7 ms·

> it's like a cowbell that rings constantly (while you are moving) This is horrific, so much unnecessary noise pollution.

GuB-42 5y ago
Cowbells in a mountain don't seem out of place. As a matter of fact, we need more of them.
realbarack 5y ago
It's really not. These bells aren't that loud, you really only hear them once the cyclist is maybe 50 yards away. It's an incredibly important safety feature on low-visibility singletracks.
- haspok 5y ago
  I have a loud rear hub instead... mostly works just as fine. But if not, I'm also very patient in passing hikers, once I spent like 10 minutes behind two hikers on a singletrack before they realised I was behind them, because they were discussing something very intensively... but this is fine, in the meantime I can rest a bit, adjust my gear, eat and drink something etc. I always try to smile and thank people for letting me pass by. The only - very few - occasions when this tactic did not work were usually hikers coming in the opposite direction and being actively hostile. There was an angry lady once who refused to move even an inch to the right, so I had to move to her left, which was a large field of nettle... To this day I don't know what her problem was, but this happens sometimes.
  - dahart 5y ago
    Maybe she’d had a run in with a pushy bike, or just got really scared? So what happened, did you step into the nettle, or did you stop and wait, or have a conversation with her and point out the nettle, or turn around and walk back a bit? Or maybe the question is: in retrospect do you have any wishes or regrets about how you handled it? Did you think of anything you should have done differently to defuse the situation? Do you have any strategies for avoiding or resolving the rare but possible next hostile confrontation? Multiple times in the past I have goofed and reacted to someone’s aggression with return fire, and I don’t think it’s ever made anything better, usually it’s worse. I would like to have some prepared strategies in my mind for handling it smoothly. Hikers and animals (dogs and horses) have right of way over bikes at all times on the trails I ride, is that true for you too? I’ve bumped into an angry hiker or two also, but on the whole they’re almost always super friendly and contentious. For me it’s more common than not that hikers are apologizing and getting off the trail before I even have a chance to yield, sometimes so much so that I feel bad about it. Anyway, I think we should take stock of all the nice hikers and lucky interactions, because it’s perfectly okay and reasonable for a hiker on a shared trail to not expect to yield. It’s definitely unkind if they refuse to make any room to pass, you do sound very patient, and the angry hiker experience totally sucks - triply if you got nettle all over. But at the same time, if we as bikers aren’t yielding first as much as we can, it’ll only get less fun for everyone and we can lose trails, right?
midnightclubbed 5y ago
It's not that bad at all, and stops when you are not moving. I'd say it has maybe a 20m range so it's not like people can hear you from the other side of the mountain. I do agree it adds noise to (potentially) tranquil trails but imho its a good safety trade-off. Way better than people who insist on blasting music from their phone speakers or conference call while walking.
- tyrust 5y ago
  Thanks for using a bell, I really appreciate it as a hiker! I feel like any naysayer hasn't actually been out on the trails much or haven't run into a bike while doing so. >music from phone speakers Now those are unjustifiable noise.
PascLeRasc 5y ago
Agreed, just use a loud hub. It’ll let people know when you’re flying down DH trails and be silent for climbs when you can see people and slow down in time. I can’t even think about what the cowbell must sound like when it’s up on your roof rack.
- dahart 5y ago
  > I can’t even think about what the cowbell must sound like when it’s up on your roof rack. Hahaha. These comments are funny. It's not a cowbell, that was just an analogy. It's a bike bell with an off switch. https://www.google.com/search?q=timber+bell https://www.google.com/search?q=timber+bell It's not "noise pollution" in any meaningful sense, except to the rider while it's on. :) But it is a good safety measure and is kind to other people on the trail. A loud hub isn't a particularly good replacement for me since I'm running into other riders and hikers just as often while pedaling as while free-wheeling or downhilling. Maybe even less often downhilling since we're getting more and more one-way trails these days. I even watched my friend who has a loud hub have a slow mostly harmless head-on with a climber coming around a blind corner last season. Climber got angry but hadn't made any attempt to be noticed whatsoever, it would have been completely avoided had he made any noise, like, you know, had a bell... My positive experience with it is very similar to what this guy describes, multiple people on the trail thanking me for using a bell. I've never once had a complaint about the noise, but occasionally I want it quieter for me. And I also found his 'secret' trick for keeping it slightly quieter, in addition to aiming it downward. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tD63c5pgHcU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tD63c5pgHcU
- osigurdson 5y ago
  I've often wondered how a loud hub would compare to bear bells in terms of alerting wildlife of your presence. I definitely prefer the sound of SRAM or Chris King hubs to bear bells.
Alupis 5y ago
It doesn't just let the two-legged critters know you're coming down the trail. A bell that clangs as you walk is also common for back-country hikers to keep bears and others away too.
- LargoLasskhyfv 5y ago
  Until they learn to think 'The Ice/Meatman cometh!'
  - callalex 5y ago
    This is such a non-existent concern compared to a startled animal lashing out. People have been in the wilderness for a reeeeeeaaaaaaaaallly long time. Take their advice.
  - LargoLasskhyfv 5y ago
    I INSIST on my interpretation of signaling "Meals on wheels" to them. Because 'Life finds a way.' BASTA!
- ar_turnbull 5y ago
  Bear bells are not effective in any way and in fact may attract curious bears. Bears do not know that the sound of a bell means humans. In fact, in Canada where grizzlies are a concern Parks officers recommend against bells. The best deterrent is your voice. https://calgary.ctvnews.ca/parks-canada-officials-endorse-the-human-voice-and-bear-spray-over-bear-bangers-and-bells-1.3451972 https://calgary.ctvnews.ca/parks-canada-officials-endorse-th...
  - lovemenot 5y ago
    This advice may be good for some bear species / locations, but certainly not for all. In Japan, hikers are advised to use bells and many do. People here have been using these trails for hundreds of years. They know what they are doing.
  - Alupis 5y ago
mig39 5y ago
For some of us in Northern Canada, this is how we alert bears that we're approaching. Even when not biking, we use "bear bells" that make constant noise. You don't want to sneak up on a bear.
- ar_turnbull 5y ago
  Please do not use bells, they are not an effective deterrent to bears and they annoy the hikers around you. https://calgary.ctvnews.ca/parks-canada-officials-endorse-the-human-voice-and-bear-spray-over-bear-bangers-and-bells-1.3451972 https://calgary.ctvnews.ca/parks-canada-officials-endorse-th...
  - lovemenot 5y ago
    Please don't be so emphatic. You seem to have only part of the whole picture wrt to bears. And many hikers use them too. The ones I encounter are no louder than a dog-collar.
  - dahart 5y ago
    That article is specific to bears (and not dogs or people), it doesn't say anything about bells being annoying, and it seems to contradict you by recommending that people should be "Making noise when travelling on a trail".
sethammons 5y ago
I use it to ward off predators - noise pollution is a feature :)
kybernetyk 5y ago
In my experience the tires of my bike rolling on the ground tend to be louder than those cow bell things.
- callalex 5y ago
  Distant rustling, while noticeable by human hearing, is not instantly prioritized with the speed required to dodge bikes on a single-track compared to a ringing bell that engages human brains as soon as the sound is perceivable.

