vol

I think it's a very frustrating thing for a cyclist especially on city streets when you ring that classic bicycle bell, the pedestrians either don't hear, or hear without registering it into their brains what it means, or hear it perfectly but think ignore it because it's not a car.

Sometimes it's actually fellow bicyclists who ignore my bell. Once someone got off his bike to throw something in the garbage can. He crossed the path in front of me without even looking back while I was ringing the bell nonstop, only to turn back to look after putting his garbage in the can and I already had to dismount beside him. No words from him, just a blank face.

This poll is only about the BELLS, not horns or other louder devices.

GriddleCakes

Can't say that I've ever used the bell on the street, but mine is pretty effective on the MUP.

009jim

I was thinking today how it actually benefits me when other cyclists don't have/use a bell. It means that when I use mine people actually notice it more. The only ones who don't are those with earphones in.

lechatmort

People with earphones don't notice it usually, but after I give them a continuous ring they often do; same with simply not registering the bell. You do get looks ala 'how dare you disturb me!!'

billew

The bell works very well on the MUP as Grid said. Some folks just don't understand the whole "On your left" deal, but they get the bell.

ItsJustMe

I didn't vote, because in 6 years of commuting I've yet to encounter a pedestrian. OK, people in crosswalks, but nobody crosses against the light here, and I don't run lights, so I never have had to warn anyone. And I probably only see 3 or 4 people a week even in a crosswalk.

I put a bell on my bike when it was new, but took it off after a couple of years of never using it.

Pscyclepath

Mine works about half the time... the exception being those folks moseying along plugged into their earphones.

I'm hearing-impaired myself (many years as an artillery officer in the Army), with a bit of high-frequency loss. There are some higher pitches that I simply can't hear, so I don't buy a bike bell that I can't hear myself ;-) It helps make sure that the other folks can hear it, given a decent chance.

I've been threatening to invest in an AirZounds for the past couple years, and Saturday the LBS had one out on the clearance table. It went home with me, and is going to be a wonderful toy ;-)

Juha

I'm in the 50-50 group. I use it mostly on the MUP, and there I get either of the two reactions: "thank you for the heads up", or "WTF do you think you're doing ringing that bell". Well, maybe an additional small group of people that stop and slowly scan their surroundings wondering what that ding was. It's really down to luck which reaction I get.

Improperly toed in front brake pads, now that's another piece of statistics. The awful howl had 100% success rate, everyone dove out of the path when they heard that. I suppose it was obvious something was coming at them with brakes on, but judging by the sound of it, not managing to stop anytime soon.

--J

closetbiker

I have an ideal MUP next to my door but I rarely use it and one of the reasons is because of the people on it.

Lots of times they don't hear the bell but when they do, they are often unpredictable in how they will move.

It seems no one follows any predictable pattern of movement when they're strolling along.

nelson249

Mine usually works except if there is a large group walking together. In that situation you could let loose with an air raid siren and you might get a blank stare.

rando

problem is, it alerts them but they don't know which way to go or what to do to let you by.

cab chaser

I don't have a bell. I have a pretty bright blinking LED lamp on my bars that provides a good visual warning, if that fails to wake them up, I've got lungs.

myrridin

This is a key element of your post. We can't control how others are going to behave, all we can do is ride defensively. We can control how we react to the behavior of others. Don't let it frustrate or anger you. Learn to just go with the flow. Its a more healthy attitude, frustration or anger harms YOU not the target of your emotion.

ianbrettcooper

Bells, in my experience, are completely useless. If I need to warn a pedestrian, I use my voice. In this age of cellphones with 'antique' bell ring tones, a real bicycle bell can be misinterpreted and ignored. The other issue concerning pedestrians is that the issue shouldn't come up very often - pedestrians have the right of way after all. Having said that, I actually had to warn a pedestrian last week because she had no idea I was approaching and she was weaving back and forth in the middle of a quiet suburban roadway.

If I need to warn a motorist, a bell is similarly useless, which is why I use an AirZound. Haven't needed it yet, but it's good to know it's there.

San Rensho 

The classic "bringgg-bringgg" bell never fails me. People instantly recognize it as a bicycle bell and most just move over without even looking back.

mihernan

I love this thread. I went for about 2 years using my voice before I realized that it just wasn't cutting it anymore. I use the Adjusti-Bell with the hard plastic dinger that's its own spring. Sometimes I have to ring it so hard that I think I'm going to permanently deform the plastic, but it works most of the time. I have a system for using it too: parents with children and people with dogs always get a ring, people walking four abreast across the entire path start getting rings when I'm a long distance away and continue to get rings until they move out of the way, and other cyclists get a ring. I don't usually ring solo pedestrians because most of them have iPods in their ears anyways.

frymaster

+1

in the age of the ubiquitous ipod and/or cellphone conversation, relying on an audio warning system in a mup or other mixed bike/pedestrian system is just a formula for getting annoyed or hurt. not saying that a ding-ding or on-yr-left notice is useless, but just that it has to go with being prepared to swerve or stop.

noisebeam

I rarely encounter peds, but when I do I've had 100% success using voice.

Start the alert early to allow time for that expected not hearing and when they do confusion as to best response.

bmorey

Pretty good for pedestrians with eyes in the back of their heads.

bmorey

I've had a number of bells -- a loud 'brrring-brrring' one was great until it got smashed in an accident. Currently I've got a large bell of intended for a cruiser bike -- it's 80mm in diameter so it's certainly not visually discrete. Gives a loud 'Ding-Dong' like a door bell. I've had admiring comments from pedestrians.

CritEastwood

What is this "bell" you speak of?

My bikes are clutter-free.

bmorey

This is it --

https://www.amazon.com/Electra-Bicycl...4&sr=8-1-fkmr0

If you don't like clutter this is certainly not the bell for you -- this is big-time clutter! It does give a loud, friendly warning but as I often ride on MUPs I'll put up with the rather clunky look.

mikeybikes

Mwahaha, I have a bell just like that Electra one, branded something different. It is awesome.

It goes "BLING BLONG" when I ring it. Totally gets the attention of peds.

trackhub

Mine is an "incredibell" and it seems to be effective. I've taken up riding with my headlight on during the day, and this seems to work very well with pedestrians on Mass Ave in Cambridge. It also works with motorists coming out of cross streets.

gcottay

My sweet little Incredibell has never been in a bike pedestrian accident because I treat it only as a courtesy and never expect a pedestrian to do anything but be human.