Ding Ding... ring my bell!!

[Amber Valley Guy]

I gave up on bells, as mentioned above, some walkers can't hear them due to age/hearing range loss, others have earbuds/headphones on, some of those that do hear you (eventually ) accuse you of ringing your bell 'aggressively' or start doing the (usually older women) dance when they can't decide which side of the path to be on, you just can't win. Now it's 'on your right (or left)', ,'excuse me', 'bike', followed by a 'thanks', 'cheers' etc. Whilst the more experienced walkers just step to one side without breaking stride.

 

[Just gan]

I gave up on bells, as mentioned above, some walkers can't hear them due to age/hearing range loss, others have earbuds/headphones on, some of those that do hear you (eventually ) accuse you of ringing your bell 'aggressively' or start doing the (usually older women) dance when they can't decide which side of the path to be on, you just can't win. Now it's 'on your right (or left)', ,'excuse me', 'bike', followed by a 'thanks', 'cheers' etc. Whilst the more experienced walkers just step to one side without breaking stride.

Funny thing is I walk a lot as well. I look behind me probably a lot more than I need to . More if I have some music on
( Bone conducting ) . I think I probably have to be a bit more aggressive to folk that are negative when I'm cycling meaning if they are nasty just stop and say what's the problem etc etc .

 

[Jeffsy29]

+1 vote for Timberbell.

There's not much substitution* for pre-warning in low-visibility sections or fast descents when you don't have time to react and think "oh....I should ring my bell now" + reaction-time of the recipient which takes way-longer than you'd imagine.

Caveat on the Timber: I'm on my 2nd one after first Timberbell muting "clutch" started slipping and would start ringing all the time on-trail. Gen1 Timber looked much like the OG poster's bell in the middle of the photo (slimmer clasp design). The revised model is visibly stouter (wider/thicker clamp), more robust switch mech. Website backs this up: "It’s built stronger, and all parts are now completely modular, including the cable and clapper ringer system. If anything wears out or breaks, you can replace it quickly and easily."

The Knog Oi Classic came OE on my street bike which is just fine since I'm not hanging onto the grips for dear life and I've got lots of visibility to time my "Dings" as I approach folks.

* Awareness bell (gorgeous, handmade, cool tone) and Trail Chicken™ (a trail-side conversation starter no doubt) might give Timberbell a run for it's money.

 

[TheSnowShark]

My childhood memories

 

[p3eps]

My childhood memories


View attachment 141928

Or rolling over a coke can and getting it stuck behind the fork to create a motorcycle noise!

 

[p3eps]

Caveat on the Timber: I'm on my 2nd one after first Timberbell muting "clutch" started slipping and would start ringing all the time on-trail.

I think that's what happened to mine. It would ring with some of the bigger bumps even though it was locked. My V4 one doesn't do that at all (yet!).

 

[Astro66]

I've been inspired by this thread. And since getting my new bike, I travel at a much greater pace, so I needed a bell for some of the tight twisty terrain, with a series of blind corners, I ride.

After reading the OP. I thought I'd try the 10 pound cowbell type bell the author tried. After seeing his split. I have added a tie to it, to keep it secure. It also completely stops it moving, when you unlock and lock it.

So far working well. No head-on collisions yet .......

Oh BTW. I hate the look on my cockpit. But I have to put safety first.

 

[Polar]

I hear a lot of good things about Timberbell so I bought it to see how it works for my use. First I mounted it around the stem since it looked best, but then the pendulum is down on one side so the sound was a little muffled so I moved it up to the right side of the handlebar since there was the best space. Very happy with it, I just wish it had made as good a sound when it was mounted around the stem.

 

[Astro66]

I've been inspired by this thread. And since getting my new bike, I travel at a much greater pace, so I needed a bell for some of the tight twisty terrain, with a series of blind corners, I ride.

After reading the OP. I thought I'd try the 10 pound cowbell type bell the author tried. After seeing his split. I have added a tie to it, to keep it secure. It also completely stops it moving, when you unlock and lock it.

So far working well. No head-on collisions yet .......

Oh BTW. I hate the look on my cockpit. But I have to put safety first.

View attachment 142030

Ok ....... The Cheap Chinese CowBell failed second ride. There is a cable holding the clapper inside the bell. The clamp on the end of that cable let go, and the clapper fell out.

