tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3102538965694240940.post2404922314736768031..comments2024-02-24T06:21:30.987+01:00Comments on A view from the cycle path: Testing and recording bicycle bellsDavid Hembrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14543024940730663645noreply@blogger.comBlogger28125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3102538965694240940.post-50692787649113823282010-12-31T01:01:50.523+01:002010-12-31T01:01:50.523+01:00The Ding-Dong bell sounds so ... Dutch. :P I don&#...The Ding-Dong bell sounds so ... Dutch. :P I don't have a bell on my Hurricane, mainly because it's got underseat steering and handlebar accessories aren't exactly as accessible as they would be on an 'upright' bike. I whistle to alert pedestrians and cyclists.Kevin Steinhardthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00154521138803831953noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3102538965694240940.post-70035938413606184422010-11-27T09:15:16.640+01:002010-11-27T09:15:16.640+01:00Presumably the Ding-Dong bell would be approved my...Presumably the Ding-Dong bell would be approved my Nigel Tufnel? Either him or Lesley Phillips...Matthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04236324797918643122noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3102538965694240940.post-61549133788034611542010-11-25T14:13:06.089+01:002010-11-25T14:13:06.089+01:00Interesting test. I have quite the range of bells....Interesting test. I have quite the range of bells. I primarily use the big Ding Dong bells on my vintage Raleighs. I have the smaller ding bells on my other bikes. Some are steel and some are brass, I find the brass tone more pleasing.<br /><br />In the US we quite often have to use MUP's for riding, the walkers quite often have some form of personal entertainment ear pods in, if they have 2whls3spdshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16954543886269776858noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3102538965694240940.post-13111982684509337712010-11-24T17:55:19.816+01:002010-11-24T17:55:19.816+01:00I have a bell, but in Manchester I'd think twi...I have a bell, but in Manchester I'd think twice about using it - people resent it, and the less civil will make their displeasure known! I tend to cough politely, or change gears noisily, instead.cocosolishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17040377173478647027noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3102538965694240940.post-29786914645433103862010-11-24T13:12:55.930+01:002010-11-24T13:12:55.930+01:00Great post. I like the way you've displayed al...Great post. I like the way you've displayed all your gear in the photo.<br /><br />I'm so glad you managed to include the Ding-dong bell. Although I've never seen one for sale here in Australia, I do actually have one!<br />I came on a Chinese bike (a Pheonix)and it is the best sounding bell I've ever heard. <br /><br />The sound is deep and produces a note that is quite nice to David Jhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06041580123414270092noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3102538965694240940.post-57085013968713364032010-11-22T17:55:47.357+01:002010-11-22T17:55:47.357+01:00I like the design of the turning bell, very neat. ...I like the design of the turning bell, very neat. I have a ping bell but only as a momento of my trip to Amsterdam, much prefer to confirm that I am still human by calling out "good morning" or whatever is appropriate. <br />It is a great feature of cycling that you can speak, even if briefly, to those you meet on your journey. Of course you can have a bell too.<br />Mark Garrett, Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3102538965694240940.post-76366507299574969962010-11-22T15:52:54.136+01:002010-11-22T15:52:54.136+01:00Very nice! Actually, we from the Vogelvrije Fietse...Very nice! Actually, we from the Vogelvrije Fietser are considering a bell test also. With Chines bell and sogreni design bell.Suzannehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12340356321877373411noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3102538965694240940.post-59331993011519117662010-11-20T19:15:12.772+01:002010-11-20T19:15:12.772+01:00Like a car horn, a bicycle bell should not be abou...Like a car horn, a bicycle bell should not be about "get out of my way" but "here I am!" because a common target is a pedestrian who should always have priority (if not legal priority). Car horns get abused, so why do this with bike bells? Perhaps we need to aim towards "Lovely that I am passing you carefully. Have a nice day!"Slow Factoryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12056080802746709323noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3102538965694240940.post-61587496344700237002010-11-20T17:48:28.491+01:002010-11-20T17:48:28.491+01:00When riding my bike I mostly pedal backwards or le...When riding my bike I mostly pedal backwards or let my brake lever click back into the idle position. These are common bicycle sounds that do not disturb people, are not considered rude nor overly loud.