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Need input on a critical piece of biking equipment.

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Old 11-12-14, 09:15 PM
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Need input on a critical piece of biking equipment.

The bike bell. Below is a link to what is at the top of my list now. Please take a look, give an opinion, and make a suggestion if you have one.

Amazon.com : Widek Dingdong Bell - Chrome, 80mm : Sports & Outdoors

Thanks for playing.
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Old 11-12-14, 09:26 PM
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There's only one mother of all bells!

Spurcycle Raw Bell. More potent and more streamlined. Way better.
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Old 11-12-14, 09:28 PM
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OK I lied, there's a father as well.

Spurcycle Black Bell. More potent and more streamlined. Just better.
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Old 11-12-14, 09:33 PM
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I like the Crane bells.
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Old 11-12-14, 09:33 PM
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^ If you don't want to spend $40-$50 on a bell.

Cateye Flextight OH-2400
- it's tiny but it does what it needs to, doesn't look too out of place on a road bike, is easily taken on and off, and fits 31.8 bars

Get the polished brass one - it's a little more piercing and projects more than the painted black one (which I have on other bike)

If you decide you want a larger "real" bike bell and can figure out how to mount it on a road bike get a Crane! In fact looking at link I see Crane also makes a very similar bell to Cateye version.
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Old 11-12-14, 09:35 PM
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Seems rather expensive for a simple bell. Curious that the listing is under the category of boating equipment. There are often some cool vintage bells available on ebay. Worth checking out. What type of bike do you have?

For 1/3 the price, I'd rather have the Crane Suzu lever strike bell:
Amazon.com : Crane Suzu Lever Strike Bicycle Bell - Alloy Silver : Bike Bells : Sports & Outdoors
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Old 11-12-14, 09:36 PM
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Originally Posted by ARPRINCE
+1. This is the bell. Way too expensive (I see the price went up after I got mine in the initial batch), but it is a great bell. Very discreet and streamlined, people don't notice it (but they do hear it!) It faces forwards and is easy to actuate with a thumb from the flats.
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Old 11-12-14, 09:40 PM
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Lost your voice?

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Old 11-12-14, 09:53 PM
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Originally Posted by ARPRINCE
Those are really cool!
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Old 11-12-14, 09:54 PM
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It's a really expensive bell. No-one seems to know what that ringing behind them means anyway. Go with something inexpensive that matches your bike and isn't going to break or constantly ding while you are riding.
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Old 11-12-14, 10:11 PM
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+1 on Crane for elegance and quality.

Alternately, you could get an awesome turtle from DringDring.

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Old 11-12-14, 10:14 PM
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I have decent bikes that cost less than that bell. I think brass sounds best.

I won the red one, sound is loud!
Bike Bells, Bicycle Bells, Brass Bells for your Bikes

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Old 11-12-14, 10:28 PM
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This one.

Spurcycle Raw Bell. More potent and more streamlined. Way better.

Talk about an expensive bell! But I finally got to see one and it is beautifully made and loud. Loud is important to me: Most of our local dogwalkers, runners, and cyclists seem to have that ubiquitous white cord trailing out of their ears.

Brent
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Old 11-13-14, 01:00 AM
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These are very well made in England and sound great. Loud with a very long sustain. And you can get them engraved. Lion Bellworks - Retro brass bicycle bells made in England...
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Old 11-13-14, 01:50 AM
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@RickBlane - what kind of bike will the bell go on?

I have Crane brass Suzue bells on most of my bikes, or their other brass design with a spring striker. Very lovely resonance.
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Old 11-13-14, 02:19 AM
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I always been tempted to tie a string to a soda can and drag it behinde me. I could just imagine the stares people would send my way.
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Old 11-13-14, 03:31 AM
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I'd like to see that one in person. On the mup, I get better results with my little single dinger than anything verbal. It confuses people and they look up and see what's going on. Often, they smile.
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Old 11-13-14, 04:36 AM
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I have a Widek-type bell on my commuter; I like the two-tone ring, but staking that holds the bell to the clamp tends to loosen over time and then the bell rattles going over bumps. I fixed mine by brazing the clamp to the post.

More whimsically, how 'bout a "bell pepper?"

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Old 11-13-14, 04:54 AM
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another vote for Crane. Others I have tried just don't sound good.

Bought one of these and found that it really gets people's attention. The problem is that it takes a lot of time for them to process what to do once they decide to look at the source. Maybe they don't associate the noise with bicycles.
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Old 11-13-14, 05:36 AM
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I've got a black Bellini. Small, unobtrusive, not very loud. Just a simple "dinger". It's not one for traffic congested, noisy surroundings where you want to make yourself blatantly known. More small town area / bike path friendly. $10 bucks or less.

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Old 11-13-14, 06:51 AM
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I like the big ones, 3" or 8 cm is good. But I prefer the ones that have only one dome. The one on my Fothergill was made by Miller.


Miller wasn't the only one making them. Lucas ones are almost always on ebay. For example:

Vintage Lucas Large Size King of The Road Bicycle Bell | eBay

I got a reproduction not long ago on ebay; but I don't know who made it.

They're not right for every bicycle, but for some, they're just the thing and worth the effort.
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Old 11-13-14, 07:01 AM
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Most bike shops have a decent selection of bells and the like. Why not give the bike shop the business?
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Old 11-13-14, 07:06 AM
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I thought of putting a re-usable air horn on mine, but then thought about the liability if someone had a heart attack because of the sound of it.
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Old 11-13-14, 07:11 AM
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That's a lot of money for a bike bell. All the bells I see today over here are much smaller and cost €5 or less.

https://www.halfords.nl/product/bKaQ...ct-zilver.html
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Old 11-13-14, 07:17 AM
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I've got this one on my townie. It's funny, but rattles a lot over bumps, isn't a great sound, and tastes terrible.
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