Home Forums Bike Forum Ok, I give up, what bell?

  • This topic has 50 replies, 36 voices, and was last updated 9 years ago by nach.
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  • Ok, I give up, what bell?
  • sam_underhill
    Full Member

    Too many people can’t hear me bellowing “Excuse me please” and then shout abuse telling me I should get a bell. So maybe people hear a bell more easily?

    So, my only “must have” requirement is a quick on / off mechanism. I guess it needs to be loud – but that is a given for a bell, right?

    Daffy
    Full Member

    Spur Cycles Better Bell.

    thetallpaul
    Free Member

    I like my Trigger bell[/url]
    Very light and unobtrusive. Nice loud ring. Not quick release though.

    sam_underhill
    Full Member

    Trigger bell looks almost unobtrusive enough to leave on all the time (I don’t have a dedicated commuter).

    Spur, wowser, $50 for a bell. Who’d have thought?

    hilldodger
    Free Member

    Spur cycles bell = $39 cost + $20 shipping + $10 handling fee + local taxes, and it still only goes ‘ding ding’ 😆

    Good way to spot a hipster though 😉

    fasthaggis
    Full Member

    only €69 😉

    hilldodger
    Free Member

    If you do need a designer bell the PDW ones are pretty good
    http://www.charliethebikemonger.com/pdw-king-of-ding-ii-brass-bell-1136-p.asp

    dudeofdoom
    Full Member

    You’ll like the bell(end)effect -where people tend to jump out in front of you in surprise.(as in surprised theres a bike on a bike path)

    You just cant win 🙁

    (Air Zound is quick release 🙂

    medoramas
    Free Member

    The one that came with the bike from the shop has never failed. As long as it’s not raining.

    Daffy
    Full Member

    Light, tiny, loud, nothing to rust or degrade, can’t accidentally “ding” and can fit to any shape of handlebar.

    They’re also a beautiful piece of design and engineering.

    BigDummy
    Free Member

    Yes. I can see why the cost-conscious wouldn’t splurge on one, but the Spur-cycle ones are glorious.

    🙂

    thomthumb
    Free Member

    bought the cheapest on on chainreaction

    http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/nc-17-alloy-bell/rp-prod96020

    held on with an o ring. works pretty well. has been on my bike for a few years…

    amedias
    Free Member

    “Where’s you Bell?!”

    yelled the grumpy sour face cow on the path the other day after I went past at about 5mph when there was a safe space

    “right here on my bars, where I’ve been dinging it and saying ‘excuse me’ for the last 30 yards”

    says I

    vs ———————————

    “ding ding”

    rings I

    *silence*

    “ding ding”

    rings I

    *silence*

    “excuse me, can I come past please”

    says I

    “harrrrumph! thats better, I was waiting for you to ask instead of ringing that silly little bell”

    says the other grumpy woman

    😯

    Both experiences I have had, you can’t win, grumpy people will be grumpy, they’ll make up a reason if they have to.

    slowoldman
    Full Member

    The Spur Cycles ding is very nice though.

    sam_underhill
    Full Member

    ok, seems like there’s plenty of love for the spur. Are they a US order only or is there anywhere in the UK to get one from?

    BigDummy
    Free Member

    Brick Lane Bikes are the UK distributor

    you can’t win, grumpy people will be grumpy

    You can’t win them all. A happy-sounding bell plus a courteous greeting gives you the moral high ground every time though.

    🙂

    Daffy
    Full Member

    Brick Lane Bikes in London

    [too slow]

    retro83
    Free Member

    amedias – Member

    “Where’s you Bell?!”

    yelled the grumpy sour face cow on the path the other day after I went past at about 5mph when there was a safe space

    “right here on my bars, where I’ve been dinging it and saying ‘excuse me’ for the last 30 yards”

    says I

    vs ———————————

    “ding ding”

    rings I

    *silence*

    “ding ding”

    rings I

    *silence*

    “excuse me, can I come past please”

    says I

    “harrrrumph! thats better, I was waiting for you to ask instead of ringing that silly little bell”

    says the other grumpy woman

    Both experiences I have had, you can’t win, grumpy people will be grumpy, they’ll make up a reason if they have to.

    You need an Airzound.

    kcal
    Full Member

    yeah, I had that — I got a Spur Cycle bell after being on a shared path with no bell.

