What Handlebar Bell - I know forgive me

[Lazarus]

Well my trusty cheap bell broke and now i need another my requirements are
1. actually works in the rain
2. easily swapable between bikes- I would prefer something with just a rubber band type
3- is not £30


https://www.merlincycles.com/lezyne-cla ... 97191.html
this is the current fav - does anyone have one ? is the small top dimple that will hold water were the bolt goes an issue?
I wish i could get one for £3 and not do this thread but if i am going to spend BIG then it better work !
I think I may have too much timeon my hands

[jameso]

A bit more £ but you won't regret a Crane ENE bell. People actually hear them a long way off and they're really nice things. Made in Japan, good quality. The copper-coloured version has a lower tone and it sounds like an old shop door bell, seems to get the attention of older folk more easily (pingy, high-pitched bells just aren't heard by older ears as easily)

Bikes should have bells, they're just useful and why not have a nice bell in the same way you'd buy a nice saddle or good tyres.

edit to add, I have a ebay rockbros bell, it's good value but isn't as loud and has a more tinny, high-pitch sound than the Crane ENE. I put the rockbros on the Brompton as the Crane is more effective off-road or at a longer distance.

[sean_iow]

I use these

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/UK-STOCK-Roc ... SwcUBYVPhh

You may be able to find them cheaper. You'll need one for each bike, but even with mine and Jane's vast fleet of bikes that means I only had to buy 4 and not all at once. They have survived the 2018 BB300 (rather wet) and also numerous crashes. The oldest I have is now 4 years and still going strong.

If you have a bell held on with a band for easy removal won't someone steal it? Especially a nice shiny one like the Lezyne

[lune ranger]

I have one of theTimber Bells that band on. It’s like a little cow bell that tinkles away (you can switch it off) I thought it would be the answer to the perennial problem of making walkers sh1t them selves when you ring an actual bell.
In use it’s been a bit disappointing because people a lot of people are too self absorbed to hear it tinkling away and you still have to call out to them.
I despair of the whole bell thing really. It seems to me you’re often damned if you ring one or damned if you don’t. Some people are not pleased either way and you can’t win.

[jameso]

I despair of the whole bell thing really. It seems to me you’re often damned if you ring one or damned if you don’t. Some people are not pleased either way and you can’t win.

True, though if you have one and ring it they can't have a moan - or you're on the right side of the situation and you're free to ignore the grumps that do still moan (which is almost none ime these days). That's partly why I like the louder. lower-tone bells - they work at a much longer distance giving everyone time to crossover sides a couple of times, reel in dogs, etc

[Richard G]

I use these

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/UK-STOCK-Roc ... SwcUBYVPhh

I'll have to try those. Can't bring myself to pay those insane Crane etc prices.

[sean_iow]

I use these

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/UK-STOCK-Roc ... SwcUBYVPhh

I'll have to try those. Can't bring myself to pay those insane Crane etc prices.

They come with a length of sticky foam to protect the bars, I ditch this and put a bit of heatshrink on the stainless band to protect my carbon bars.

[thenorthwind]

I have one of theTimber Bells that band on. It’s like a little cow bell that tinkles away (you can switch it off) I thought it would be the answer to the perennial problem of making walkers sh1t them selves when you ring an actual bell.
In use it’s been a bit disappointing because people a lot of people are too self absorbed to hear it tinkling away and you still have to call out to them.
I despair of the whole bell thing really. It seems to me you’re often damned if you ring one or damned if you don’t. Some people are not pleased either way and you can’t win.

I'm pretty happy with my Timber bell. It really came into its own during lockdown when a lot of the paths were busy. Agreed it's not the loudest, but I think most people who are too ignorant of their surroundings to hear it will ignore anything short of a foghorn anyway.

I hear you on the last point. There have been occasions where I've politely said "excuse me" rather than "turn on" my bell, only to be asked where my bell is What were you going to gain from a bell that "excuse me" didn't cover?

[redefined_cycles]

https://www.bricklanebikes.co.uk/Crane-Bells

[JackT]

I agree that bikes should have bells. Or very loud freewheels, which I feel sometimes works just as well.

I find the psychology fascinating, and agree with the damned if you do, damned if you don’t observation. Sometimes a verbal greeting “hello” works better than a bell.

When used on a shared use path or bridleway I want my bell to say,

“hello, I’m on a bicycle coming towards you, I’ve seen you but you may not have seen me. I will try to pass when it’s safe to do so, if you wanted to step a little to the side to help me pass, or get your dog under control, that would be great. But I’m happy to slow down and am not demanding that you get out of my way at once”

Quite a nuanced message to convey just by hitting one piece of metal against another.

I agree with James that the high pitched ting may not be audible to older people, and they are the most likely to be startled or fear being knocked over. A lower pitched sound with a good resonance is better. I want to avoid is a bike bell that’s the equivalent of a car horn - and sometimes I wonder if a very loud sudden bell sound tends to do that. A louder bell from a distance is better.

I feel that an old fashioned “dring dring” type bell might be the best of all. It is a cheerful sound, it’s not too sudden (like a single loud ting or dong can be). It is unmistakeable a bicycle bell. It’s cheerful.

I may be over thinking this.

[fatbikephil]

https://www.amazon.co.uk/BBB-Clear-2-90 ... ooghydr-21
Is the favourite of the 7 I have on various bikes. Angle so that rain water runs out of it and its fine. The loud enough but not too loud ting conveys all of Jack T's message

[Specialist Hoprocker]

I have a Timber Bell. It's good but sometimes not loud enough.

I used to have a squeezy horn. It sounded like a clown car. Never failed to raise a smile from people. It was as ugly as sin though but I cable tied it below the bars next to the stem. Cheap too.

https://www.houseoffraser.co.uk/brand/c ... orn-937870

[wriggles]

Think JackT nails the need for every bike to have a bell and the nuances...

