I just fixed up my bike, can anyone recommend a good bell, helmet and other worthwhile things?
>>934019
Why do you want a bell? Drivers don't hear bells.
>>934059
But bells are fun
>>934063
good argument, anon
>>934059
Sometimes it's important to be noticed by pedestrians. A little bell can do the job. And they are fun.
Another "must" accessories.
1: They are not for see in night, they are to be noticed by cars and busses. Because they are made of rubber, the joint between the light and the bike never gets broken even when you go to hills to make XC. Cheap and useful.
2: Useful. If you want to be reflective but you dont want or cant attach plastic reflectors to your frame, you can put this self-adhesive reflectors in strategic points of frame.
3: at least 2 tubes, magic patches and basic tools.
4: to make turn signals with hands in night and be noticed.
5: pump, for reasons.
A horn to accompany your bell.
Find a local shop that sells Velo Orange products. They have a really nice and cheap bell like the one in the OP. It's really loud.
The Bell Solar helmet is a pretty good helmet that doesn't look like a mushroom on your head.
>>934257
And a cowbell
More cowbell
Compass bells are useful.
>>934227
quick question.....are you german?
>that sentence structure
>>934265
>Be riding along a row of parked cars
>Suddenly a jaywalking pedestrian appears from behind a parked van
>Grip handlebars tightly
>Work the brake(s)
>Do your absolute best to avoid said pedestrian
>But wait, how can you ring your cowbell with both hands occupied?
>Suddenly remember you duct-taped a drumstick to your helmet for this very reason
>Bang away
Aaaaaaaall our times have come
Heeeeeeere but now they're gone
Seasons don't fear the reaper
Nor do the wind, the sun or the rain
[We can be like they are]
[come on baby]
Don't fear the reaper
[baby take my hand]
Don't fear the reaper
[we'll be able to fly]
Don't fear the reaper
Baby I'm your maaaaaaaaaaan...
If you have a bell at all, get a Crane. It's big and loud and sounds like a bicycle bell.
I have this coming to me from Belgium. Been waiting a couple of years for one just like this to show up on ebay. With a little gentle rust removal and polishing, it completes a build that I've been riding around for a few years.
Forget the bell, OP. Just get some really expensive carbon wheels with hubs that sound like you are dragging a steel pipe over an infinite washboard. Those plebs will get out of the way pretty fast when they hear you coasting up to them after you get back on the saddle after your sprints.
Just get some squeeky brakes
Pedestrians will think you're obnoxious for ringing your bell at them, but not for just braking.
Even the lightest tap on my front brake causes an ungodly screech that causes pedestrians to run out of fear.
I thought bells were useless until i tried to ride over a heavily populated bridge in my area- i couldn't move a foot w/o stopping until I followed a couple of black gentlemen riding 29er beach cruisers with bells. Out of 4 little black kids and 1 mexicans who darted in front of me only one black lady said sorry. Big ups anonymous gents and lady.
I need to put a bell on my go-fast rooooadoooo rayssser ._.
Mostly I feel like bells make dealing with pedestrians worse. They often just straight up stop walking or don't know where to go or (my personal "favourite") they turn around to see who rang the bell.
IT'S A FUCKING BICYCLE! WHAT DID YOU THINK IT WAS?! BILLY BOB THE TRAVELLING BELL SALESMAN?!
>>934379
>biking along the trail
>2 people walking side by side
>"bike! On your left"
>they both turn around, presumably to double check that it is indeed a bike coming up on their left and not a practical joke
>except they both just freeze in place
>have to slow way down and carefully ride between them since they still haven't moved after like 5 seconds
Why
>>934384
I don't know man ._.
>>934336
...and fellow cyclists to recoil in disgust.
![warder-mountain-bikes-bmx-bicycles-v-brake[1].jpg](https://i.imgur.com/scBneaW.jpg "warder-mountain-bikes-bmx-bicycles-v-brake[1].jpg")
>>934384
>>934386
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NGO3bt6YPKo
>>934336
>tfw cannot achieve brake squeaking consistently
fuck you tektro V-brakes,my shitmano's (flexy pieces of shit) would make all the heads in my city turn when I braked :(
>>934336
Great stuff
I had $2 no name brake pads that squeals like a banshee, audible for miles. Peds would jump out of the way with a light tap on the brakes
>>934403
Refs video: Typical situation in all (the few) bike paths where i live. Mostly i ride in the street.
>>934269
No, i'm not german.
Another "must" item: my life turned from shit into joy the first day i installed them on my bike.
>>934428
Another "must": defense ítem against guard/street dogs and drunk/dangerous plp.
>>934379
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k7oGk-ozhKI
>>934428
i don't understand where you put these on a handlebar
on the tops? how do you get it there? why dont you just use the hoods?
>>934630
you don't use them with drop bars. you use them with bars that usually get grips: flat, risers, any swept-back bar. I have similarly-shaped grips on my city bike. they're nice. fit right into your hand.
