Bell - the ding ding ones, any alternative macho ones lol

mystic.bertie

i find it crucial to sound my bell when approaching people from behind especially those idiots with extendable dog leads, is there anything better than the simple bell, i think its a bit ponsy lol. I dont want the megaloud ones, what else can be used??

slowbike

Noisy gear changes, Squeaky brakes ...

mystic.bertie

Slowbike wrote:

Noisy gear changes, Squeaky brakes ...

ha ha my bike does not have them

u05harrisb

hope hubs thats what men use!

Mikey23

I do a fair bit of trail work so have thought about the same issue. I think on balance that I need to leave my ding a ling alone. I think it gives a nice cheery non threatening noise that can be heard from quite a long way away, does not startle and does not piss people off. Sometimes accompanied by a polite but firm voice command. I think anything else would be over the top and likely to either antagonise or terrify. I think the worst thing is the sound of approaching squealing brakes. Of course some really deaf or engrossed people can hear neither and then it's ok to use the sub machine gun

mystic.bertie

Mikey23 wrote:

I do a fair bit of trail work so have thought about the same issue. I think on balance that I need to leave my ding a ling alone. I think it gives a nice cheery non threatening noise that can be heard from quite a long way away, does not startle and does not wee-wee people off. Sometimes accompanied by a polite but firm voice command. I think anything else would be over the top and likely to either antagonise or terrify. I think the worst thing is the sound of approaching squealing brakes. Of course some really deaf or engrossed people can hear neither and then it's ok to use the sub machine gun

ah a serious answer. I hear what your saying, i just thought there must be some alternative or are all serious road cyclists using bells too, even wiggle have them under the kids accessories lol

woodywmb

mystic.bertie wrote:

... idiots with extendable dog leads

Live and let live. There's room for everyone, especially on cycle paths. Many of us bikers also walk dogs - and extendable dog leads are must-have kit.
You could use this to frighten them though ---- http://www.thehornit.com/?gclid=CIX4wci ... tAodtSUAYQ

Mikey23

My goodness that's a powerful beast ... Safe cycling but I can just imagine the trail of devastation left in its wake

dcomp

I witnessed a fellow cyclist shout 'awwwooooooga' at a dog walker....very effective.

the_cyclist_of_catan

My bell won't ding in the wet

mystic.bertie

ha ha that hornit looks great but a tad on the expensive side, maybe more necessary if your riding in more congested areas.

as much as extendible dog leads are essential to dog walkers they should be used sensible, letting dogs wander all over the place and blocking off a cycle path is very careless, you dont see the lead till your close up, i nearly came off because of some idiot doing said act. Rather than walk in the direction the dog was wandering off in thus feeing up the path, he just stood in one place letting the dog wander about and blocked off the path. effin idiot grrrrrrrrrrr

Mikey23

I don't have any probs with dog walkers although that extendible dog lead thing does mystify me.... What does amuse me is the often startled look on their faces and the panic when confronted by a bike. Hello, this is a cycle path...

deadfall

Shout "out the way you &*#a"#=+! *&**". Hopefully the dog walker will either be a boxing/martial arts champion with fast legs, or the dog is vicious and very fast so you get a workout as a bonus.

woodywmb

Imagine that - the dog wandering all over the place because it's on an extending lead and not having the sense to realise it's actually a CYCLE path. It's not only a cycle path. It's a footpath ... and one for dogs too. Slow up and let's all enjoy the amenity.

alihisgreat

u05harrisb wrote:

hope hubs thats what men use!

This.

AchillesLeftKnee

Not had a problem with dogs on the road bike yet as they don't tend to frequent the roads around here all that much. However, on the subject of Man's Best Friend (and this should probably be on the mtb forums)...

Dodging dogs (and other fauna) is somewhat inevitable off road, and with the bulk of rideable muddy stuff being shared use, a common sense attitude and a bit of live and let live goes a long way to making for happy days all round.... WITH ONE F'ING EXCEPTION - Dog owners who don't really get the laws of physics!

So, Mr. Wuffles decides to do the whole run off and bark at the cyclist thing. Fair enough. It then decides to stand in front of said cyclist and do the whole "you're not coming through" thing. Guess I'd better stop then. All irritating stuff, but it's a bloody dog. It eats it's own faeces, so it's unlikely to have much a grasp of the Green Cross Code. It therefore gets cut the sort of slack humans wouldn't get cut. What really annoys me at this point is the flavour of dog owner who then, in a patronising tone, tells you "You didn't have to stop, he's only being friendly".

