bells?

[willic]

This morning. I was browsing through my local bike shop and noticed John had just brought out a couple of the latest road bikes from Giant.

Whilst admiring them an atachment on the bars caught my attention, was I seeing things "no", quite definatly there they were, small ring-a-ding bells, "Hey John" I called out whats with the bells (laughingly) , he replyed, yes its a new law thats stipulates all new cycles for the road must have a warning sound attached.

Has anyone else heard of this, its certainly news to me, and does this only imply in the Uk or everwhere.

[Richard D]

As far as I know Northern Ireland is the only bit of britain where Bell's are mandatory. I do recall some proposed legislation to make shops supply them, but like front reflectors you didn't have to use them. It's possible it's been introduced...

I was asked by a couple of walkers at the weekend why I wasn't using a bell (I was politely waiting behind them) . When I did have one fitted I had a comment that I was being impatient ringing it - you can't win...

[willic]

Well Richard.... From what I have seen the propossed legistlation has been sneaked through without us cyclists with an eye for the law being aware of it. :mad:

[Richard D]

Originally posted by willic
Well Richard.... From what I have seen the propossed legistlation has been sneaked through without us cyclists with an eye for the law being aware of it. :mad:

It might just be Giant, they used to give away waterbottles with bikes as well.

[Pete Clark]

Bells are a great tool for warning pedestrians.

They are useless for motorists. Sort of gives you an idea about where someone thinks we should be riding, doesn't it?

[ObscureRefMan]

It's the law in NY state. But I don't have one - I can yell louder than any bell.

[Pete Clark]

You know what I'm going to say--

"I use a whistle, blah, blah..."

:D

[Jay H]

I can yell louder than any bell.

Have you seen these:

http://www.deltacycle.com/airzound/hornbody1.php

115db??? How long does a pumped up bottle last? And is it a presta valve or shraeder? I saw one on a picture of somebody's commuter bike on this forum and checked it out... it looks like a novel idea!

Jay

[r600aero]

hell, why not just put an 18 wheeler horn on your bike??? talk about a ton of clutter... just use your good ole voice... I love to yell and scream at the idiotic drivers here...:)
Ryan

[randya]

Bells aare req'd to give a warning when passing peds in Oregon, although a verbal warning works just the same...IMO, recognizing that lights are legally requ'd for riding in the dark and making lights req'd equipment on all bikes sold is a much more important safety feature than a bell...after all, don't you expect a new car to come with lights??? How would you feel if the car dealer told you that you'd need to spend a couple of hundred quid to purchase aftermarket lights before you could legally operate your vehicle after dark???

[lsits]

I just bought a bell (made by Bell). I've used it a few times while on a bike path. Pedestrians don't know how to react to "On your left." and a bell is distinctive enough to get their attention. I had one pedestrian thank me for the warning. It's useless for someone wearing a walkman.

By the way, the majority of my biking is on streets either with or without a bike lane. I only use paths about 10% of the time. Off the path I haven't used it at all. I guess I could use it when passing another cyclist, but I'm usually the slowest one out there.:)

[Juha]

Bells are mandatory in Finland. And speaking of lights: how would a cager feel, if the car salesman told him that in order to get a good set of lights with his car he has to spend a lot more? Like 20%-100% more?

--J

[chewa]

I use a polite bell to warn walkers on the cycle path.

As far as I was aware they were mandatory in some parts of Europe which is why I have one on my tourer anyway.

[CarlJStoneham]

115db??? I'll bet in a year or two, we'll start hearing about cyclists who used those and have started to lose their hearing. Though I bet it gets a car's attention, I imagine using them w/o hearing protection would be quite painful... :)

[Jay H]

It is adjustable, according to the website. I presume it's a simple adjustment to the compressed air flow. There should be two adjustments so one could use it at a quiet level and one for emergencies...

Jay