Do the Girlie thing and use a bell...

ElectricEd

100 W
Joined
Nov 21, 2008
Messages
265
Location
Belgrave, Victoria, Australia
After finally getting decrepit enough to resist the effects of the remaining traces of testosterone, I did the girlie thing and put a bicycle bell onto my left handlebar extension.
The result has been amazing.
By going "ting ting" every 50 metres or so as you approach dog walkers or yabbering yummy mummies walking their prams, they magically move to one side creating a gap that allows me to pass through. I say "thank you" as I pass and everyone is smiling. Over the month or so since doing this, the same people tend to say "hi" as I pass. Everybody is happy. :D

There's several things going on here. "Ting ting" is far less threatening than a beefy "BIKE!" just as you are about to pass. It also cuts through yummy mummy chatter which prior to this, I thought was impossible.
It is instantly recognisable as an approaching bike, so they are not threatened.
By doing it every 50 meters as you approach, they can get an idea of your relative position without having to look, so they can move aside calmly, watching what they are doing, rather than looking around in panic and moving aside all at once.

Yesterday I went past a young school group doing a cycling excursion coming the other way. They were meandering across the whole track, yabbering and doing everything but watching where they were going. So as I approached, "ting ting, Ting, Ting, TING TING".
Magically the amorphous mass of students marshalled itself into a line and moved to one side, opening a clear path for me to pass. A-bloody-mazing!

So if you want a much more pleasant experience riding shared pathways, do the girlie thing and use a bell.
 
Here it's an approved mandated audible warning device. The $70 fine is locally known as "the no bell prize".
I know a few crazies who have taken it to the extreme by hooking up fire alarm and school bells.
I love my bells (not so much the "ping" bells) for all the benefits you cite. They have never elicited an angry look. . .
except from "serious" roadies in their team kit. Roadies and skunks hate bells.
 
Zoot Katz said:
... Roadies and skunks hate bells.

It's the same down here.
Testosterone overrides common sense every time.
 
I own I think 4 different bells and currently none are on any of my bikes.

One bell came on a bike and it's weak

One bell mounts into the end of the handlebars which I thought would be nice but it turned out to be a bad idea. It takes a quick twist and release to make it work and the first time I used it I almost sent myself off the road :oops: I got the hang of it but it also would "ding" at every bump in the road plus it was pretty weak too.

The other two bells have a compass on top which is actually quite useful when you're on unfamiliar roads but they're kinda big and handlebar space is at a premium right now.

Finally though the last reason none are currently on my bikes is that they are only useful on bike paths, and for the most part I avoid bike paths, but also because the results I got were mixed. If I used the bell too soon no one heard or maybe no one cared. If I used it too late it tended to startle folks. Yes you wouldn't believe how many walkers and bike riders seem surprised to see other folks on the paths :roll: So now when I do find myself on a multi-use path I observe the behavior of the person I'm approaching and if they are holding steady and true, cyclist or walker, I just cruise by. If they are in my way or seem oblivious to the possibility of traffic then I resort to shouting "on your left" or "passing on your left".

Mostly though I stick to roadways where I rarely encounter other cyclists, going in my direction anyway, and those I do come upon are generally holding a straight line and expect to be passed by traffic. On the roads there are no kids and no one just out for a stroll. Out on the road the joggers are generally headed against traffic so they see cyclists coming and dog-walkers along the roads seem more aware of their surroundings than on the paths.

So yeah while a bell is more "friendly" than a shout, out on the open road it simply isn't needed.

-R
 
I wouldn't get anywhere without my bell. I must use it 40 or 50 times every ride. Like you say, it tells the pedestrians to stay still or look before they move and that saves a lot of accidents and wasted time coming to a screeching stop!! Love my bell, in the city it is an essential piece of kit - cost me a dollar.
 
A 48 volt forklift horn is what I use for the cabbies who pull out in front of me, the incredibell sometimes to be polite.
 
Be careful with "on your left". It's fine with other bikes but folks who don't know the jargon might not respond the way you'd like. I've seen meandering pedesterranians spin around *to the left* in response and get right in the bike's path.
 
Zoot Katz said:
The $70 fine is locally known as "the no bell prize"..

First pun in a while that's made me laugh a little.

Nobody really walks anywhere around here unless you're near a school, so I've managed to live quite easily without. So far.
 
I use a small horn, that makes a freindly toot toot. It carries a bit further, at least this one, than a cheapie bell. Your attitude as you use the device is the key thing that has em smiling and waving. I ride a good ways on a bike path, walking trail, and now after a stop and a chat with the regulars, we are all friends. They know when they hear my toot, it's not a maniac approaching. For new faces, I will slow down more, and pass em less scary. If they show up a few more times, they get the same thing the others did last summer. A short friendly chat, letting em know I just need a little hole, and a lot of predictability what they'll do. Most of em appreciate that so much they love me.

The roadies wouldn't be caught dead on the, "ladies walking trail". I'm glad we have em, they are pretty militant, and are serious about bikes legal road rights in this state. Because of them, I can ride on the street a lot safer than back in the 70's. Flip a beer can at those guys and you better not come to a red light in 500 yards.... Oh, sorry, I didn't know there was a sharp edge on my handlebar,,,, Oh look at that, it scratched your car as you left the light,,,, Gee, you should leave the bikes more space dude. Oh, you want to fight now,,,,, make my day, there is 10 of us here.
 
Zoot Katz said:
Roadies and skunks hate bells.