I completely disassembled the bell and repaired it properly. It shouldn't fail again. But it was poorly designed. I would not buy it, unless you pull it apart and secure everything properly.

 

[Astro66]

Ok ........ another update on The Cheap Chinese CowBell .

The Ebay site offered me a full refund, if I changed my negative review. I told them, "No", the review stands, they can keep the money.

We have to stop taking refunds to remove negative reviews on products that are clearly never going to work properly. Some people won't complain and it's how they can make money selling poorly made products.

 

[Arminius]

Here is another bell - Swisstrail Bell:

swisstrailbell

Geniesse die Trails und mach Dich sympathisch bemerkbar ...Die Original swisstrailbell werden seit 2013 in aufwendiger Handarbeit in Deutschland und der S..

www.swisstrailbell.ch

 

[Astro66]

Hard to believe you complained about a bell , even worse you stripped it down and repaired it. Each to their own though

It was $AUD20 and it failed on the second ride. Why would you not complain that it's not fit for purpose ? Surely the complaint, which creates a warning for others, is right thing to do ?

And what's wrong with fixing it properly ? It never failed again. Surely better than sending it to landfill and then not having a bell ?

Sorry. Your reply really makes no sense.

 

[Just gan]

It was $AUD20 and it failed on the second ride. Why would you not complain that it's not fit for purpose ? Surely the complaint, which creates a warning for others, is right thing to do ?

And what's wrong with fixing it properly ? It never failed again. Surely better than sending it to landfill and then not having a bell ?

Sorry. Your reply really makes no sense.

Apologies

 

[irie]

It was $AUD20 and it failed on the second ride. Why would you not complain that it's not fit for purpose ? Surely the complaint, which creates a warning for others, is right thing to do ?

And what's wrong with fixing it properly ? It never failed again. Surely better than sending it to landfill and then not having a bell ?

Sorry. Your reply really makes no sense.

Point is that not sending the faulty bell back means that the seller is not made aware that the bell is faulty thus ensuring the continuing supply of faulty bells to others.

 

[Just gan]

Point is that not sending the faulty bell back means that the seller is not made aware that the bell is faulty thus ensuring the continuing supply of faulty bells to others.

I definitely got the point but you may need to buy another 50 bells to see if your complaint ever did any good . I wonder if they were recalled after the complaint ?. Did the OP get offered a replacement that could have been ok or just bite the bullet and repair it without waiting . Said it before don't take comments on here too seriously.

 

[irie]

I definitely got the point but you may need to buy another 50 bells to see if your complaint ever did any good . I wonder if they were recalled after the complaint ?. Did the OP get offered a replacement that could have been ok or just bite the bullet and repair it without waiting . Said it before don't take comments on here too seriously.

So many questions, so few answers .

 

[Astro66]

Point is that not sending the faulty bell back means that the seller is not made aware that the bell is faulty thus ensuring the continuing supply of faulty bells to others.

I clearly described the process I went through above. I left a complaint on the bell's sales page. The seller offered me money to remove it. I refused the money because I wanted others to see my complaint.

So .......... the seller was aware. Any future buyer that checked feedback would have been aware.

Sending the bell back would have seen more waste go to landfill, and I would have been without a bell. And the refund would have cancelled the sale, and removed my complaint, so future buyers would have seen nothing, which is probably how the bell was still able to be sold. The seller banking on getting enough people not making a complaint to make money selling a poorly designed bell. And those that did. He simply refunded them, and had the complaint removed.

Me repairing the design fault in the bell meant the bell went on to a serviceable life and was sold on with the bike. And the complaint stayed with the bell warning future buyers of the design fault. I think that is the best outcome. But everyone is welcome to their opinion.

The design fault, as I described above, was that the fastener to hold the clapper on the cable, was too soft, and kept coming loose, and the clapper fell off. I simply used a proper crimp device to fasten it.

 

[HandsomeDanNZ]

I don't have a bell on my bike, but have had an electric scooter for years and with the bell on that, I gave up using it. I either got people being annoyed, or people ignoring it and had to call out - "coming through!".
So now I just yell on bike or scooter.

 

[Arminius]

Apropos Ding Ding... ring my bell!