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Bells or noise making

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Australia and New Zealand
Published
5 August 2003
Last activity
24 August 2003
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Rs
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28
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  1. Which sort of bell would most cyclists prefer? Personally I like the old ring-a-tring bells. They
    sound like a bike, and one stroke is needed for 2-3 seconds of noise, which is better than one
    "ting" or "honk" from other sorts IMHO.

    RS

    "Time spent cycling is not added to one's life"

  2. Just a good old dinger is my preference although I like to call out 'bike' when I approach
    pedestrians from behind. It seems to get their attention better.

    Cheers,

    Ben

    "RS" <[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...

    Quoted message said:

    Which sort of bell would most cyclists prefer? Personally I like the old ring-a-tring bells. They
    sound like a bike, and


    one

    Quoted message said:

    stroke is needed for 2-3 seconds of noise, which is better than one "ting"


    or

    Quoted message said:

    "honk" from other sorts IMHO.

    RS

    "Time spent cycling is not added to one's life"

  3. I use an (AirZounds ?) air-horn - I find that a bell just doesn't cut it with taxis and buses who
    are trying to squash me. It is a bit OTT for pedestrians, but does work on the headphoned variety,
    where a bell is often not loud enough.

    "Ben Long" <[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...

    Quoted message said:

    Just a good old dinger is my preference although I like to call out 'bike' when I approach
    pedestrians from behind. It seems to get their attention better.

    Cheers,

    Ben

    "RS" <[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...

    Quoted message said:

    Which sort of bell would most cyclists prefer? Personally I like the old ring-a-tring bells.
    They sound like a bike,


    and

    Quoted message said:

    one

    Quoted message said:

    stroke is needed for 2-3 seconds of noise, which is better than one


    "ting"

    Quoted message said:

    or

    Quoted message said:

    "honk" from other sorts IMHO.

    RS

    "Time spent cycling is not added to one's life"


  4. [email hidden] (RS) wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...

    Quoted message said:

    Which sort of bell would most cyclists prefer? Personally I like the old ring-a-tring bells. They
    sound like a bike, and one stroke is needed for 2-3 seconds of noise, which is better than one
    "ting" or "honk" from other sorts IMHO.

    Those old style bells send me into a "cycling is for 8 year olds" memory. I use a standard "ting".

    In fact, this morning I noticed a few potential doors about to open.. "ting-ting-ting-ting-ting"
    tends to work just as well as "rill-a-tring", and while it does require more use of my thumb, the
    rest of my fingers are still there to work the brakes or manouver if necessary.

    PC

  5. Quoted message said:

    Those old style bells send me into a "cycling is for 8 year olds" memory. I use a standard "ting".

    Some years ago I bought an electric bell from a little bike shop near the airport in Denpasar whilst
    on holiday in Bali. When you push the button it sounds like a referee's pea-whistle. Quite
    effective.

    Theo

  6. --------------010805090803060708020407 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii; format=flowed
    Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit

    Much as I like the air zound I find that the air line punctures very easily and it is impossible to
    get replacements. It is also a little noisy for old ladies and children.

    Jack Russell

    Andy Simpson said:

    I use an (AirZounds ?) air-horn - I find that a bell just doesn't cut it with taxis and buses who
    are trying to squash me. It is a bit OTT for pedestrians, but does work on the headphoned variety,
    where a bell is often not loud enough.

    "Ben Long" <[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...

    Quoted message said:

    Just a good old dinger is my preference although I like to call out 'bike' when I approach
    pedestrians from behind. It seems to get their attention better.

    Cheers,

    Ben

    "RS" <[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...

    Quoted message said:

    Which sort of bell would most cyclists prefer? Personally I like the old ring-a-tring bells. They
    sound like a bike,


    and

    Quoted message said:

    one

    Quoted message said:

    stroke is needed for 2-3 seconds of noise, which is better than one


    "ting"

    Quoted message said:

    or

    Quoted message said:

    "honk" from other sorts IMHO.