If I hadn't stopped, 220lbs of combined cyclist and mountain bike would have ploughed into your dog at 20mph, and I really didn't want your dogs attempt at friendship to be rewarded by me crushing its ribcage.

Aaaaaand relax.

secretsam

Get one of those AirZound pressure thingies, they chuck out something like 110dB

t4tomo

AchillesLeftKnee wrote:

Not had a problem with dogs on the road bike yet as they don't tend to frequent the roads around here all that much. However, on the subject of Man's Best Friend (and this should probably be on the mtb forums)...

Dodging dogs (and other fauna) is somewhat inevitable off road, and with the bulk of rideable muddy stuff being shared use, a common sense attitude and a bit of live and let live goes a long way to making for happy days all round.... WITH ONE F'ING EXCEPTION - Dog owners who don't really get the laws of physics!

So, Mr. Wuffles decides to do the whole run off and bark at the cyclist thing. Fair enough. It then decides to stand in front of said cyclist and do the whole "you're not coming through" thing. Guess I'd better stop then. All irritating stuff, but it's a bloody dog. It eats it's own faeces, so it's unlikely to have much a grasp of the Green Cross Code. It therefore gets cut the sort of slack humans wouldn't get cut. What really annoys me at this point is the flavour of dog owner who then, in a patronising tone, tells you "You didn't have to stop, he's only being friendly".

If I hadn't stopped, 220lbs of combined cyclist and mountain bike would have ploughed into your dog at 20mph, and I really didn't want your dogs attempt at friendship to be rewarded by me crushing its ribcage.

Aaaaaand relax.

ah but the vast majority of the rideable muddy stuff, MTBs have no strict right to be on (OK some are bridal paths which is OK but still shard use) therefore if MTBing in a wood is tolerated, don't blow it by being anti social to dog owners and ramblers who werre there long before the bikes.

If we see a dog when we are out, a shout of "dog" goes up and everyone slows down. If the owner obliginly collars it they get a nice cheery "thank you"

Pross

Woodywmb wrote:

Imagine that - the dog wandering all over the place because it's on an extending lead and not having the sense to realise it's actually a CYCLE path. It's not only a cycle path. It's a footpath ... and one for dogs too. Slow up and let's all enjoy the amenity.

What's the point of an extending do lead though? I've owned dogs all my life and never felt the need for one - I like to have full control over my dogs in public. They are an invention for lazy f***ers to allow their dogs to get some exercise while they do the minimum amount themselves. Some of the paths I ride are clearly de-lineated between the cycle side and the footway side yet people are letting their dogs wander over both whilst being oblivious to everything, often with headphones on so they can't hear anything around them. There's one particularly annoying lady who uses the cyclepath on my commute in the mornings. She lets her dog roam off the lead and it is often lagging well behind her, unfortunately it also chases bikes so when she suddenly realises there is a bike coming she is frantically trying to get it back on a lead. Now, she knows she is on a cyclepath (yes, it is shared use but reasonable to expect bikes surely?) and she knows her dog chases bikes. To a sensible person that would mean you would keep the dog under control on a short lead (or go somewhere else to let it run off the lead) but not in this case.

cookeeemonster

so...back on topic

are there any decent bells you can use on road bikes that are not the simple 'ding' ones?

Also...are there any that can be operated easily while you're on the hoods or in the drops? I doubt it but thought I'd ask as the bell on my road bike is utterly useless where it is unless I've had plenty of time to prepare to use it...in which case quite often I would've had time to slow down/avoid whatever problem pressing the bell would've solved. In other words it's utterly useless.

Pross

What other sound do people expect a bell to make? If you don't like a 'ding' use a horn instead (or maybe fit a cow bell like people use at ski races!).

mystic.bertie

so we have the simple bell then the megaloud with nothing in between, a gap in the market there lol

Pross

There's traditional horns which aren't too loud.

secretsam

SHOUT

If they are wearing headphones, SHOUT LOUDER

Classic eg: The boy SecretSam is riding through north central London, some daft fairy/hippy/drippy type decides to cross a crossing (lights controlled) when the green man's f**ked off and his red mate's on duty, lights are green for traffic. Gets a mouhful from a taxi as she dances across, gives him a big wafty wave in a space-cadet kind of way, with her back to me on the other carriageway, trackstanding and looking pretty unhappy. Cue SHOUT:

" GET OUT OF THE F**KING WAY!"

At which she nearly levitates, turns round and runs off the road in one swift movement. Taxi driver (and his fare) nearly p155 themselves laughing and fairy/hippy type's heartrate jumps somewhat above the normal for a comatose f--kwit :evil: :twisted: :twisted: :evil: :twisted: