I have a nice bell on my bike but I don’t actually use it all that much. I’ve had a lot more success with a “Passing on your left/right!” followed by a “thank you!” as I pass. Most of my bell use is to loudly ding it at cars that are parked illegally in bike lanes or drivers that nearly hit me/cut me off.

Bell ringing does get attention but it also gives off the same vibe as a car honking its horn. Also basically all shared pathways here require cyclists to yield to pedestrians so there is no reason why a bike should need to ding a bell to tell pedestrians to get out of its way.

The real issue, which this wouldn’t fix, are cyclists that do 25-35km/h+ on busy shared pathways. I’m a cyclist at heart, but blowing past a hiking family on a trail at 20km/h is a dangerous dick move. I’ve had bike handlebars brush my sleeves as they zoom past; a single step to the left (to avoid debris on the path or just losing my balance) and I would’ve been hit and been in for a trip to the hospital with serious injuries.

I have an Air’Zounds horn. You pump the reservoir with your bike pump, it gives a 100db blast, great for drivers that think they want to changing lanes or tuen right into me. Also a chime bell to make some noise ahead of time so people aren’t startled when I’m come up on them

‘Not everyone who’s walking along the paths wants to hear people yelling at them,’ says Jim Hanson

Cool, Jim. How does that solve the problem where bike bells trigger random reactions in pedestrians who start running in random directions like chickens with their heads cut off?

More than half the time, my bell causes absolute chaos while people are running around to prepare for my arrival.

If a cyclist bell doesn’t mean the same thing to everyone it’s a fucking liability. I’m better off not ringing a bell or yelling and just passing at a crawl when there’s room.

There are some public education options here that could get everyone on the same page. Until then, I’m gonna keep yelling.