[Prexus2005]

What kinds of trail bell do you use if any? Seems people/hikers get startled if they don't hear me comming up from behind and I say "on your left..." How far away do people usually yell/alert hikers when you come behind them?

I'm thinking a trail bell would work well in those situations and maybe around blind corners...

Any cool trail bells out there that people like?


Phil.

 

[zenorb]

AIR HORN! Imagine... quiet singletrack....someone ahead of you slowly climbing... quitely come up behind them and HOOOOOOOONNNNNNNNKKKKKK!!!!!! Watch them crap thier lycra! Whewp!

 

[Ericmopar]

I miss my bell...

My vote is for the Incredabell. Its loud and so light you almost can't feel it in the palm of your hand.
It does have one disadvantage though. Like all bike bells, it will ring constantly on rough trails.
I love mine, but had to remove it when I moved from Northern Ca to Nevada because it won't stop ringing on the rock sections at Bootleg.

 

[Pucker Factor]

I use this bell on all my bikes.

You never hear it while you're riding along no matter how rough the trail is, and it's survived numerous crashes without damage.

Just start dinging it a hundred metres or so behind the group you're approaching, and usually someone will hear it. If not, close the distance a little more and try again.

Thank them as you pass and be on your way.

 

[FoShizzle]

I use this bell on all my bikes.

You never hear it while you're riding along no matter how rough the trail is, and it's survived numerous crashes without damage.

Just start dinging it a hundred metres or so behind the group you're approaching, and usually someone will hear it. If not, close the distance a little more and try again.

Thank them as you pass and be on your way.

agreed..the incredibell is great.

however, i am partial to more color (and Salsa) and have this on my bikes as well as my kids bikes

 

[LyNx]

Yeh I'm gona ne switching to one of those bells next week - got sick of hearing my old fashion bell going on rough roads. The disadvantage is that the oldie bell really worked well when on the streets and you see cars coming out of side-streets.

 

[smilycook]

try a cow bell

then you don't need to worry about ringing it, just clip it on your bike for the downhill.

read the story here:
http://www.konaworld.com/85.cfm

Chris..

 

[singletrack]

Cyclepro made a 100 odd decible buzzer about the size of an incredibell. Truly obnoxious. I searched for product info, but couldn't find any.

I did find this.

 

[EJ_92606]

I use this bell on all my bikes.

You never hear it while you're riding along no matter how rough the trail is, and it's survived numerous crashes without damage.

Just start dinging it a hundred metres or so behind the group you're approaching, and usually someone will hear it. If not, close the distance a little more and try again.

Thank them as you pass and be on your way.

I've got this one and it works great.

 

[frankenbike]

I velcro a Kona mini cow bell to my seat rails and it rings all the way down hill. Works like a charm.

 

[frankenbike]

I think that buzzer would be super handy for my street ride to the trailheads. I need something to honk back at the cars for honking at me for riding on the streets.

 

[old_dude]

After getting lost in the forest a couple times...

What kinds of trail bell do you use if any? Seems people/hikers get startled if they don't hear me comming up from behind and I say "on your left..." How far away do people usually yell/alert hikers when you come behind them?

I'm thinking a trail bell would work well in those situations and maybe around blind corners...

Any cool trail bells out there that people like?

Phil.

I opted for one of these.

They do work as a compass, but they are not very accurate. If you examine a bin full of these bells, you will find that they do not all agree on which direction is north.

The best thing to do, is to figure out which way is really north and buy one that is fairly close.

If you ride in dense forest, with many branching unfamiliar trails, then one of these can help you hold a bearing, and prevent you from travelling in circles.

You can't leave them out in really cold weather. The fluid freezes and cracks the ball. The fluid then drains out, and the compass is dead.

old_dude

 

[YuriB]

I use this bell on all my bikes.

You never hear it while you're riding along no matter how rough the trail is, and it's survived numerous crashes without damage.

Just start dinging it a hundred metres or so behind the group you're approaching, and usually someone will hear it. If not, close the distance a little more and try again.

Thank them as you pass and be on your way.

A 2nd on that one. I did sport one for a few months that made a HookaHonka noise like a clown's nose. I'd usually get a few laughs each ride.

 

[Call_me_Clyde]

Another Incredibell vote

What kinds of trail bell do you use if any? Seems people/hikers get startled if they don't hear me comming up from behind and I say "on your left..." How far away do people usually yell/alert hikers when you come behind them?

Phil.

I don't use it on the trail bike, but I do on the street bike (as do my kids), since those paths are chock full of people. I usually ring it with enough warning that they have time to get past their startled "deer in the headlights" reaction, and then I follow up with a "passing on your left". This gives them plenty of time to react and move directly into the line I've chosen because all they hear is "left", and move accordingly in that direction.

Clyde

 

[Albee]

Bells should be standard equipment on MTB's

What kinds of trail bell do you use if any? Seems people/hikers get startled if they don't hear me comming up from behind and I say "on your left..." How far away do people usually yell/alert hikers when you come behind them?

I'm thinking a trail bell would work well in those situations and maybe around blind corners...

Any cool trail bells out there that people like?

Phil.

I have never gotten a negative reaction from a hiker when I ding my bell. It's a totally non-threatening way to alert them. They are usually quite appreciative that they've been alerted.

Are you guys joking about the Kona mini cowbell? I think that would get real annoying, real quick.

I don't know who makes the ones I have, but they are black and gold with different designs (small concentric circles, cross-hatch pattern, etc.), and the bell is a "Taj Mahal" shape, different than any I've seen out there. If you're interested, just check around. I originally saw them at the Cascade Cream Puff race, and I had to look at 3 or 4 shops before I found them.

 

[fsrxc]

My bear bell seems to warn hikers pretty well, as long as there are some bumps in the trail (doesn't take much though). I have a "pathway" bell on my bike too, but I seldom have to use it when I have the bear bell engaged.

FWIW Wal-mart's outdoors section has bear bells that come with a cover that has a magnet to silence the "dinger", nice feature when it's not needed.

 

[nnn]

I had an Air Zound for a while thought it was great, just pump it up with any odd tyre pump and it screams like mad, brilliant !

 

[EBasil]

I opted for one of these. They do work as a compass,

Sweet! I have the same bell, with an eyeball instead of the compass. It's cool, but I was thinking that a compass would be, too. Something to look for.

 

[sgltrak]

Incredibell

Another vote for the incredibell. I run thumbshifters and therefore mounted the bell under the bar. It is nice and polite to let hikers know you are there, but I really enjoyed pulling up close to my riding buddies and riding their wheels while constantly ringing the thing.

 

[Guest]

you can get

a hiker's bell (bear bell), rings constantly when you move. I have one for hicking remote places. It comes in a net just the size of the bell and there is a magnet at the bottom of the net so you can flip the net on for silence or off for noisy mode.

Franck