Folding Bikes - This might be useful and even life saving.

http://uk.gizmodo.com/thunder%20horn.jpg

Life can be hard for cyclists who, in the eyes of more ruthless motorists, rank a few steps lower on the evolutionary ladder than cockroaches and hair lice.

However, as many a cyclist will tell you, getting side swiped by black cabs is par for the course because stupid pedestrians pose a much a greatest danger. Shouting at them seconds before impact rarely works which is why someone invented the Thunder Horn.

With a noise level of 110dB – think jackhammer or baby crying volume levels here – it’s designed to scare the bejaysus out of them whenever they step into the road with their heads up their ass.

It can also be used to just freak them out whenever you’re bored at the traffic lights. Yours for around £6


http://uk.gizmodo.com/2007/08/02/cyclists_blow_your_thunder_hor.html

I've lost count of how many times I scared the hell out of other cyclists when I've silently and stealthily caught up to them and simply said "Hello"....some of them have nearly fallen off their bikes, so one of these would be even more fun :D

get a bell instead .. they warn just as much but are not as "in your face" as the horn ... A bell will get a smile, while a horn gets a finger !....
thor

get a bell instead ...

+1

get a bell instead ...+1
+1 again. The object of the game is to reduce the level of animosity on the streets, not to increase it.

get a bell instead .. they warn just as much but are not as "in your face" as the horn ... A bell will get a smile, while a horn gets a finger !....
thor

Most pedestrians and drivers are listening to loud music and can't here the dinky little bell. Besides, my goal is not to get their attention but to creep up on them and blast them to the moon. I want to see their fists clench, hairs rise and butt cheeks pucker up! I don't mind getting the finger either, I love it.

I've lost count of how many times I scared the hell out of other cyclists when I've silently and stealthily caught up to them and simply said "Hello"....some of them have nearly fallen off their bikes, so one of these would be even more fun :D

Yes, also pedestrians!

Many places I ride, folk are not "tuned" to a bell, but my bikes are quiet, & the simplest approach is to slow down to a crawl, & speak, to which folk are "tuned", & thus respond. The bell works sometimes, but not invariably.

I don't recall ever seeing horse riders on roads in the few USA areas I've visited, but here they are a regular sight, & a voice is always preferable to a mechanical sounder.

As rhm points out, it's better to be friendly :-)

I've bought an air horn, but not mounted it yet, just for phone using, inattentive drivers, & situations where loudness is paramount.

http://uk.gizmodo.com/thunder%20horn.jpg

Life can be hard for cyclists who, in the eyes of more ruthless motorists, rank a few steps lower on the evolutionary ladder than cockroaches and hair lice.

However, as many a cyclist will tell you, getting side swiped by black cabs is par for the course because stupid pedestrians pose a much a greatest danger. Shouting at them seconds before impact rarely works which is why someone invented the Thunder Horn.

With a noise level of 110dB – think jackhammer or baby crying volume levels here – it’s designed to scare the bejaysus out of them whenever they step into the road with their heads up their ass.

It can also be used to just freak them out whenever you’re bored at the traffic lights. Yours for around £6


http://uk.gizmodo.com/2007/08/02/cyclists_blow_your_thunder_hor.html

I don't wish to put a damper on anyone's idea of fun, but I prefer to keep a rather low profile on a bike. I tend to avoid riding on-I walk my bike-any pedestrian gathering areas like "bike" paths (usually shared with other mobile types), bus stops, train station ramps, and of course the all time favorite the sidewalk or footpath. One of the goals of the "World Of Folding Bicycles" series is to encourage others to use bikes-especially folding ones. By not scaring or turning people off, being somewhat approuchable in public (and handing out flyers with my Web sites links printed on it), and by behaving in an ladylike civilized manner, I feel more confident that I do more good than harm. I feel somewhat as a ambassador or a pioneer right now in the area where I live and work and even on the Internet.

Besides in crowded Southern California, we have enough noise pollution without adding any more to the din.

Most pedestrians and drivers are listening to loud music and can't here the dinky little bell. Besides, my goal is not to get their attention but to creep up on them and blast them to the moon. I want to see their fists clench, hairs rise and butt cheeks pucker up! I don't mind getting the finger either, I love it.
So basically you want to be a jerk. What possible reason could you have for that?

Most pedestrians and drivers are listening to loud music and can't here the dinky little bell. Besides, my goal is not to get their attention but to creep up on them and blast them to the moon. I want to see their fists clench, hairs rise and butt cheeks pucker up! I don't mind getting the finger either, I love it.

Hah, ipod zombies are the worst. It almost makes me wanna specialize in Otology just so I can capitalize on their deafness when they hit middle age.

Really though, yelling usually works for me. I might be on the small side, but barring any throat infection I can yell loud enough for the ipod zombies to hear. Those in cars blasting their loud music w/ super jacked-p bass though? Nothing works. Not even car horns.

hmmm - interesting, but surely a thread for the commuting forum? or does it fold?

So basically you want to be a jerk. What possible reason could you have for that?
Aboslutely!

