Split the group with a bit of humour.
Coming through Glasgow city center late Friday night, one clown says to me 'Gies a backy'
"Sorry mate, I'm not into that gay stuff" Guffaws of laughter from his mates.
Another instance coming out my work, about to unlock the bike and a group was getting into a car at the warehouse next door.
'Can you nae afford a car ? says the guy getting into the front passenger seat
So I hit back with " Spot on there pal, 100% cant afford a car so I bought a bike so I wouldnt have to do whiny begging to mates for a lift.
Driver laughs his 4r5e off, passenger looked a bit sheepish.