>>934336
i've apologized to pedpeople for my screeching cantis many times - i didn't really mean it though
>>934384
the whole "on your left" bit is pretty fucking annoying imho
>>934284
Dont dare polish it faggot, that patina is beautiful. Just clean the moving parts and you are good to go.
>>934271
underrated
>>934696
Yeah, you're right, what the fuck is wrong with me? I will need to take care of the insides, though. I should be able to brush it a little.
>>934637
...why?
>>934779
because it's often last possible second and a distraction as some fags blasts by you - just use a bell for ffs
>>934878
You use your lungs and say it a few seconds early. People get confused by bells way more in my experience, "on your left" is more intuitive.
>>934883
haha yeah today I used my bell and it made this young boy, like 8-9 or something, freak out and start screaming and crying
people are fucked up
Got this today
Fuckin geese wont move out of the way
>>934894
Fuck forgot image
>>934894
geese are dicks get a tec 9
>>934898
I didn't want to get one either because it means sacrificing a bottle cage. I get cars right hooking me 4 times a day, I'm just hoping this will help reduce the frequency of that happening. My 370 lumen headlights doesn't seem to stop left turning vehicles too.
>>934887
True story
I'm not sure if it's worth me getting a bell, they look pretty dorky but they can be useful (the only way for me to get to my LBS in a somewhat direct route is to cross a bridge (about 6 feet wide) and then follow a path of the same width for about 150-200m, there's enough room for me to cross but with peds they always walk in the middle of the road and then drift left to right unexpectedly.
I've resorted to just yelling "BEEP BEEP" unironically, it gets the job done. I don't know if it's a blessing or a curse but there aren't any bike lanes where I live, so I can pretty freely ride on the road without cagers getting asshurt (I wouldn't ride in bike lanes anyway because of car doors opening into them)
Only time I've had issue is when I ride into my local city (extremely rarely, only done it once last year to go to an air show because fuck the mandatory park and ride scheme, took me 2 hours to get home after it finished the year prior), and peds are walking blindly along bike lanes, completely oblivious.
On an unrelated note, where are some recommended (and cheap) lights for a road bike? I want something that's reliable, but cheap, bonus points if it is rechargeable with a battery pack because I carry a 10k m/ah battery on me if I'm going any significant distance (which is the only time I'd be caught out at night in the summer)
>>934275
I'd kill for a comfy steel commuter bike with retro-colour bar tape (either faux leather or something like that red).
Shame I'm skint as fuck and splashed out on my first road bike last year, and I can't even commute to anywhere but the shops because my work place has no where for me to shower (all these hipsters telling people to cycle to work think we all have cushy jobs with showers, lockers, changing rooms, bike lockups, etc.).
>>935125
USB rechargeable lights are usually a little pricey. I like the Busch & Müller IXON/IXXI set, around $100. Well made, and the headlight is thoughtfully designed so that it doesn't need to be aimed way down to not dazzle people.
I used to like NiteRider lights, but then I found out the hard way how bloody poorly they're made.
>>935130
Yeah fuck that noise, I was thinking of maybe £30 tops for both front and rear.
Like I said, it's just insurance because I'm never out at night (in the summer months I get up early, go out for my ride at like 6am, if I do a decent amount of miles or stop for a bit of breaky I'll be back home by like 8 or 9 tops.
Just means winter months I have to resort to going out at rush hour at the earliest, but I do very little riding in the winter to begin with because I'm cheap and still haven't skimped out on any winter gear (like arm warmers, etc. Only just in the last 10 minutes ordered a waterproof/windproof jacket).
This!
>>935811
Im now thinking of hot gluing the entire system to my bike. I live in a shithole, someone even stole my $5 bell.
>>935811
>single digits or below freezing
Are we talking c? That's not very cold
>>934063
bells are a terrible idea, I got one after I got sick of pedestrians acting like I committed a crime on the bike paths by asking to pass and saying things like "on your left". So I get this little bell thinking it sounds so friendly that people will just move out of the way and not have an attitude anymore.. nope still an attitude and even worse they just get confused sometimes and turn around right into my path.. now I just yell get the fuck out of the way or say nothing at all.
>>935989
don't ring when you're right up on their ass, ring like 50-100 feet away, and don't assume anything about what they're going to do. it's just to avoid surprising them, it's not a magic bulldozer
t. someone who knows how to use a bell
p.s. if you're going to tell me that "100 feet away maybe there's another pedestrian and they won't know who it's for, then (1) it's too crowded and you need to just accept going slower, and (2) you don't ring bells *at* anyone, you are just alerting people that there is a bike in the vicinity
>>935992
it just didnt seem to matter how close or far away I was, I tried all sorts of distances and I gave up when I realized that the types of people I was encountering were people who didnt use the path often enough to realize that they were being inconsiderate. Also I always slow down in heavy foot traffic areas, I am not a complete asshole all the time.
>>936008
just blow past them if you live in a big enough city. they will never be able to catch you unless it's fuckin usain bolt or something. a large enough city also means they can't identify you.