<br />But they work, and in most cases they are louder than my bell.<br /><br />But a good loud bell is very useful at times, specially if there is something about to go wrong. <br />If you can notWillekehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10707119475625075080noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3102538965694240940.post-50583156873213090682010-11-20T03:54:01.888+01:002010-11-20T03:54:01.888+01:00In Dublin they have come round with the idea of pu...In Dublin they have come round with the idea of putting Bells on Bikes but it is those little Snap Lever Bells that come with the Modern Style of Bikes like MTB's and some Sports Bikes just the Basic to comply with the Law. A lot of Bicycles are still sold without any Bells at all, the Law is still a bit Hazy on this.<br /><br />It is really only the Pashleys and Dutch Bikes that have decent l' homme au velohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17964877237998191937noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3102538965694240940.post-35022586917329959282010-11-19T23:08:26.572+01:002010-11-19T23:08:26.572+01:00My thought for the day is a doorbell. Ringing devi...My thought for the day is a doorbell. Ringing device on the inside, bell on the outside. The bike bell and string seemed like a good idea until I tried it (months ago), but I had to pull quite hard on my ding-dong bell to make it ring and couldn't get it to mount firmly enough to make me confident. Maybe I should try a smaller bell.<br />thanks for the infomozhttp://rotovelo.blogspot.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3102538965694240940.post-58562340522356885662010-11-19T21:32:40.949+01:002010-11-19T21:32:40.949+01:00One of the most useful posts ever. Thanks for the ...One of the most useful posts ever. Thanks for the comparison.<br /><br />NicoAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3102538965694240940.post-85423790718711282582010-11-19T17:34:48.197+01:002010-11-19T17:34:48.197+01:00Very few of the cyclists here in Berlin know how t...Very few of the cyclists here in Berlin know how to ring a bell, or have one.Slow Factoryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12056080802746709323noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3102538965694240940.post-61960725039610990272010-11-19T09:32:16.108+01:002010-11-19T09:32:16.108+01:00Wilfred: The bells in Mangos are quite basic. They...Wilfred: The bells in Mangos are quite basic. They're quite similar to the 96 dBA "<a href="http://www.dutchbikebits.com/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=116" rel="nofollow">classic</a>" bell in the test, but usually steel, which sounds not quite so nice as brass.<br /><br />Dr2chase: I thought about doing something with a PIC playing samples for a "bell", David Hembrowhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14543024940730663645noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3102538965694240940.post-49547642536750374872010-11-19T09:06:07.561+01:002010-11-19T09:06:07.561+01:00I love my big ding-dong bell. I have almost one pe...I love my big ding-dong bell. I have almost one per bicycle.<br />I'm curious about how bells work on velomobiles. My rotovelo has no good way to mount a bell, the options being outside the bike where it can be heard which means it has to be next to my ear so I can reach it; or inside the bike where my hands are but it's almost inaudible.<br />The race kids use piezo horns but pedestriansmozhttp://rotovelo.blogspot.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3102538965694240940.post-85129014000801973142010-11-18T22:52:28.479+01:002010-11-18T22:52:28.479+01:00David wrote about:
"British planners not act...David wrote about:<br /><br />"British planners not actually knowing what a cycle path is. They often seem to think it's the same thing as a narrow walking path, and put both in the same place at the same time..."<br /><br />Kevin's comment:<br />Yes! The dreaded Multi-Use Path. Which is OK if it is only for a small cut-through or if the peds know enough to stay off it or is Kevin Lovehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13186428862833389619noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3102538965694240940.post-36442088703557759862010-11-18T21:59:05.061+01:002010-11-18T21:59:05.061+01:00...to communicate with other cyclists and pedestri...<i>...to communicate with other cyclists and pedestrians I'd rather be a bit more friendly.