njm

Earlier today Tequila Joe posted about a little confrontation he had on an MUP:
What came to my mind was that the guy on his BMX bike didn't like getting "ringed at," and did what he did because he didn't like being called out on his bad behavior (i.e. weaving across the entire MUP). I may be reading between the lines here, but maybe TJoe could confirm/dispute that the bell may have been what got the kid going.

This reminded me of the first couple weeks I had my older commuter bike. I had put on a very economically priced bell from Nashbar. I tend to use it sparingly, roughly when I would beep the horn in a car.

At one point I was riding along on a dark street, with lights that allowed me to "be seen" but not "to see." Out between two parked cars popped two people on bikes, riding across the street perpendicular to my direction of travel. They were CLOSE and I was going ~15-20, so I started ringing my bell.

Well the guy, who was in front, laughed at me and I thought he slowed down a little bit on purpose. The girl behind him seemed to have no idea what was going on. I split them, which was very dicey and probably not a good idea. For the record, the guy looked like he might have been friends with the guy on that MUP in Alberta.

I know people have posted how great bells work on MUPs to part the sea of walkers, etc. But my question is: have you ever been made fun of, or gotten an angry (not just surprised) or resentful reaction when using your bell?

Seamless

Two 30-ish mothers, each pushing a baby carriage side-by-side across both halves of a marked and lane-divided bike path, chatting.
Bell dings twice when I'm about 40 feet coming up from behind; no response.

Another double ding halfway there.
Mom on the wrong side of the path turns around, puts up the finger, and yells "go around, a*****e!"
She turns back around, and they resume their chat.

I moved off the left side of the paved path to the soft shoulder to pass.

1ply

Nice mom. You should have passed, then stopped your bike sideways across their path and told THEM to go around as you're busy scratching yourself.

Seeing you stop after passing them would make them worried a bit.

sprockets

I never have a problem with ringing my bell. Since I installed the 120 db airhorn I never touch the bell!

I love having that airhorn, it gets everybody's attention. It's amazing how quickly people will get out of your way with it. ♪ding ding♪...nothing. BWAAAAAAAAAP! You'll see soccer moms waddling with thier baby carriages jump out of the way!

this is the one I got: LINK

I can honestly say it was worth every penny.

ghettocruiser

Yep. People get mad at everything.

GGDub

I totally agreed with Joe on what he did, but if you're going to use your bell to "call out bad behaviour" then don't expect a whole lot of respect back. We are talking about a little "ding-ding" as opposed to "get out of the #$%&in way!" If you want to call out bad behaviour, the latter or a less colourful version is much better than the bell.

The bell is much better used as a warning that you are passing. But back to the original topic, yes, I have had nasty responses to my bell. I used to ring my bell every time I passed people in the morning, but I started to notice really dirty looks during this one section of my commute where there were numerous cyclists passing numerous pedestrians all ringing their bell. I realized then, that it was becoming a form of noise pollution, making someone's pleasant walk into work pretty annoying. Its also pretty useless to ring at this part since everyone knows there's cyclists passing every few seconds and its not like you could distinguish which bell was which.

Percist

I get grief from my wife when we ride together. I think she feel self-conscious when I ring it and people look around.

I have a bell, I use it. I'm not adding needless grams to my commuter for show! 45lbs is enough!

Tequila Joe

I have no idea what was going through this punks microscopic brain. He may have been pissed at hearing a single "ding" indicating to move over onto his side of the MUP and as rebelious youths are, then did something to show his displeaure. I think a verbal " Hey! look out" would've resulted in the same reaction. When it comes down to it, he was simply a punk lookin' for trouble.

In Calgary, it is mandatory to have a bell on you bike or be fined. Most cyclist/pedestians know that a "ding" indicates that a cyclist is approaching. I usually "ding" when I'm about to over take another cyclist or to let a pedestrian know I'm approaching from behind. I usually get no reaction except that they move over to the right. Some give a friendly wave acknowledging that they've heard me.

