echotraveler

Ive noticed around here (Locally, no the forum) almost no cyclist have bells...the only ones i see that do, are the vintage schwinn crew...but all other, mountain bikers, roadies NEVER have bells...

i wonder why this could be? its really important for me to have a bell, are they concerned with the weight?

Some days ago i was riding back home and passed a route mostly used by roadies to train endurance. They go around the convention center countless times, i feel pretty cool cause they got there by car and get home by car..

so, i was riding along and a bus almost splattered a couple of them! so i ring ring ring lke crazy at the bus....one of them laughed, and he didnt laugh joyfully, it was a "looking down on you laugh" ...

maybe people need more bicycle education, or im not really getting something from their cycling culture...im relatively new to commuting with 500 proud miles under my belt...

hairnet

I never used mine, so I took it off.

dwilbur3

I have a bell I use to warn pedestrians on the MUP. They never seem to pay any attention to it.

I usually have to shout "On your left" or something like that as well.

Artkansas 

I have a tiny zefal bell on all my bikes. According to what I'm told, by law, I must have a warning device on my bike.

It seems to work pretty well on the MUP, and it's tiny sound is heard but non-threatening. As far as traffic, a voice is better but still ineffective. I think for that you'd need an air zound.

echotraveler

an airzound!!

Plutonix

I have to say I hesitated adding a bell due to the Dorkiness factor, but have come to like it. On MUPs, the ding is quite indicative to peds being overtaken and the pitch seems to cause it to carry better than a shout. Likewise it seems to penetrate earbuds better than a shout. We had a severe deer overpopulation problem who were not bothered by traffic, peds or bikes and I found the high pitched bell caused them to scatter better than yelling at them.

I dont find it too useful on the street though. Windows are up too often for the heat or A/C and too many others have the "music" up really loud to "share" with the rest of the community and wont hear it anyway.

I'll reserve comment on the road bike 'culture'.

TheLifeOfBryan

I'll probably put an AirZound on my bike soon, but I'll leave my bell on when I do. 95% of its usage is saying "hi" to other cyclists that I pass. I feel it's a friendly, fun thing to do, and it often gets a smile. A few weeks ago my girlfriend and I were riding to the grocery store. We passed another couple in the opposite direction, also on road bikes. I gave them two dings from my bell, and one of them responded with two squeaks from some sort of novelty horn. All four of us rode away laughing our asses off.

tjspiel

It wasn't until I started commuting that had any appreciation for bells. I thought people put them on for the cuteness factor.

I've yet to get one, though it is on my list. FWIW I don't quite consider myself a roadie but I admit to having some of the symptoms. So for now I'm almost a roadie who almost has a bell.

TwoHeadsBrewing

This is my experience as well. Almost as if they could never believe that "DING!" could be meant for them, as they continue to walk in the middle of the path. I'm almost about ready to remove my bell, since I either don't use it often or just get ignored when I do.

Metzinger

I never would have imagined putting a bell on my race bike before moving to the NL.
But riders on the bikepaths and bike roads here often side-by-side. And there are a LOT of them.
DING is something the Dutch understand well. Now I couldn't imagine riding without a bell.

This one weighs about as much as an eyelash:

lshaped

i put one on my commute bike for the first half of my commute that is on a rail trail.
most people appreciate it more than having someone yell out "on your left"
i also don't have to slow down so i can get close enough to someone so they can hear me- the bell is more distinctive i think and gets an immediate reaction

rhm

I find a bell will be effective if it sounds like people think a bicycle should sound like. So ping doesn't get people's attention, but brringg-brrrinnggg does. And even so, you have to give people plenty of time to process the sound. So I use my bell on the MUP, and ring it pretty far back from people. They slowly turn around, see me coming, and get out of the way in time for me to go by. I thank them as I go by.

In the city, the bell is pretty much useless. Things happen quickly, and people react slowly.

Most new bells have plastic parts that wear out. Not worth the time it takes to install them. I buy old all-metal bells at yard sales etc when I can; they hold up better.

tjspiel

There's probably only a mile or so of my commute where a bell would be helpful but it would still be worth it. Sometimes there's a lot of people milling around and in that part of town many of them aren't english speakers.

MUP-isms like "On your left" don't cut it.

Wes

Bells are fun things. Little animals respect them.

cooker

I find it's great for pedestrians even on the street, not just the MUP. As you overtake a pedestrian going in the same direction, they can't hear you, and sometimes they simply assume there is no traffic behind them, so they start to veer into the street without looking. A bell corrects that immediately.

Foofy

You tried to get the bus driver's attention with your bell? Seriously?

Chilled

I have a bell as well as a whistle around my neck for the hard of hearing.

thdave

Love my bell. Brrrrrrrng, brrrrrrrrng gets you the best response, imo. I've got a bell on my folder and my Breezer, which is the brrrrrng type, and that gets a bit better response.

aaronechang

I have both a bell and an Airzound on my bike. The bell is only used when creeping up on pedestrians on the MUP at a slow pace. And even then it is often not heard, because people are listening to their headphones.

An Airzound is a must when getting the attention of vehicles that are backing out of an alley / driveway or are fiddling around with their cell phones while driving. I probably use mine about 3-4 times a week.

In other words - the bell is pretty much useless as a safety measure. It's strictly used as a courtesy device when passing peds. The Airzound is what saves my hide time and time again.

nwmtnbkr

I just got and installed an Airzound. I've found that one small tap (and I mean a gentle tap) generates a mild honking sound that's not too startling for pedestrians. I don't have much need for warning pedestrians since there aren't really trails around here, just lots and lots of forest. (In town, all vehicles, including bikes, must yield to pedestrians.) However, I'd gently tap the Airzound if I needed to alert a pedestrian to my approach; I'm pretty much out of handlebar space to mount a bell.

Not the Slowest

In NY State bells are required on bikes by Law. Of course many people don't have them or use them. If you commute and I do it makes sense.
Whistles are against the law in NYC. My guess is that too many messengers had them and pedestrians would get confused with the cyclist and traffic cops.

I use a whistle but only in some very specific parts of my commute. Trust me, a car making a U-turn in the middle of the street will hear me or pedestrians J-walking. I rather get a ticket than deal with hitting someone or being hit.

FreddyV

You're right on that... I love the bell on my road bike, no doubt about that. I use it every day during the commute to work, you just NEED to.

graphs

I agree that it's basically useless as a safety measure but I keep one on my commuter bike because it's the law here and I don't want to pay a $110 ticket. It's occasionally handy to alert pedestrians but usually I plan on avoiding a potential obstacle/hazard rather than expecting it to do something based on a tiny dinging sound.

Pinyon

It depends on where you ride here. If you ride on the road and with thraffic, they are useless. Ringing the bell often makes people turn around to look at you, usually making them pull out into traffic.

Bells are common and expected gear for people that only ride on Multiple Use Trails (MUPs), though. I avoid the MUPs as much as possible. MUPs are nice for riding with young ones, jogging, or going for a walk with your dog, but are just too busy and slow to use for transportation. The only time that I use them, is when there is no other alternative due to construction, and I ALWAYS get admonished by someone for not having a bell that is riding the other way.

gna

I use on mine on drivers who just parked--it kept one in her car so she didn't door me. They work well on MUPs, and some drivers hear them.

I had a cheap metal and plastic bell that broke, so I bought a all-metal bell on sale that is a "ding-dong" bell. It sounds godawful, and every bump I hit it makes noise. It's not really something I want to spend a lot of money on, but who makes a good "bring-bring" bell?