</i><br /><br />It's sometimes difficult to tell which is more friendly, voice or bell. I've been chastised for using both: "How dare you ring that bell at me" type of attitude. From experience I've learned that <i>friendly</i> verbal warning is usually the best on, what as you WestfieldWandererhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02248492361148849247noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3102538965694240940.post-87435059929239859242010-11-18T20:30:52.449+01:002010-11-18T20:30:52.449+01:00I'm proud to be a geek too! Understanding make...I'm proud to be a geek too! Understanding makes life interesting.<br /><br />The ding-dong bell is fabulous. I recently rode a bike with one and it not only gets people's attention but it's not as 'aggressive' as most bells. It seems to make pedestrian's smile whereas the lound, single 'ping' bell seems to irritate.<br /><br />As for the 'loudness' issue. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3102538965694240940.post-54865235536081508382010-11-18T17:47:41.780+01:002010-11-18T17:47:41.780+01:00I have a classic brass bell on my big bike, and li...I have a classic brass bell on my big bike, and like the sound so much, sometimes I ring it just for the heck of it (when nobody is around). Unfortunately, it's too big to fit on my foldable bike. There I have a small Cateye bell; it looks like a tiny brass bell, but is pratically useless. Traffic noises and dog farts completely drown its sound. I also came across two instances of people Micheal Bluenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3102538965694240940.post-87167776786222251092010-11-18T17:24:11.548+01:002010-11-18T17:24:11.548+01:00My Pashley has the "ding-dong" bell, whi...My Pashley has the "ding-dong" bell, which I use for warning pedestrians. I also wear my old Army whistle and use it on car drivers. Designed to be heard on a modern battlefield, the whistle is highly effective.Kevin Lovehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13186428862833389619noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3102538965694240940.post-45190798299078113882010-11-18T15:17:59.046+01:002010-11-18T15:17:59.046+01:00I have the ding dong bell on my Pashley and to be ...I have the ding dong bell on my Pashley and to be honest it usually feels like an overkill. Most of the times I like to give just a little warning and instead what comes out sounds like "Get the ef out of my way, peasant!". However I found that if you just nudge the button halfway you only get the ding part which is quite acceptable. <br />The classic bell however sounds best to me.ndruhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15324118775089929952noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3102538965694240940.post-91305105730997405122010-11-18T15:05:30.686+01:002010-11-18T15:05:30.686+01:00I believe that most cycle paths in the UK do not p...I believe that most cycle paths in the UK do not prohibit pedestrians. i.e. they have a right to be there. But as you point out, the problem really is that they are often combined or indistinguishable from the footpath.Neilhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11443493823465136241noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3102538965694240940.post-51952975001864092552010-11-18T14:39:38.292+01:002010-11-18T14:39:38.292+01:00Regardless of which is actually loudest, the tradi...Regardless of which is actually loudest, the traditional bells win everytime for being just so pleasant & inoffensive.<br /><br />The 'ping' bell is the standard fitment to most new bikes now in the UK, but is IMO just the cheapest token effort to get over legalities.<br /><br />My Wifes Pashley came with the 80mm bell, and I think thats what I'll get for my Gazelle which is Isla...https://www.blogger.com/profile/09569097700652272494noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3102538965694240940.post-1277068293136114462010-11-18T14:20:57.758+01:002010-11-18T14:20:57.758+01:00Very nice (especially the WMD6). I've been wo...Very nice (especially the WMD6). I've been wondering how long till we have the MP3 downloadable bike-bell. I imagine "I'll get you my pretty, and your little dog, too".<br /><br />Or perhaps, Jim Dale's rendition of Dolores Umbridge's "hem-ahem" (from Harry Potter, it's very good, though perhaps not so loud).dr2chasehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16320828055999939449noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3102538965694240940.post-58804109489572620662010-11-18T13:56:40.112+01:002010-11-18T13:56:40.112+01:00WestfieldWanderer: I think the problem you were ha...WestfieldWanderer: I think the problem you were having was the usual one caused by British planners not actually knowing what a cycle path is. They often seem to think it's the same thing as a narrow walking path, and put both in the same place at the same time...<br /><br />As for how useful bells are - I find they work very well. You might want something noisier for riding in heavy traffic,David Hembrowhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14543024940730663645noreply@blogger.com