    RS

    "Time spent cycling is not added to one's life"

    --------------010805090803060708020407 Content-Type: text/html; charset=us-ascii
    Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit

    <!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN"> <html> <head> <meta
    http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html;charset=ISO-8859-1"> <title></title> </head> <body>
    Much as I like the air zound I find that the air line punctures very easily and it is impossible to
    get replacements. It is also a little noisy for old ladies and children.<br> <br> Jack Russell<br>
    <br> <br> Andy Simpson wrote:<br> <blockquote type="cite"
    cite="[email hidden]"> <pre wrap="">I use an (AirZounds ?) air-horn - I
    find that a bell just doesn't cut it with taxis and buses who are trying to squash me. It is a bit
    OTT for pedestrians, but does work on the headphoned variety, where a bell is often not loud enough.

    "Ben Long" <a class="moz-txt-link-rfc2396E"
    href=""][email hidden]"><[email hidden]></a> wrote in message <a
    class="moz-txt-link-freetext"
    href=""]news:[email hidden]">"]news:[email hidden]</a>... </pre>
    <blockquote type="cite"> <pre wrap="">Just a good old dinger is my preference although I like to
    call out 'bike' when I approach pedestrians from behind. It seems to get their attention better.

    Cheers,

    Ben

    "RS" <a class="moz-txt-link-rfc2396E" href=""][email hidden]"><[email hidden]></a> wrote in
    message <a class="moz-txt-link-freetext"
    href=""]news:[email hidden]">"]news:[email hidden]</a>... </pre>
    <blockquote type="cite"> <pre wrap="">Which sort of bell would most cyclists prefer? Personally I
    like the old ring-a-tring bells. They sound like a bike, </pre> </blockquote> </blockquote> <pre
    wrap=""><!---->and </pre> <blockquote type="cite"> <pre wrap="">one </pre> <blockquote type="cite">
    <pre wrap="">stroke is needed for 2-3 seconds of noise, which is better than one </pre>
    </blockquote> </blockquote> <pre wrap=""><!---->"ting" </pre> <blockquote type="cite"> <pre
    wrap="">or </pre> <blockquote type="cite"> <pre wrap="">"honk" from other sorts IMHO.

    RS

    "Time spent cycling is not added to one's life"

    </pre> </blockquote> <pre wrap=""> </pre> </blockquote> <pre wrap=""><!---->

    </pre> </blockquote> <br> </body> </html>

    --------------010805090803060708020407--

  7. "]news:[email hidden]...

    Quoted message said:

    [email hidden] (RS) wrote in message


    news:<[email hidden]>...

    Quoted message said:
    Quoted message said:

    Which sort of bell would most cyclists prefer? Personally I like the old ring-a-tring bells.
    They sound like a bike,


    and one

    Quoted message said:
    Quoted message said:

    stroke is needed for 2-3 seconds of noise, which is better than one


    "ting" or

    Quoted message said:
    Quoted message said:

    "honk" from other sorts IMHO.

    Those old style bells send me into a "cycling is for 8 year olds" memory. I use a standard "ting".

    In fact, this morning I noticed a few potential doors about to open.. "ting-ting-ting-ting-ting"
    tends to work just as well as "rill-a-tring", and while it does require more use of my thumb, the
    rest of my fingers are still there to work the brakes or manouver if necessary.

    Works for me.

    j

  8. Greetings RS, The essential object of a bell, like a car horn, is as a warning device. In this
    capacity, anything you can reasonably fit to a bicycle is totally inadequate in today's traffic. I
    have one of those silly little dingers on my bike because I've never bother taking it off, but my
    preferred warning method is along the lines of, WAKE UP, YOU BLOODY IDIOT. Much more effective.
    Regards, Ray.

    RS said:

    Which sort of bell would most cyclists prefer? Personally I like the old ring-a-tring bells. They
    sound like a bike, and one stroke is needed for 2-3 seconds of noise, which is better than one
    "ting" or "honk" from other sorts IMHO.

    RS

    "Time spent cycling is not added to one's life"

  9. Quoted message said:

    Works for me.

    I howl "LOOK OUT!!!!". It makes it really interesting because the pedestrians instantly leap in a
    random direction maximising the chances of bowling one over. Also good for scaring the absolute [censored]
    out of packs of old ladies too.

    Well, it's good to have a hobby, isn't it?
    ---
    DFM

  10. RS said:

    Which sort of bell would most cyclists prefer? Personally I like the old ring-a-tring bells. They
    sound like a bike, and one stroke is needed for 2-3 seconds of noise, which is better than one
    "ting" or "honk" from other sorts IMHO.

