yes ... a bell. I share il padrone's bell taste in the Mirrycle Incredibel ...
http://www.mirrycle.com/gripbell.phpI obtained one directly from the company but in the silver/grey colour. My old ping bell just was not loud enough to warn pedestrians when approaching from behind. They used to jump out their skin as they heard the bell at the last minute. The Incredibell works well giving plenty of warning thus avoiding the pedestrian users of the shared cycle/walking path leaping into the air!
I suppose I could always cough, shout, 'say hello', or 'bike coming watch out' or whistle, but the Incredibell has such a friendly ring! (see link above). I prefer it. Built into the handlebar grip means that it does not obviously look like a bell. For those planning to tour in countries where you are constantly surrounded by groups of kids it would be ideal. Reading some touring blogs, they all seem to want to ring the bell!
Matt - I found it very easy to fit on the Thorn Comfort bars. It pings internally when you twist it if that makes sense.
Bells must be fitted at the point of sale but there is no legal requirement to have one on a bike in the UK (except Northern-Ireland and the Isle of Man) ...
http://www.ctc.org.uk/cyclists-library/regulations/safety-regulationsI would keep one on a bike as if you are ever in a collision with a pedestrian, and they decide to take legal action, they may claim a lack of due care and attention or some other wooly British legal term if you did not have a bell fitted (I am not a lawyer though!).
While searching for the legal status of bike bells in the UK I found this ...
ISOBEL ASKS: IS A BELL NECESSARY ON A BICYCLE? BIKEHUB ANSWERS: MAYBE BUT IT’S NOT A LEGAL REQUIREMENT
At the point of sale (ie shops) bikes have to be fitted with bells but there is no legal requirement for them to be fitted to bicycles no longer on shop display. [NOTE: thanks to the Coalition Government's Red Tape Challenge this requirement will be history soon but, for now, is still in force).
The Highway Code does not stipulate that bells must be used. It states: "Be considerate of other road users, particularly blind and partially sighted pedestrians. Let them know you are there when necessary, for example by ringing your bell."
Another 'audible warning device' is the human voice: a polite 'excuse me' can often come across as a lot less aggressive than the apparently insistent tinkling of a bell. However, 'angry of Tunbridge Wells' type letters to newspapers continue to insist that cyclists - from church-hopping old maids to downhill mountain-bikers - ought to use bells, despite the fact their use often scares the bejesus out of pedestrians.
On the Continent, the use of bells is more widespread and pedestrians do not leap out of their skin when they hear a bicycle bell behind them. Perhaps, in time, the use of bicycle bells in the UK will once again mean cyclist approaching, please don't move to the side rather than oi, cyclist coming, get out of my way.The full, sometimes amusing, article ...
http://www.bikehub.co.uk/featured-articles/cycling-and-the-law/