I don't wish to put a damper on anyone's idea of fun, but I prefer to keep a rather low profile on a bike. I tend to avoid riding on-I walk my bike-any pedestrian gathering areas like "bike" paths (usually shared with other mobile types), bus stops, train station ramps, and of course the all time favorite the sidewalk or footpath. One of the goals of the "World Of Folding Bicycles" series is to encourage others to use bikes-especially folding ones. By not scaring or turning people off, being somewhat approuchable in public (and handing out flyers with my Web sites links printed on it), and by behaving in an ladylike civilized manner, I feel more confident that I do more good than harm. I feel somewhat as a ambassador or a pioneer right now in the area where I live and work and even on the Internet.

Besides in crowded Southern California, we have enough noise pollution without adding any more to the din.

But haven't you had the pleasure of startling a cyclist/ped and watching them freak out.....it's one of life's little joys...and when you're riding on the road and you see a hand or arm dangling out of a car's window and you gently grab it as you race past....the reaction is priceless......I jest...truly I do.

I saw a guy with one of these duct-taped to his handlebar:

http://www.recsupply.com/images/products/safe/DDMSN50.jpg

I get near-miss side-swipes by SUV's and delivery vans almost all the time here in downtown SF. My last encounter riled me up so bad that I chased-down the offending vehicle and punched the passenger-side door as I went zooming past. Probably shouldn't have done that, but in a life-or-death instance, you really don't think clearly.

Those safety horns are often brought as party favors to Critical Mass...and they're loud...really loud...but a bell should be sufficient for warning pedestrians.

"On Your Left", or "Bike(s) On Your Left" seems to work pretty well around here.

The worst problem is typically little kids (walking or on bikes) whose parents do not have control of them. They are totally unpredictable.

When folks move over, I always say "Thanks" as we pass.

We have also observed that fast bike riders are just as troublesome as clueless walkers.

Most pedestrians and drivers are listening to loud music and can't here the dinky little bell. Besides, my goal is not to get their attention but to creep up on them and blast them to the moon. I want to see their fists clench, hairs rise and butt cheeks pucker up! I don't mind getting the finger either, I love it.

Just think, there's probably a guy just like you with air horns attached to something quite a bit larger and he will also laugh his ass off as you head off the road.

Of course, as a fellow traveler you will have a good laugh as well.

Just think, there's probably a guy just like you with air horns attached to something quite a bit larger and he will also laugh his ass off as you head off the road.

Of course, as a fellow traveler you will have a good laugh as well.

Yes - don't we love these people - you know - the ones that drive up right behind you and let off their horn just for fun?

Of course yamcha's kidding us again, like he was with his advice to pull out a glock and fire it in the air when passed by a pack of road racing riders.

I ride quite often on paths shared with pedestrians. I make a point of being considerate. My Merc has a bell, the pashley doesn't. As I approach a pedestrian who is walking in the same direction as I'm riding so he can't see me, I use the bell, cough, or speak to him. I invariably find a good reaction except where people are plugged into an MP3 player. It seems to me that far too many people are walking around even on quiet roads with one of their most important senses completely disconnected from the realities and dangers around them. On encountering these people, all you can do is slow down to a touch above walking pace and pass them as if you were a pedestrian yourself. In the end, we are not in competition with other human powered travelers are we? I find that if I am polite, I am almost invariably treated with politeness. Yamcha should try this and leave his glock, his revealing cycling shorts, and his bullhorns at home.

I'm serious Evil, I want to scare the hell out of people. Not all the time though

I'm serious Evil, I want to scare the hell out of people. Not all the time though

I with you , man......

Sometimes when a door to door sales rep knocks on my door, I have the uncontrollable urge to greet him with a fake human head in one hand and an axe dripping with fake blood in the other hand, me insanely screaming ... "What do you want....I'm busy" ......but then common sense gets the better of me.:rolleyes:

Ha ha!!!

Or has anyone thought about hiding a mate in the boot/trunk of their car, then picking up a hitchiker and after a few miles getting your mate to start kicking and banging in the boot and screaming.....
"Help, help....he's a homocidal maniac" as you turn your head towards the startled victim with your best and scariest "Jack Nicholson" crazed look...a la The Shining. :eek:

Considering the paucity of hitch-hikers in this part of the world, I wouldn't be volunteering for the trunk (boot) job any time soon. The last couple of times I saw a hitch-hiker, he looked like he'd been living in the trunk of a car for a while. While he didn't look like Jack Nicolson in The Shining, Charles Manson came to mind.

Yamcha, why don't you get hold of one of these howler monkeys and strap it to your handlebars - they are louder than your 110db horn when poked with a muti-tool, but are also loving, loyal companions off the bike.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2324/2049747535_2ad4cfe229.jpg

Yamcha, why don't you get hold of one of these howler monkeys and strap it to your handlebars - they are louder than your 110db horn when poked with a muti-tool, but are also loving, loyal companions off the bike.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2324/2049747535_2ad4cfe229.jpg

:roflmao:

where can I get one?