    RS

    "Time spent cycling is not added to one's life"


    If you ride on bike paths, I find a bell is best. As I read somewhere once, people are more likely
    to react favourably (in a "Morning, Vicar" kind of a way) to a bell than to someone yelling at them,
    no matter how unaggro they are trying to sound.

    But yes, in traffic you may need to step up a level. I have actually managed to raise some
    door-opening drivers' awareness by nicely asking them if they looked first - if on the other hand
    you just yell at them, they are likely to put the experience down to "cyclists being w*nkers" and
    not change their behaviour. One can at least try, and hope :-)

    &roo Fixing the world, one door-opener at a time...

  11. "Deep Floyd Mars" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
    "]news:[email hidden]...

    Quoted message said:
    Quoted message said:
    Quoted message said:
    Quoted message said:


    Works for me.

    I howl "LOOK OUT!!!!". It makes it really interesting because the pedestrians instantly leap in a
    random direction maximising the chances of bowling one over. Also good for scaring the absolute
    [censored] out of packs of old ladies too.

    Well, it's good to have a hobby, isn't it?

    "Look out" would work a bit better as a predecessor to the above, yes. You appear a little less
    hostile in general 🙂

    I ususally warm up with the bell. BBut Sometimes people just won't hear it and swarm around in their
    own little world - e.g., opening car doors without looking. That's when the shout is called for.

    j

  12. Quoted message said:

    I howl "LOOK OUT!!!!". It makes it really interesting because the pedestrians instantly leap in a
    random direction maximising the chances of bowling one over. Also good for scaring the absolute
    **** out of packs of old ladies too.

    Hmm, a combination of voice, squeaky horn and ting-a-ling bell. Voice, for traffic & heading off potential dooring incidents(& I'm lucky to have a loud voice for a wee lass), squeaky horn for shared bikepaths or stray peds ildling off footpaths. Guaranteed to get prompt attention & a smile instead of bringing more aggression to the situation. Ting-a-ling bell for a combination of peds & traffic. Sometimes all three in a matter of microseconds.

    For non-verbal, try pointing/ "polite" gesturing and baring the teeth simultaneously when some inattentive twit attempts driving over you at intersection/side street/drive way.😠

  13. I'm actually gonna add a car horn to my bike. I was gonna put on a train horn, but then foudn i need
    a big compressor. A train horn would rock though 😄 I already havea 12 volt electrical system to
    power my 50 watt halogen light

    Ray Peace said:

    Greetings RS, The essential object of a bell, like a car horn, is as a warning device. In this
    capacity, anything you can reasonably fit to a bicycle is totally inadequate in today's traffic. I
    have one of those silly little dingers on my bike because I've never bother taking it off, but my
    preferred warning method is along the lines of, WAKE UP, YOU BLOODY IDIOT. Much more effective.
    Regards, Ray.

    RS said:

    Which sort of bell would most cyclists prefer? Personally I like the old ring-a-tring bells. They
    sound like a bike, and one stroke is needed for 2-3 seconds of noise, which is better than one
    "ting" or "honk" from other sorts IMHO.

    RS

    "Time spent cycling is not added to one's life"

  14. Quoted message said:

    For non-verbal, try pointing/ "polite" gesturing and baring the teeth simultaneously when some
    inattentive twit attempts driving over you at intersection/side street/drive way.😠

    I tend to assume that drivers cannot see me, and are not going to make allowances for me. This is
    part of being defensive on a bike. And you have to allow for drivers throwing their car doors open
    without looking. It happens all the time, and no matter how many education campaigns there are, it
    wont make people glance in their side mirror first.

    Intersections can be fun, but you can always find a suitable, and safe, line to take through. Being
    aware of the flow of traffic helps. Keeping an eye out for idiots that don't indicate, and don't
    know where they are going is not a bad idea either.

    Anyway, I'm off to play in the traffic...
    ---
    DFM

  15. A whistle is a good solution for door openers. I'd like to wire a car horn to SLA battery mounted
    under the top bar.

