Trust the Dutch to know what makes a good bicycle bell. Apparently it’s all in the choice of metal. While the alloy used in the most basic models (the type that’s fitted by law to all cycles sold new) might be cheap to produce, it’s sound is tinny and inferior.
By comparison, traditional bell metal comprises mainly copper and has been used to produce the best bells (and on occasion cannon) for over 3,000 years. Its excellent sonorous qualities makes it the material of choice for the Bicycle ‘Belll’.
The Belll’s trump card is that it a robust design that can be customised with any image of your choice. Find it online, hear its sound and order one for yourself via kickstarter.com
What makes a good bicycle bell?
In some respects, a bicycle’s handlebars wear a bell as your wrist might sport a watch – it’s by no means an essential piece of kit, but it can be jolly useful and look good, too.
It’s hard to ring a traditional-sounding bicycle bell such as the ‘Belll’ in anger in the way that drivers can lean on their car horns, so perhaps it shouldn’t come as a surprise that there is now a raft of powerful bicycle accessories to help cyclists make themselves heard above the din of the urban jungle.
Loud…
The sound of a bicycle bell doesn’t carry particularly well in traffic. It’s the reason that bike couriers sometimes carry whistles and urban cyclists tend to shout warnings. You can now buy a bicycle horn that shouts on your behalf.
The handlebar-mounted 80db speaker announces “on your left” at the press of a button, but can record and then play any verbal warning, unusual sound or string of expletives. The 44mm speaker plays the sound of a traditional bell or the message of your choice at 80 decibels, which is about the same as a moderately loud shout.
Louder…
The bicycle bell is a much under-valued accessory; although it is a legal requirement that bicycle start their lives with one fitted, the fashion is for them to be quickly removed. If you cycle on tracks and paths shared with others they are a polite way of announcing your approach, especially if followed with a verbal greeting and request to pass. The basic bell can produce up to 100db and is available in a variety of styles and sounds. Our favourite is this fire engine-red design from £10
Loudest…
The Loud Bicycle horn aims to address the issue of on-road rider presence by equipping cyclists with a car horn. The rationale is that drivers instinctively react to car horns; a driver who hears a beep while backing out of a driveway, for example, is likely to brake instinctively. The 112db Loud Bicycle Horn can be bought for about £60.
Dangerously loud…
Frustrated and angered by the disproportionate danger posed to cyclists by lorries, the ETA designed and built the world’s loudest bicycle horn. At close quarters the Hornster bicycle emits 138db decibels; a level of sound so powerful that if used in anger it could deafen any motorist who veered too close.
The triple air horn fitted to the bicycle is an Airchime KH3A from an American locomotive, which has been adapted to run off a scuba diving cylinder. Watch the Hornster on Youtube
The Hornster is so powerful that at a distance of 100ft it is far louder than a standard truck horn and more than noisy enough for a cyclist to make themselves heard above the din of the urban jungle.
Cycle insurance to make noise about
Cycle insurance from the ETA offers protection for both you and your bike. It includes new-for-old, third party insurance on any bike you ride , personal accident cover, race event cover and if you suffer a mechanical breakdown, we will come out and recover you and your bike.
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