Timber Bell alternatives?

I’ve used Timber Bells for a while now and think it’s a great idea and it works so well when it works

However, I’ve been through a fair few of them. Mostly, the switch wears out and they become a full time bell.

What alternatives are people using? And by alternatives, I mean switchable bells. I’m not looking for suggestions of a cheery hello or a Hope hub.

Granite cricket bell for me. Have them on 2 bikes, replacing a worn timber. The on off jingle is fairly weak in comparison to timber bells, but it’s more useable because it has a normal striker. Other wise it’s also fairly unobtrusive, small clamp and faces down and fairly out the way. End up not using it in ‘tinkle’ mode very much, but still useful to have, and the design seems like it won’t fail like a timber.

There have been a few versions of the Timber, at least two in the last couple of years. I seem to remember they mentioned some improvements to the switch mechanism.

I’ve had issues with all of the revisions of the timber Bell. The only one I’ve not tried yet is the rebuild able yew version.

Awareness bell looks interesting.

A voice ?

A voice ?

The constantly ringing does generally get a good response plus since half the time I am lazy on short rides and cant be arsed with carrying water my voice is dodgy I do like the cowbell style.

Timber bells work for me but maybe its because i am not riding rad terrain which buggers them fast. Main thing seems to be making sure its mounted correctly on the bars since I find they can slip and then start ringing.

ROCKBROS Cycling Bell Vintage Bike Bell Bicycle Bells Adults 75DB Bike Handlebar Bell Retro Bicycle Bell Loud Sound Horn 5 Colors https://amzn.eu/d/0eqM8ixv

The rockbros one on Amazon works well and is good value.

Spur Cycle  – accept no alternatives.

I’ve killed a couple of Timber Bells and have switched to the Granite Cricket bell as well.

I’ve had issues with all of the revisions of the timber Bell. The only one I’ve not tried yet is the rebuild able yew version.

I rebuilt three, failed, older Timber Bell models using the Yew spare parts/repair set. Pro tip: the older bell has a slightly deeper, more melodic tone than the latest version, which is a little higher pitched and more, erm, ‘demanding’ in tone. I prefer the sound of the original bell, though I get it’s a bit of a nuanced thing.

It’s an easy procedure bar filling a small additional slot in the hole in the top of the bell unit and takes about five minutes to do. There’s a YouTube instruction video and it’s reassuring to know that if the bell does break, I can simply rebuild it with spare bits.

So far my re-worked bells have all been fine, no switch slip or breakages, the switch mechanism has been re-designed and has a sprung detent in it, or something, I’n not an engineer, but it seems to work fine. The kits cost, from memory, 10USD, I bought them direct from the States – the Timber Bell guys were super helpful and postage wasn’t insane – but they may now be available from the UK stockists. Worth thinking about if you have an older Timber bell. Strictly speaking it’s not possible, but like I said, all you have to do is use a small file to create an extra notch in the top of the brass bell, which is easy and quick.

The missus has one of the Granite bells and it’s definitely not as loud as the Timber one ime anyway. I prefer the latter.

The only downside for me in the Peak is that in wet conditions, the inside of the bell gets coated with grit thrown up from the trail and the sound becomes muffled. Also, the edge of the bell is quite sharp and has the potential to make a nasty slice in your leg if you crashed on it, says the man who made a hole in his knee with a Knog Oi Deluxe last year 🙁

I put loctite on my old timber bell and it tightened the switch right up.

If your timber isn’t staying switched off then find a small O ring that just stretches over the knob of the switch and then sits between the knob and the body, that should give a bit more friction to keep it in the off position.