    Andrew Swan said:
    RS said:

    Which sort of bell would most cyclists prefer? Personally I like the old ring-a-tring bells. They
    sound like a bike, and one stroke is needed for 2-3 seconds of noise, which is better than one
    "ting" or "honk" from other sorts IMHO.

    RS

    "Time spent cycling is not added to one's life"


    If you ride on bike paths, I find a bell is best. As I read somewhere once, people are more likely
    to react favourably (in a "Morning, Vicar" kind of a way) to a bell than to someone yelling at
    them, no matter how unaggro they are trying to sound.

    But yes, in traffic you may need to step up a level. I have actually managed to raise some
    door-opening drivers' awareness by nicely asking them if they looked first - if on the other hand
    you just yell at them, they are likely to put the experience down to "cyclists being w*nkers" and
    not change their behaviour. One can at least try, and hope :-)

    &roo Fixing the world, one door-opener at a time...

  16. Andrew Swan said:
    RS said:

    Which sort of bell would most cyclists prefer?

    Quoted message said:
    Quoted message said:


    If you ride on bike paths, I find a bell is best. As I read somewhere

    Quoted message said:

    But yes, in traffic you may need to step up a level. I have actually

    I use the smallest bell that I could find mounted out of the way on stem. Even the best bell is
    useless on the road but legally required - bizzare. And if I really need to warn, I also need my
    hands on the brakes. The canti screech is pretty loud now I think of it.

    On the path, I consider bell and voice but now prefer a friendly "hello" as I overtake.

    AndreS.au ===> I ride therefore I am

  17. "cfsmtb" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
    "]news:[email hidden]... [...]

    Quoted message said:

    For non-verbal, try pointing/ "polite" gesturing and baring the teeth simultaneously when some
    inattentive twit attempts driving over you at intersection/side street/drive way.😠

    Mmmm, my most often used "non-verbal" for inattentive cagers is classified as "road rage".

    Myself I think it is a pretty mild response to someone trying to kill you.

    j

  18. "Arpit" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
    "]news:[email hidden]...

    Quoted message said:

    I'm actually gonna add a car horn to my bike. I was gonna put on a train horn, but then foudn i
    need a big compressor. A train horn would rock though 😄 I already havea 12 volt electrical system
    to power my 50 watt halogen light

    I don't know about you, but I want the horn Carrey used in the mask.

    "Squeeze me gently."

    j

  19. Andre S. said:
    Andrew Swan said:
    RS said:

    Which sort of bell would most cyclists prefer?

    Quoted message said:
    Quoted message said:


    If you ride on bike paths, I find a bell is best. As I read somewhere

    Quoted message said:

    But yes, in traffic you may need to step up a level. I have actually

    I use the smallest bell that I could find mounted out of the way on stem. Even the best bell is
    useless on the road but legally required - bizzare. And if I really need to warn, I also need my
    hands on the brakes. The canti screech is pretty loud now I think of it.

    On the path, I consider bell and voice but now prefer a friendly "hello" as I overtake.


    You overtake? heh, I'm always being overtaken :p

    Quoted message said:


    AndreS.au ===> I ride therefore I am

  20. "Deep Floyd Mars" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
    "]news:[email hidden]... [...]

    Quoted message said:

    I tend to assume that drivers cannot see me, and are not going to make allowances for me. This is
    part of being defensive on a bike. And you have to allow for drivers throwing their car doors open
    without looking. It happens all the time, and no matter how many education campaigns there


    are,

    Quoted message said:

    it wont make people glance in their side mirror first.

    Intersections can be fun, but you can always find a suitable, and safe,


    line

    Quoted message said:

    to take through. Being aware of the flow of traffic helps. Keeping an eye out for idiots that
    don't indicate, and don't know where they are going is not a bad idea either.

    Agree with all of the above, especially the paths bit. Traffic is like a constantly changing 3d
    picture, you just gotta make sure to "melt" into it.

    I've found it helps with motorbike riding as well no end. I rode for several years 360 days a year
    in the streets of Oslo before coming down here and then finally getting a motorised vehicle in
    addition to my pushbikes.

    I can go very fast through the traffic on my CBR250RR (soon to be R6'03?), courtesy of all my
    pushbike training. I'm also very aware of those typical pitfalls like when people don't tend to
    notice me, that's all automatic.

    j

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