GuB-42 5y ago

Cowbells in a mountain don't seem out of place. As a matter of fact, we need more of them.

realbarack 5y ago

It's really not. These bells aren't that loud, you really only hear them once the cyclist is maybe 50 yards away. It's an incredibly important safety feature on low-visibility singletracks.

haspok 5y ago
I have a loud rear hub instead... mostly works just as fine. But if not, I'm also very patient in passing hikers, once I spent like 10 minutes behind two hikers on a singletrack before they realised I was behind them, because they were discussing something very intensively... but this is fine, in the meantime I can rest a bit, adjust my gear, eat and drink something etc. I always try to smile and thank people for letting me pass by. The only - very few - occasions when this tactic did not work were usually hikers coming in the opposite direction and being actively hostile. There was an angry lady once who refused to move even an inch to the right, so I had to move to her left, which was a large field of nettle... To this day I don't know what her problem was, but this happens sometimes.
- dahart 5y ago
  Maybe she’d had a run in with a pushy bike, or just got really scared? So what happened, did you step into the nettle, or did you stop and wait, or have a conversation with her and point out the nettle, or turn around and walk back a bit? Or maybe the question is: in retrospect do you have any wishes or regrets about how you handled it? Did you think of anything you should have done differently to defuse the situation? Do you have any strategies for avoiding or resolving the rare but possible next hostile confrontation? Multiple times in the past I have goofed and reacted to someone’s aggression with return fire, and I don’t think it’s ever made anything better, usually it’s worse. I would like to have some prepared strategies in my mind for handling it smoothly. Hikers and animals (dogs and horses) have right of way over bikes at all times on the trails I ride, is that true for you too? I’ve bumped into an angry hiker or two also, but on the whole they’re almost always super friendly and contentious. For me it’s more common than not that hikers are apologizing and getting off the trail before I even have a chance to yield, sometimes so much so that I feel bad about it. Anyway, I think we should take stock of all the nice hikers and lucky interactions, because it’s perfectly okay and reasonable for a hiker on a shared trail to not expect to yield. It’s definitely unkind if they refuse to make any room to pass, you do sound very patient, and the angry hiker experience totally sucks - triply if you got nettle all over. But at the same time, if we as bikers aren’t yielding first as much as we can, it’ll only get less fun for everyone and we can lose trails, right?

midnightclubbed 5y ago

It's not that bad at all, and stops when you are not moving. I'd say it has maybe a 20m range so it's not like people can hear you from the other side of the mountain. I do agree it adds noise to (potentially) tranquil trails but imho its a good safety trade-off. Way better than people who insist on blasting music from their phone speakers or conference call while walking.

tyrust 5y ago
Thanks for using a bell, I really appreciate it as a hiker! I feel like any naysayer hasn't actually been out on the trails much or haven't run into a bike while doing so. >music from phone speakers Now those are unjustifiable noise.