Good shout on the Crane ENE - really good clear sound that carries far.

(Awaits flaming and comments of "how ******* much??")....I have a Spurcycle bell on two bikes. Both bought second hand, but still horrifically expensive, but the quality is just amazing. I expect them to outlast me. I also have the rockbros copy and its a rather pathetic copy.

[sean_iow]

I also have the rockbros copy and its a rather pathetic copy.

The spurcycle must be one hell of a bell if the rockbros is pathetic.... mine stays on the bars, doesn't corrode, makes a ringing sound and does all that for years without maintenance, not really sure what else a bell should do?

Notably you can buy spares for spurcycle bells but not rockbros, one of them must think there is a reliability issue if they list the parts for sale

[jameso]

When used on a shared use path or bridleway I want my bell to say,

“hello, I’m on a bicycle coming towards you, I’ve seen you but you may not have seen me. I will try to pass when it’s safe to do so, if you wanted to step a little to the side to help me pass, or get your dog under control, that would be great. But I’m happy to slow down and am not demanding that you get out of my way at once”

Is it a UK thing that we even think this? In Europe I've never noticed any reaction but a subtle acknowledgement that you've made your presence known. Or, groups of people are not taking up the whole path in the first place, both points I guess coming from bikes and shared use paths being more common. In the UK it's a bit of a lottery and people seem to interpret hearing a bell through all the usual biases. Their problem, not mine.
But I do agree that a decent bell lets you make your presence known far enough out that people are less likely to see it as "COMING THROUGH!".

(Awaits flaming and comments of "how ******* much??")

Not really, they're pricey yes but the flipside argument over the ebay/ rockbros is it's so cheap you have to wonder how they get churned out (factory processes I mean, not the end product quality which is fine for the £). Anyway, I bought a rockbros so no bells being rung from a high-horse : )

[sean_iow]

I'm not knocking the spurcycle, but they are very expensive. Somewhere in the middle ground would probably be right.

I assume all the parts of a rockbros bell are machine made without human intervention? Just assembled and put in the boxes by people, I wonder how many I could do an hour?

Now, if the spurcycle was all titanium... mmmm.... then I'd be tempted

[jameso]

Somewhere in the middle ground would probably be right.

Between a fiver and £45... like the Crane ENE at £20-25?

My OH would think this is all silly, she just calls out a "ring ring" and smiles at people. Works for her. I tried it a few times, more than once I got the '...Are you OK?...' sort of look

Sean - 90 Euro?

[matt_brk]

In the rockbros vs spurcycle differences, this article (written from Spurcycle's side) was fairly enlightening:

https://cyclingtips.com/2016/08/a-tale- ... erfeiters/

I might try the Lezyne classic. I struggle to have a bell when i'm loaded as i'm running drop handlebars with two stem cells, so there isn't any room that isn't taken up by bag or bartape. Something with a rubber band might work nicely as can move it to wherever there is space.

[ScotRoutes]

I despair of the whole bell thing really. It seems to me you’re often damned if you ring one or damned if you don’t. Some people are not pleased either way and you can’t win.

True, though if you have one and ring it they can't have a moan - or you're on the right side of the situation

There is no "right side of the equation".

Slow down, speak, even say "ding, ding". Grumpy bastards who want a moan because you don't have a bell can GTF.

[rudedog]

These for a £5 from decathlon are great, nice pleasant ring which is loud also

https://www.decathlon.co.uk/520-bike-be ... 00975.html

[lune ranger]

There is no "right side of the equation".

Slow down, speak, even say "ding, ding". Grumpy bastards who want a moan because you don't have a bell can GTF.

Amen brother

[TheBrownDog]

My mate SamThePagan has a lovely anecdote. He was riding a bridle path and chanced upon a group of elderly Ramblers. He made his presence known the to the folk at the back and was quietly making his way through the group when he passed a Grumpy, who shouted to everyone ahead: "Mountain biker!! NO BELL."

I have a timberbell but dont use it. I just shout at people.

[jameso]

There is no "right side of the equation".

- just meant that if you have (and use) a bell you're on the right side of the situation, as in, you're doing the right thing*. There's no legal requirement to have one and no need to use a bell rather than say hello. A bell just says 'bike' to most people quite well. Though yes, the grumps who moan if you don't have one can indeed GTFO / FRO.
*assuming you're not maintaining 25mph and ringing it continually as you barrel through any gap you can find

[thenorthwind]

My mate SamThePagan has a lovely anecdote. He was riding a bridle path and chanced upon a group of elderly Ramblers. He made his presence known the to the folk at the back and was quietly making his way through the group when he passed a Grumpy, who shouted to everyone ahead: "Mountain biker!! NO BELL."

I've had exactly this experience! Wide open moorland double-track, fine weather, visibility for days... came up behind a group of Ramblers spread across the track (which is fine) blethering to each other and generally ignorant of anything going on around them... slowed right down, cheery "hello-excuse-me" to those at the back... cue each of them crossing to the opposite side of the path...

"Sorry, I didn't hear your bell"

[sean_iow]

In the rockbros vs spurcycle differences, this article (written from Spurcycle's side) was fairly enlightening:

https://cyclingtips.com/2016/08/a-tale- ... erfeiters/

That's an interesting read. I had seen the rockbros ones first and then discovered the spurcycle afterwards.

I'd assumed they were both a copy of an older bell design as the design seemed so familiar. Perhaps that's the secret of good design, it looks timeless.

Either way they've not lost a sale by me buying then knock-off version, I couldn't afford the real thing as I spent all my money on carbon jones loops