Author Topic: Rings a bell?  (Read 10150 times)

Danneaux

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Re: Rings a bell?
« Reply #15 on: March 18, 2013, 03:34:19 PM »
Quote
This is what you need...
Andy! Yay!

You re-found the PowerBell! They went missing for a time. I started looking for one of these when they were actually produced in New York and never did get one. The inventor's original site went down, then a Youth Project that was selling them ran out, and then....

I wanted one of these in the worst way for my maroon bike. Ever since I saw something similar on Jim Cunningham's Singer at CyclArt ( http://www.cyclart.com/ ), the desire has been burning, Man. Just think how nicely that might be made to fit the Thorn's bottle dyno mounts...!

Ah!

All the best,

Dan. (...who still dreams of one, even if they aren't quite the same in sound or quality as the Original PowerBell)
« Last Edit: April 07, 2013, 08:51:46 PM by Danneaux »

Andybg

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Re: Rings a bell?
« Reply #16 on: March 18, 2013, 03:43:57 PM »
Maybe a dynamo driven electronic bell may be the modern day equivilent

Andy

julk

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Re: Rings a bell?
« Reply #17 on: March 18, 2013, 06:05:05 PM »

I am beginning to think having a multi-ring bell -- and using it starting at a distance might be a) more annoying but b) less frightening/startling/effective.


Dan,
I use a rotating bell which I keep rotating from well back until I get a response or have passed them by.
Single ping bells just don't seem get through to most walkers with dogs.
Julian.

Danneaux

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Re: Rings a bell?
« Reply #18 on: April 07, 2013, 03:47:47 AM »
Perhaps the ultimate single-pinger...and at €76, it ought to be!

The Van Nicholas CNC'd Ti bell: http://www.vannicholas.com/componentsdetails.aspx?id=114&type=vntitanium

31.8mm clamp diameter only.

Best,

Dan.

John Saxby

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Re: Rings a bell?
« Reply #19 on: April 07, 2013, 04:14:03 AM »
This is getting Pavlovian...

J.

Matt2matt2002

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Re: Rings a bell?
« Reply #20 on: April 07, 2013, 09:56:32 AM »
This is getting Pavlovian...

J.
As the OPer of this thread may I bring it back to topic please? ;)
Without a bell, what is the correct shout out to warn incomers?
Please bare in mind this is a family site.
 :D
Never drink and drive. You may hit a bump  and spill your drink

John Saxby

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Re: Rings a bell?
« Reply #21 on: April 07, 2013, 11:33:00 AM »
Right, Matt.  Mea culpa.

Bell-less, wot to do?  "Bazwaldo's dream-spec Nomad" thread overlaps/chimes in, as it were, so let me replay my comment from that:

One finds that there's usually an etiquette with bells -- I learned in the Netherlands this past autumn, for example, that it's Bad Form to ring them too much/too insistently/too whatever.  Some places, they barely seem to exist--riding in the environs of New York City was astonished to see how few there were. Scared the hell out of me, but then, I'm just a country boy adrift in the big city.

I depend on my Incredibell--mostly to alert others to my presence, in a discreet, Canajan sort of way.  Especially useful, maybe even critical, on mixed-use paths.  In Austria, on the Donauradweg, I even had wandering tourist pedestrians thank me for using the bell.

On the other hand:  Walking in Berlin with my daughter, and being a bumbling auslander not alert to the etiquette and the markings on the sidewalk (pavement) (trottoir), I was dismayed to hear, not a tinkling wee bell when I was in the way (unwittingly) of a fraulein on a big city bike, but "Aus dem weg! Aus dem weg!" I said, "Chill, babe, how serious can it be?"  This had no discernible effect, but I felt, well, justified after a fashion, 'cos she didn't have a bell, nor even a whistle.

Bells are valuable where bikes & pedestrians mix...cows know this too, of course--they wear bells 'cos their horns don't work.

Cheers,

J.