PascLeRasc 5y ago

Agreed, just use a loud hub. It’ll let people know when you’re flying down DH trails and be silent for climbs when you can see people and slow down in time. I can’t even think about what the cowbell must sound like when it’s up on your roof rack.

dahart 5y ago
> I can’t even think about what the cowbell must sound like when it’s up on your roof rack. Hahaha. These comments are funny. It's not a cowbell, that was just an analogy. It's a bike bell with an off switch. https://www.google.com/search?q=timber+bell https://www.google.com/search?q=timber+bell It's not "noise pollution" in any meaningful sense, except to the rider while it's on. :) But it is a good safety measure and is kind to other people on the trail. A loud hub isn't a particularly good replacement for me since I'm running into other riders and hikers just as often while pedaling as while free-wheeling or downhilling. Maybe even less often downhilling since we're getting more and more one-way trails these days. I even watched my friend who has a loud hub have a slow mostly harmless head-on with a climber coming around a blind corner last season. Climber got angry but hadn't made any attempt to be noticed whatsoever, it would have been completely avoided had he made any noise, like, you know, had a bell... My positive experience with it is very similar to what this guy describes, multiple people on the trail thanking me for using a bell. I've never once had a complaint about the noise, but occasionally I want it quieter for me. And I also found his 'secret' trick for keeping it slightly quieter, in addition to aiming it downward. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tD63c5pgHcU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tD63c5pgHcU
osigurdson 5y ago
I've often wondered how a loud hub would compare to bear bells in terms of alerting wildlife of your presence. I definitely prefer the sound of SRAM or Chris King hubs to bear bells.

Alupis 5y ago

It doesn't just let the two-legged critters know you're coming down the trail. A bell that clangs as you walk is also common for back-country hikers to keep bears and others away too.

LargoLasskhyfv 5y ago
Until they learn to think 'The Ice/Meatman cometh!'
- callalex 5y ago
  This is such a non-existent concern compared to a startled animal lashing out. People have been in the wilderness for a reeeeeeaaaaaaaaallly long time. Take their advice.
- LargoLasskhyfv 5y ago
  I INSIST on my interpretation of signaling "Meals on wheels" to them. Because 'Life finds a way.' BASTA!
ar_turnbull 5y ago
Bear bells are not effective in any way and in fact may attract curious bears. Bears do not know that the sound of a bell means humans. In fact, in Canada where grizzlies are a concern Parks officers recommend against bells. The best deterrent is your voice. https://calgary.ctvnews.ca/parks-canada-officials-endorse-the-human-voice-and-bear-spray-over-bear-bangers-and-bells-1.3451972 https://calgary.ctvnews.ca/parks-canada-officials-endorse-th...
- lovemenot 5y ago
  This advice may be good for some bear species / locations, but certainly not for all. In Japan, hikers are advised to use bells and many do. People here have been using these trails for hundreds of years. They know what they are doing.
- Alupis 5y ago

mig39 5y ago

For some of us in Northern Canada, this is how we alert bears that we're approaching. Even when not biking, we use "bear bells" that make constant noise. You don't want to sneak up on a bear.

ar_turnbull 5y ago
Please do not use bells, they are not an effective deterrent to bears and they annoy the hikers around you. https://calgary.ctvnews.ca/parks-canada-officials-endorse-the-human-voice-and-bear-spray-over-bear-bangers-and-bells-1.3451972 https://calgary.ctvnews.ca/parks-canada-officials-endorse-th...
- lovemenot 5y ago
  Please don't be so emphatic. You seem to have only part of the whole picture wrt to bears. And many hikers use them too. The ones I encounter are no louder than a dog-collar.
- dahart 5y ago
  That article is specific to bears (and not dogs or people), it doesn't say anything about bells being annoying, and it seems to contradict you by recommending that people should be "Making noise when travelling on a trail".

sethammons 5y ago

I use it to ward off predators - noise pollution is a feature :)

kybernetyk 5y ago

In my experience the tires of my bike rolling on the ground tend to be louder than those cow bell things.

callalex 5y ago
Distant rustling, while noticeable by human hearing, is not instantly prioritized with the speed required to dodge bikes on a single-track compared to a ringing bell that engages human brains as soon as the sound is perceivable.