Xmas present for the hipster in your life - KNOG Oi

Slimtim

If you are thinking of what to get the gearless, helmetless, brakeless, hipster in your life then look no further than the soundless KNOG Oi bell.

I know, so ideal - a bell that looks cool but makes virtually no noise. Truly a victory of style over function. And available in titanium too!

An added bonus is that it is also a gift for life as, if you raise the issue of it being almost silent and politely request details of how to get a refund, KNOG just ignore you. Fantastic! (NB in this case bought through that hipster-driven con of KIckstarter).

Do it, you won't regret it as you'll have given the useless thing away!

Ting-a-ling (if only).

dowtcha

Sounds like buyer's regret. Are you a hipster?

redvee

The times I needed mine, it's done what was needed ie alert pedestrians that I'm approaching.

iPete

Mines very silent, not even received a shipping notice yet

si.brown

I'm afraid I have to disagree here. I bought one via Kickstarter as I wanted the ability to alert pedestrians without clogging up my bars. I'm in no way a hipster, just trying to run my very average road bike as a daily commuter so I plumbed for the alu over ti.

Great packaging, easy to fit, well made, looks great, easy to operate (a non-negotiable seeing as it's...well...a bell!), silent over rough surfaces, and has so far succeeded in making my presence known to meandering/oblivious pedestrians 100% of the time.

If you're in the market for a functional bell that doesn't look like you've strapped a 2l mixing bowl to your bars, I'd recommend the Oi.

Slimtim

The focus on a bell being useful if it alert pedestrians makes my point. Generally the bigger danger comes from cars, motorbikes, vans and trucks - you know, the bigger stuff, found on the road, often driven by texting driver, and that can really kill cyclists.

I would agree that if you ride on a quite suburban pavement (pavement riding being a hipster trait!), around a peaceful park, along a tranquil towpath and you need to warn a walker or jogger or buggy pusher with an acute sense of hearing then this is possibly the right unit for you (although my son has a similarly unobtrusive little tinkerbell on his bike which cost 50p and is more effective in those situations).

If you actually ride in the real world and do an urban commute then forget it. I have several friends and colleagues who ride through London to get to work and who literally laughed when I showed the KNOG Oi and let them hear its little ding.

It's a shame really as the design has great potential and does look neat. The core problem is that the little plastic hammer which strikes the metal bar is very lightweight and the spring that actuates it looks like it has come out of a biro - weak is an understatement.

Luckily, just shouting 'Oi' at straying pedestrians has had a 100% success rate so far.

I'm actually not so bothered that the product is rubbish and a potential safety hazard, it's more that KNOG themselves couldn't give two hoots - they're happy enough when the Kickstarter money comes in but it's a case of 'talk to the hand' if their product is useless.

paulbnix

Why would you use a bell on an urban commute? It wouldn't be heard unless it was a klaxon. A loud shout is the way the to do it.

MisterMuncher

I bought two, a 1" and a 35mm. Put one on the child's scooter, and the other on my winter bike. I found both do the job really well. I did notice it made a difference what kind of handlebar they got mounted to in terms of volume, and that the bigger one hit a perfect low "e", which is very handy for tuning my guitars. Other than that, they're just a well executed solution.