E-wan

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Re: Rings a bell?
« Reply #22 on: April 07, 2013, 12:15:30 PM »
how about one of these as a bell alternative

Plastimo-Mini-Trump-fog-Horn

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Plastimo-Mini-Trump-fog-Horn/dp/B000WISPYS?&tag=rnwff-20

Danneaux

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Re: Rings a bell?
« Reply #23 on: April 07, 2013, 05:16:52 PM »
Quote
As the OPer of this thread may I bring it back to topic please? Without a bell, what is the correct shout out to warn incomers?
Hi Matt!

Here, where we drive on the right, the expected phrase when closing on a pedestrian is "Passing on your left!"...at which point one of two things happens:
1) The person invariably steps left, directly into one's path
...or...
2) The person crosses the path from left to right, again directly in front of one.

The behavior is not unlike that of the common red squirrel when crossing the street -- back, then forth, then back'n'forth-- in front of an oncoming automobile.

Oh! A third response frequently ensues, where the pedestrian, angered at having their reverie broken, lets the notifying cyclist know that in no uncertain terms.

I've had the best luck so far with my Cheeky Parrot squeeze horn mounted on the handlebars of my tandem (yes, those are friction/indexed thumbshifters on drop handlebars). See this thread on warning devices: http://www.thorncycles.co.uk/forums/index.php?topic=4118.0  Children of all ages seem to enjoy it's cheery "Eeep!" and actually smile in response. Full details and a photo of my ever-growing bell colllection here: http://www.thorncycles.co.uk/forums/index.php?topic=4118.msg18672#msg18672

I put the parrot on the bike as a sort of joke, but it has proven to be my most effective warning device -- much better than "Passing on your left!"

Most "racer-types" on my local paths practice The Way Of The Silent Assassin and simply carve through pedestrian traffic at speed. Horrifying afterwards if one is walking, but it does reduce the unpredictable behavior of those who hear a warning first.

Best,

Dan. (...who now understands why people are sometimes described as "squirrely": http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/squirrelly)
« Last Edit: April 07, 2013, 05:37:36 PM by Danneaux »

JWestland

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Re: Rings a bell?
« Reply #24 on: April 08, 2013, 10:26:47 AM »
I've had this conversation locally.

Cycle bells are either not heard or have the adverse direction effect.

I usually go "excuse me" to notify people of my presence if the bell is not noticed.
If somebody surprises me last moment by stepping out right in front more...er...direct words may be uttered.

In Netherlands the cyclists just drive over you, so everybody is attuned to the sound of them  ;D
Pedal to the metal! Wind, rain, hills, braking power permitting ;)

NZPeterG

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Re: Rings a bell?
« Reply #25 on: April 08, 2013, 11:53:00 AM »
I've had this conversation locally.

Cycle bells are either not heard or have the adverse direction effect.

I usually go "excuse me" to notify people of my presence if the bell is not noticed.
If somebody surprises me last moment by stepping out right in front more...er...direct words may be uttered.

In Netherlands the cyclists just drive over you, so everybody is attuned to the sound of them  ;D

Hi your right on two things
!st Bike Bells I Mountain Unicycled for years along cycle ways (and a Unicycle makes No noise) if I called out the walkers would step in front of me (and down I would go) I mounted a bell off my Camlbak and it worked very well  ;D

2nd Netherlands? was always fun  8) watching my PAX (Passage's) walk along cycle lanes and getting Hit  ;)  (we did talk the PAX not to walk in the bike lanes)

Pete
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il padrone

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Re: Rings a bell?
« Reply #26 on: April 08, 2013, 11:54:30 AM »
For many years I did ride without a bell. To let others know I was approaching I used to just whistle an inane tune (I'm a crap whistler). It generally seemed to work surprisingly well.

JWestland

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Re: Rings a bell?
« Reply #27 on: April 08, 2013, 01:37:18 PM »
Whistle Duelling Banjos or March of the Empire?  ;D
Pedal to the metal! Wind, rain, hills, braking power permitting ;)