Should I or shouldn't I? - Samui AirZound Horn 115db

jonny_trousers

jeremyrundle wrote:

By the way, in Plymouth yesterday, twenty something in lycra on road bike in town centre "move it old bag" to a woman with children who dared to cross the road in a 10mph area, is this what some cyclists are about.

Now that didn't actually happen Jezza, did it?

rich_e

I've posted about it before on here, but I bought an Air Zound when I first started Commuting in London... I didn't have a bell and was worried about other roads users and what to do. I used it for a couple of weeks then realized it was stupid.

- It doesn't fit on the bars of a road bike properly, it was a bodge job to get it to fit.

- Really you need to fit the bottle into a bottle holder, which also means zip tying the air hosing to various parts of your bike, which isn't very neat.

- It's LOUD, really LOUD! I was once going across Oxford Street into Soho and it was a summer's day with loads of people crossing when I had the right of way. I hit the horn and literally about 60 people jumped out of their skin. The reactions then were the unexpectedness of what had made the noise, while others were angry.

- When you are in a situation with a Motorist where you need to use it, your first reaction is to use your brakes or steer yourself away from danger. It's never your first reaction to go for the horn. So basically all it's good for is using it once the danger has passed to vent your anger/frustration.

Using it to alert people of your presence or where you might think they haven't looked is overkill. I now use a bell when I need to, for alerting pedestrians. For Motorists you can't beat your own voice... at the end of the day you can use it while steering yourself away from trouble and you can be as loud as you need be.

jonny_trousers

Rich_E wrote:

I've posted about it before on here, but I bought an Air Zound when I first started Commuting in London... I didn't have a bell and was worried about other roads users and what to do. I used it for a couple of weeks then realized it was stupid.

- It doesn't fit on the bars of a road bike properly, it was a bodge job to get it to fit.

- Really you need to fit the bottle into a bottle holder, which also means zip tying the air hosing to various parts of your bike, which isn't very neat.

- It's LOUD, really LOUD! I was once going across Oxford Street into Soho and it was a summer's day with loads of people crossing when I had the right of way. I hit the horn and literally about 60 people jumped out of their skin. The reactions then were the unexpectedness of what had made the noise, while others were angry.

- When you are in a situation with a Motorist where you need to use it, your first reaction is to use your brakes or steer yourself away from danger. It's never your first reaction to go for the horn. So basically all it's good for is using it once the danger has passed to vent your anger/frustration.

Using it to alert people of your presence or where you might think they haven't looked is overkill. I now use a bell when I need to, for alerting pedestrians. For Motorists you can't beat your own voice... at the end of the day you can use it while steering yourself away from trouble and you can be as loud as you need be.

This post is all anyone who is considering buying one of those stupid horns ever need read.

jeremyrundle

Rubbish, you could argue exactly the same for car horns yet I know of no one who has not used one

iPete

jeremyrundle wrote:

Rubbish, you could argue exactly the same for car horns yet I know of no one who has not used one

In 7 years of driving I must have used my horn 2-3 times, I don't count the times my passengers hit the damn thing if we passed some girls. I prefer evasive action over honking whatever mode of transport I'm on.

jonny_trousers

You would be just as big a twat for using a car horn against a cyclist or pedestrian too, unless they were in immediate danger.

Apart from anything, bicycles have a far greater ability to take people by surprise than cars do because of their relative quietness when cruising along. Blasting your air horn at someone who doesn't know you are there, when you have your voice as an alternative, seems pretty selfish to me and will no doubt get you the slap you deserve sooner or later.

jonny_trousers

Ha "twat" gets automatically editted to "fool" here! That's so fucked up!