aplcr0331

rsbob 

A false equivalency.

mstateglfr 

1- ride on MUPs as infrequently as possible. Ride roads instead.
2- you don't just pass walkers/runners on MUPs. You pass other cyclists too. And many times these others are 2 wide so letting them know you are there is a good thing.
3- bikes yield to walkers/runners on MUPs. Let them know you are there for safety then move around them in a safe manner. If you want to ride fast, see #1.
4- my God, this place.

SeniorCanadian

Ahhh . . . Downhill master - here you are! Please enlighten us with your youthful wisdom regarding anything about cycling. It is a cycling forum after all.

AdkMtnMonster

Have we heard from SeñorMexican yet?

downhillmaster

Since you asked...
The solution is very simple.
Stay off the silly MUP’s unless you are too feeble or too gutless to ride your bike on the road.
Bells and whistles and ‘on your left’ shouldn’t be utilized on moms with strollers, people walking dogs, bird watchers, and 4mph wannabe joggers.
You keep trying to figure out the best way to navigate your 25+mph ultra lightweight cf machine on your local walking paths though

ChrisWagner

You're right. Pedestrians get squirrely. Any tool at your disposal to communicate presence and intent is safe, responsible behavior.

On bad days, I bellow MAKE A HOLE!

Phil_gretz

My wife and I have debated this "how to signal responsibly and non-offensively?" issue over the past decade, it seems. She's firmly in the voice camp. She thinks that bells are irritating and not specific as to the rider's intent.

I like the gentleness of the bell's 'ping', and feel that the ping is a unique sound that emerges from the clutter of everyday noises. I don't have any bells on my bikes at this time though.

I asked an acquaintance at church just yesterday about her preference. She prefers voice over bell.

EDIT: I forgot to add that I'd prefer to ride where I don't have to interact with pedestrians at all, but that's not practical when you live in or nearby a city. The available riding corridors naturally collapse onto a multi-use path from time to time. It's an unavoidable reality.

hubcyclist

the amount of zealotry with this stuff blows my mind. As far as I'm concerned, and this is going back to when I started riding bikes regularly in 2013, there needs to be some onus on pedestrians, slower cyclists to be aware of the environment and, you know, not be surprised that on a multiuse path there may always be folks passing. if slower people stay on the right, I can pass as wide left as possible. And if there's someone approaching from the opposite direction, I won't try to split the middle and do a close pass, I set the expectation for myself that if I'm on a path, it's not for speed and uninterrupted travel so I exercise patience. If I see kids or more erratic users, of course I'll give a verbal warning and again pass as widely left as possible and slowly.

I'm personally against bells because they strike me a bit as passive-aggressive (I know that isn't the case), at least that's how I feel when I'm on a path with my son, and with both of us on road bikes and maintaining a steady line, we don't exactly look like noobs. Dinging at every person to me says more 'stay out of way' as opposed to 'hey, i'm here,' but that's just my bias and interpretation. As a faster person, of course, I like to stick to the roads, but on the rare occasion I am on a multi-use path I generally abide by my basic rules above.

tkamd73 

I found out, after being passed a few times by other cyclists, much to their dismay, that I don’t hear the bell. Probably something to do with a close association to jet engines for the last 40 yrs. Recently, almost parked another into a tree, should have been obvious to him, that I was gonna pass the pedestrians before he got abeam me though.
I generally avoid the MUP during peak times, retirement is great about that, but when coming upon pedestrians I vocalize my presence.
Even as a kid, felt like a dork ringing a bike bell. I know, looking like a dork shouldn’t bother any cyclist, myself included, it comes with the territory, but why add to it.
If a do hear a bell, my mind goes right to ice cream man!
I’ve have never failed to hear an “on your left” from another cyclist, if I do the same for other cyclists and pedestrians, and end with a thank you, or good morning, seems most encounters are pretty pleasant.
The 3 biggest scares that I’ve come across on the MUP are, dogs on leashes, pedestrians who don’t know left from right, and deer. Wonder if the bells would work on deer? Might be a worthwhile investment then.
Tim

indyfabz

ikr

Troul 

worst thing to say aloud might be, "Comin up yer rear!" . It backfires when the runner says, "OK!"

tkamd73 

I guess if I’m running on the wrong side, with traffic at my back, like many seem to do, Yes!
Tim

Reflector Guy

If there's one thing we've learned with those two threads, it is that the other guy is doing it all wrong!

njkayaker

Deeply strange and not connected to reality at all.

Koyote

I guess bell vs no bell is the new disc vs rim brakes, or the new steel vs cf.

njkayaker

Street <> sidewalk.

njkayaker

You don't have any idea how people use MUPs.

njkayaker

It seems that it's the anti-bell side that is more wackadoodle.

njkayaker

You know what that means. Lots of people don't.

There's also no reason you can't use both.

70sSanO

If we all went back to canti’s and slowed down before passing a pedestrian the squeal alone would be enough of a warning.

John

njkayaker

Not everybody has noisy hubs. They aren't as loud to other people as you think they are. And the typical MUP walker is not likely to know what that means.

Nothing is perfect.**

Bells are understood fairly-commonly to be associated with bicycles and that association is world-wide and language independent.

--------------------------
** Nothing is perfect.

kahn

I usually try ringing the bell pretty far in advance of my passing. The Spurcycle is a bit shrill and can be heard even by the harder of hearing (I know personally) and so is more a light tingling as an advance warning. But occasionally, I do use it again on closer approach a bit more insistently. I will also use "on your left" when appropriate. If I see wires dangling from the ears then all bets are off and I will slow and provide good passing distance. I slow for erratic kids and leashed dogs. I use roads and paths. Although, in Seattle some roads are now pedestrian corridors and there are more pedestrians in the roadway.

njkayaker

See? It's not that hard to understand or do.

Sy Reene

How about suburbia, where seemingly most new housing areas don't put in sidewalks, so the pedestrians are out in the street also. My experience is they most definitely don't make it a habit to walk against traffic -- more a 50/50 potluck thing, depending on which direction they need to go from where they were.