Originally Posted by
wphamilton
I like how my little bell sounds, so I use it. Frequently. Some pedestrians and cyclists respond to it, others don't, but I ask you this: would you rather be ignored shouting every ten or fifteen seconds or be ignored ringing your cheerful bell?
This is a good point. A guy I ride with loves his bell, and rings it all the time for any reason. At other riders, pedestrians, while passing, opposing, etc. It always seems to get a smile, and I confess I quite enjoy the dinging as well. Why, I couldn't tell you.
Maybe the choice of bell is important. My choice was a dinosaur-shaped squeeze toy that didn't seem to get much love.