    So last month I’m out in the ‘gorms, along a path, ring my bell vigorously, no response e- “you should have rung your bell – all we heard were your tyres” WTF ??!!

    amedias
    Free Member

    You need an Airzound

    While it might be amusing, I think i’ll lose the moral high ground rather quickly

    oliverracing
    Full Member

    While it might be amusing, I think i’ll lose the moral high ground rather quickly

    That won’t matter as they’ll likely have had a heart attack!

    nach
    Free Member

    If you’re anywhere near Hebden Bridge, Blazing Saddles have a box of PDW bells at the moment. Two types, £12 and £15.

    The other day, an old man shouted at me for not having a bell. Bike was stationary, I’d done everything I could to be considerate and alert him. Some people are just pricks, I rode away rather than try and reason with him.

    Malvern Rider
    Free Member

    +1 for PDW. Am eyeing up one of these headset spacer-mount ones to keep the bars free and do like shiny things:

    ninfan
    Free Member

    I love my bear bell, just release the magnet when I get to somewhere with lots of people.

    oldejeans
    Free Member

    another great thing about the spur cycle bell is how long it continues to ring. I’m guessing there’s a nice Doppler effect as I leave bovine peds in my wake.

    deepreddave
    Free Member

    Ok can’t get links to work but wilkos do several cheap but serviceable potions from a pound. The single ting ones work for me but I’m slow and shout if the pedestrians don’t seem aware.

    snownrock
    Full Member

    NC-17 one from CRC, only one I could find to fit on 31.8 handlebars

    sam_underhill
    Full Member

    I like the Orp. Flashy light to help the blind-as-a-bat drivers on the road sections of my commute (thankfully it’s mostly off road).
    I wonder if there’s a UK importer?

    Northwind
    Full Member

    I don’t like bells that go DING, it’s quite aggressive and just basically not that good at the job imo since it’s over as soon as it starts. So I got a big oldschool ratchet type that goes rddidididiigniningninginng-kadingidgidingidngdiiidinggggggggg. It’s more generally useful as it goes on for ages with a single flick which makes it easier to hear and locate, but also it’s just so cheerful, and sounds like it should be on a pink tricycle, so people seem to respond to it better- I’ve literally not had a single person grumble about it in years of yse, I used to get probably one a month with the standard DING bell. Also, it has a picture of a lemon on it, I know not why. Perfect bell.

    But i think it wouldn’t be popular here, because it was £2 from Halfords, and not handshaped by a tibetan monk using a hammer made of meteoric iron.

    nach
    Free Member

    handshaped by a tibetan monk using a hammer made of meteoric iron.

    Where can we get this bell NW? Does it come with a beard mount option?

    Daffy
    Full Member

    nach – Member

    Where can we get this bell NW? Does it come with a beard mount option?

    That’s the ONLY mounting option.

    alexpalacefan
    Full Member

    If you want a ‘friendlier’ sound, the Pashley bell is great. Bloody huge though.

    I have a Spurcycle one. It’s ace.

    APF

    paulevans
    Free Member

    It has to be a Honka Hoota. Group of us fitted them to our bikes a year or two ago for an Alps trip. The guys working the lifts found them to be very amusing when lifting the bikes on and off! Ebays your friend.

    womp
    Free Member
    nedrapier
    Full Member

    I like my Trigger bell
    Very light and unobtrusive.

    Not like the Stringer Bell. Much bigger and heavier, deeper tone, and excellent business acumen.

    hilldodger
    Free Member

    …handshaped by a tibetan monk using a hammer made of meteoric iron.

    And tuned to a frequency intended to harmonise with your chakra?

    Malvern Rider
    Free Member

    On the same note (!) I more often have not fitted a bell, so call out “ding-ding”*. Followed by a confused look over their shoulder, followed by my cheesy grin and “I forgot my bell”. Followed normally by smiles, laughs or polite laughter and silent scorn/hatred, I can’t always discern which, so remain polite and cheerful! This country needs polite and cheerful.

    *Is free so doesn’t cost the same as a Tibetan monk’s meteoric iron thingummy – so posssible downsides for them wot’s spendy by nature for whom I’d suggest maybe a clipped *ahem* to sharpen the ice followed by (expensive) ‘ding’ on said device 😉

    leftyboy
    Free Member

    +1 for Spur Cycles Better Bell.

    Never thought of myself as a hipster but do like nicely designed and engineered stuff 🙂

    NormalMan
    Full Member

    I recently fitted a ‘normal’ bike bell (the type that comes with the bike) in my own ‘stealth’ way 😆 as I didn’t like the look so fixed it upside down where you’d find a front shifter (I run 1x).

    Still find that a large number of people have headphones in though so don’t hear a bell or a polite call out!

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