StephenH

I've had people get irate on the local walking/biking path because I went around them withOUT ringing a bell. Some of these people are just totally oblivious to their surroundings. In other words, you can't win.

zippered

oh yeah i get grief from drivers all the time "i heard you"... as they've got their door wide open and reaching into the far corners of their car to get whatevertheheck is more important than my safety. if it weren't for the streetcar tracks it wouldn't be so much an issue to just go around.

I_bRAD

I also give zippered grief about using her bell. It's like riding with freakin Santa claus, I swear.

daredevil

I've learned that simply saying mornin' folks or good afternoon as you approach gets a nice response usually.

I have a bell but I never use it to expect someone to move out of the way when they hear it.

rando

I have used the bell and gotten annoyed looks but now I prefer not to. peds will turn around and look at you and not know where they are supposed to go. I slow down to walking speed and pass them silently on the left.

Otter 718

I don't think I have ever had any reaction to my bell. No hostility... and for that matter, no acknowledgment, no moving to the right, no looking up from their shoes, no second thoughts about walking out in to the street... nothing. On the other hand, the NYPD were ticketing cyclists at the Williamsburg Bridge last week for not having bells, so it's not entirely decorative.

jcm

I'm with Daredevil and Rando. I use it to let them know I'm there, but I still use discretion when passing.

Allycat24

I usually ring my bell when passing cyclists and peds (usually a single ding) since my voice isn't that loud. I feel this is better than a weak 'passing on your left'. However, I also slow down when passing peds, just in case they don't hear me or decide to split up and let me go down the middle (I hate that!). Only once have I received a weird response to a 'ding': the cyclist I just passed, rang his bell about 5 times in my response to my single ding. That was funny!

rajman

Yeah - after riding the bow valley trail consistently I determined that it was rude (and dangerous) to pass people really fast (I would stop pedaling/brake/go off path depending on situation), and it was annoying to everyone to ding or call out every two three seconds when it was busy.

Nachoman

I use the "incredibell", and frankly it's just not enough. People hear the bell pinging and frequently ignore it. I need a louder bell.

maddyfish

I ripped mine off and threw it at a car once. The driver looked very disturbed. Does that count as grief for using my bell?

gcl8a

Heh. The other day I was riding my fancy-schmancy racing bike (ie, without a bell) back into town on the bike path and came upon two youngsters riding side-by-side. As I usually do, I just slowed down until I got close enough to say "bag fra", which means "from behind". The one kid moved over, I thanked him as I passed, and as I rode off the other one started dinging his bell numerous times, as if to scold me for not having a bell.

It was kind of annoying, but kind of funny at the same time.

eubi

I use my bell to warn peds on the MUP that I am coming...not when I'm three feet behind them, more like 50 feet behind them

When I'm within earshot I yell "passing"

I usually get a wave...with all five fingers. I wave back.

thdave

This is the way to do it. Bells work and it's a universal language Hollering something at them makes them just jump or get upset a good third or half the time--they can't make out the words much of the time. You have to do it when you're quite close for them to make it out. I much prefer the bell.

IMO, the poll is flawed. "Have you ever gotten grief for using a bell?" Once in a while you will, because some people are jerks. Besides, you get grief for just about everything once in your life!

The issue is do you get a better or worse response than when you holler "passing" or "on your left?"

Mr. Underbridge

If you threw your bell at a car I'd say you're the one who's disturbed.

chipcom 

I don't use a bell. They are pretty worthless on the road and if I am on a MUP I prefer the personal touch of actually using my voice to communicate...and don't mind slowing down to do so. If I wanted to go fast, I wouldn't be on the MUP.

DataJunkie

No bell for me. I use 2 MUPs. One is busy and the other deserted. I use my voice and ride slower on the busy one. I do occasionally say "ding ding" when passing to amuse myself. Peds seem to find that confusing.