Well I wouldn't say Skunks Hate bells... ok, Yes, we do. :lol:

It might be the culture here, but no one uses them. I prefer to call out "On your left", followed by a "Thank you", a "Good morning", a "Damn, you look fine, what are you doing later?" or something polite to that effect.
Its a lot more personal and polite than a bell.
As for there being a danger of them jumping to the left, well, yes, there is. But there's no reason to be going so fast past them that its a danger. Its not just a measure of safety to slow down when passing pedestrians, its also a matter or respect.
 
SamSpeed said:
Be careful with "on your left". It's fine with other bikes but folks who don't know the jargon might not respond the way you'd like. I've seen meandering pedesterranians spin around *to the left* in response and get right in the bike's path.
I completely agree!
I've stopped saying it as, more often than not, it causes the person to either turn left (and drift that way) or jump to the left. Most people have no idea what "on your left" means, especially if they haven't spent years in the US. And there's always the big chance that they don't even understand English.

The paths here in NYC have a lot of tourists. Some know what the bell sound means but many don't. This is why I start sounding off, slowly, a ways off. As I get closer, I sound off more forcefully and more often. If they're just not understanding, I start ringing continuously and just hang out a few feet behind them until they finally turn around. :mrgreen:

<deep sigh> I consider it a test of my patience to be handled as best as I can. A bit difficult sometimes as they're often walking side-by-side down the center of the bike path which is, of course, right next to the walking path, and are often irate when I ask them to move. Hmm...I may have to get that cattle guard sometime soon. :twisted: :twisted: :twisted:
 
I use a ring-bell from a bangladeshi pedicab (second pic in my sig). It is about 3" in diameter and can be very loud. I don't know where to get them in the US (I got it as a gift).

The phrase "comin' through" seem to get the desired response from the meat-pylons (Mathurin's term :twisted: ).
 
I use a little electronic gizmo. Push one button and it sounds just like a bike bell, except then a voice says, "Excuse me!" Push the other button and you get a few bars of a well known Mozart melody. Either one seems to get grins from the peds.

MT
 
SamSpeed said:
Be careful with "on your left". It's fine with other bikes but folks who don't know the jargon might not respond the way you'd like. I've seen meandering pedesterranians spin around *to the left* in response and get right in the bike's path.

True enough, I do get bewildered looks sometimes; perhaps I'll try simply "bike!" or "coming thru!" when approaching people on foot as they may not know cycling etiquette. I don't have much problem with other cyclists because most know the rules. Pedestrians on the multi-use paths are another thing entirely, especially groups which can be unpredictable; sometimes they will move right, sometimes left, sometimes they split left AND right and sometimes they are like deer caught in a car's headlights. I find their cluelessness kinda odd considering they are on a multi-use path with bike traffic :roll: Oh well as I said I prefer riding on roads anyway.


-R
 
Back in the seventies, that on your right, on your left thing was the ettiquite on the ski slope. Skiers knew it, and it worked good. But on weekend days, where I skiied in Ruidoso NM, the slopes would fill with church groups from Texas that didn't know the rules. On your right, would have the skiier turn right. or turn left, about 50 50.

We quickly learned the best way was to do a rebel yell, Apache war cry, or something like that. That way the guy would simply freeze in place and you could then ski around him, preferrably thowing snow all over him too. At age 18 we weren't concerned with courtesy, especially to texans :twisted:

In a pinch, it sill works on the walking trail, but grandma and her dog did nothing to deserve that treatment, so better to slow down to pass walkers if they don't hear your bell and make a hole.
 
Bells are popular here, and are so civilized how people instantly let you by.

I'm amazed at how non alert some folks are. First I'll do couple polite rings... nothing, the couple in front just keep blocking the trail, ring again, and again, sometimes i have to slow almost to a stop ringing repeately while laughing until they realize it's for them.

Once i rode silently past a middle aged lady on my bike and she jumped and yelped loadly. I apologized and made it a rule to ping as i approach from behind.
 
At this early stage of the bike's life, I'm finding this tiny bell perfectly adequate for pedestrian warning.
The sound carries much better than the video indicates.
At 2:15 is the bell. The kid only pretends :roll: lack of shock (ha ha).
[youtube]UwMZp2sAiEU[/youtube].

Anyway, I'm finding it to be just fine for pedestrians; ding ding well in advance and get them to turn their heads.
 
i use a 24v truck horn over-volted to 48v. i usually wait untill 2 meters away :twisted:

mainly for cars though
 
Truck horn would be nice for cars that want to right cross me in the crosswalk when it says walk. :twisted:
 
I previously posted this in another thread but it is as topical here.
/=================
My own experience has been that a squealing front brake effectively gets the attention of the most jaded pedestrians who might otherwise ignore a bicycle bell.

At times when a bell seems inappropriate whilst mingling with peds, a vocalised hissing sound carries well and connects with some part of our brains to signal danger. It's effective and can be less startling than a bell in quiet surroundings
=================\
Frame pumps are made for poke-checking skaters lost in their headphones.
 
One thing I like about the toot toot horn, is I can talk with it, anything from a freindly toot toot, to a hey jackass, HONK HONK HONK. The three honks, seems to send a more of a warning type signal, to those more oblivious peds.

Every single one of the regulars that I have talked to, no longer walk blocking the whole path. Even when they are three abreast, they leave the left corner open for me, and usually make the hole a bit bigger when they hear the freindly toot toot.
Those I took the time to stop and chat with, now have no problem with me passing them at 25 mph or more if its on the downslope of the hills.
 
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