Horn, Bell or Voice, how to warn others of your presence and intentions

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I've been riding for decades, but just purchased my first bell a few months ago.

We have a few miles of railway that has been converted to nature trail/urban pathway for pedestrian and bicycle use. There are several miles of the nature trail portion of the path and it is 15' wide and covered in small gravel, so there's plenty of room for pedestrians and cyclist and the pedestrians can hear you coming a long way away. The paved portion is only about 5' wide and paved with a yellow line down the middle and arrows directing which way to go in each 'lane'.

Inevitably, pedestrians walk two, three or more, side-by-side, blocking the entire path. My bike does not have a derailleur or knobby tires and is totally silent. I've tried saying 'excuse me', 'good morning', 'on your left' or passing them in the grass where that's an option and no matter what I do they are startled. The inherent problem with voicing your presence is that if you shout at pedestrians from a distance, you startle them, if you speak in a normal voice from a few feet behind them, you startle them.

The last time I rode that path without a bell was after a football game on the campus the path goes next to. I was riding at about 15mph and passed three groups and scared the crap out of all three. I came up behind two women and pulled off the grass and passed them in the grass, one woman screamed and fell down. I came up behind two couples and said 'good evening', all three flinched and one girl screamed and threw her water bottle 10' in the air. The last group was a family of four and when I said 'pardon me' the dad spun around and flipped over the cooler he was pulling behind him.

They were all 100% in the wrong for blocking the entire path, but I'm sure they all thought the cyclist was at fault for scaring them.

I bought a pair of these bells for our bikes and my encounters with pedestrians has been much better when using the bells.

 
Coolbob said:
I've been riding for decades, but just purchased my first bell a few months ago.

We have a few miles of railway that has been converted to nature trail/urban pathway for pedestrian and bicycle use. There are several miles of the nature trail portion of the path and it is 15' wide and covered in small gravel, so there's plenty of room for pedestrians and cyclist and the pedestrians can hear you coming a long way away. The paved portion is only about 5' wide and paved with a yellow line down the middle and arrows directing which way to go in each 'lane'.

Inevitably, pedestrians walk two, three or more, side-by-side, blocking the entire path. My bike does not have a derailleur or knobby tires and is totally silent. I've tried saying 'excuse me', 'good morning', 'on your left' or passing them in the grass where that's an option and no matter what I do they are startled. The inherent problem with voicing your presence is that if you shout at pedestrians from a distance, you startle them, if you speak in a normal voice from a few feet behind them, you startle them.

The last time I rode that path without a bell was after a football game on the campus the path goes next to. I was riding at about 15mph and passed three groups and scared the crap out of all three. I came up behind two women and pulled off the grass and passed them in the grass, one woman screamed and fell down. I came up behind two couples and said 'good evening', all three flinched and one girl screamed and threw her water bottle 10' in the air. The last group was a family of four and when I said 'pardon me' the dad spun around and flipped over the cooler he was pulling behind him.

They were all 100% in the wrong for blocking the entire path, but I'm sure they all thought the cyclist was at fault for scaring them.

I bought a pair of these bells for our bikes and my encounters with pedestrians has been much better when using the bells.

Click to expand...
I find these types of encounters interesting. I have never used a bell, have always voiced my intent, have never seen a startled person. Always get either a "thank you" or friendly smile.
 
Whether you use a bell, horn or voice the main problem is the pedestrian(s) inability to process the sound and do the right thing which is generally accepted as moving to their right. You can always tell those that are aware of this procedure but so few are that the best way to approach anyone is carefully and most of all slowly.

Just today on the way to the parade in my small town there were two older couples fully across the single lane road and I rang my bell several times while approaching with no visible response and when I got close enough I said I was going to come by on the left and they went in both directions so I ended up shooting the gap.......they did thank me for warning them however?

Bottom line for me is somehow educating pedestrians on how to react when hearing a bell/horn or on your left etc. but good luck with that.
 
There's a National Military Park where we ride in NC. A paved road runs through it. There's a pedestrian lane on the left, a car lane in the middle, and a bike lane on the right. All clearly marked at frequent intervals. Cars and bikes can only go in one direction, counterclockwise, while pedestrians can go either way.Still, pedestrians amble along in clumps in the bike lane, probably because it's a bit wider. Inevitably, with their backs to car and bike traffic.

I've taken to calling out, "Passing on your left, pedestrians in the bike lane" when I need to pull out into the car lane to pass them. Not the most mature action, but it makes me feel better 😁.

About half the time, they cross to the pedestrian side after I pass...
 
I don't bother warning people most times any more. I think 80% are wearing earpods or over-the-ear headphones and they don't even recognize my db140 horn, which is about a loud as you can get. Now, I just stealthily blow by them on the grass or trail, trying to give as much room as possible. If I alert them ahead of time many of them move or jump in an unpredictable manner, which at times can be more dangerous. Women with small children and baby carriages get complete deference from me. "STAY ON THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE PATH PEOPLE!"
 
JRA said:
Whether you use a bell, horn or voice the main problem is the pedestrian(s) inability to process the sound and do the right thing which is generally accepted as moving to their right. You can always tell those that are aware of this procedure but so few are that the best way to approach anyone is carefully and most of all slowly.

Just today on the way to the parade in my small town there were two older couples fully across the single lane road and I rang my bell several times while approaching with no visible response and when I got close enough I said I was going to come by on the left and they went in both directions so I ended up shooting the gap.......they did thank me for warning them however?

Bottom line for me is somehow educating pedestrians on how to react when hearing a bell/horn or on your left etc. but good luck with that.
Click to expand...
"shooting the gap" Oh , so many times I yell out "passing on the left" and end up shooting the gap or shooting the scrambled clusterfuck in front of me.
 
Coolbob said:
The inherent problem with voicing your presence is that if you shout at pedestrians from a distance, you startle them, if you speak in a normal voice from a few feet behind them, you startle them.
Click to expand...
I have had good luck with 48 v scooter horn, plugged right into the battery.
It's loud enough that I can signal20-30 feet from others and they have more than enough time to make a hole and it's far enough away that it doesn't startle them.
Coolbob said:
one woman screamed and fell down. I came up behind two couples and said 'good evening', all three flinched and one girl screamed and threw her water bottle 10' in the air
Click to expand...
LOL, you're a heart attack on wheels.
We have a lake with clearly marked bike and people paths, I'm talking pictographs painted on the paths every 50 feet or so and completely separate paths !
For some reason it's not clear enough for some and they still block the whole path by walking on the bike part.
Yet like you say it's always the other guys fault.
One guy faked a punch as I rode by him walking with others, on the bike path!
 
Coolbob said:
I've been riding for decades, but just purchased my first bell a few months ago.

We have a few miles of railway that has been converted to nature trail/urban pathway for pedestrian and bicycle use. There are several miles of the nature trail portion of the path and it is 15' wide and covered in small gravel, so there's plenty of room for pedestrians and cyclist and the pedestrians can hear you coming a long way away. The paved portion is only about 5' wide and paved with a yellow line down the middle and arrows directing which way to go in each 'lane'.

Inevitably, pedestrians walk two, three or more, side-by-side, blocking the entire path. My bike does not have a derailleur or knobby tires and is totally silent. I've tried saying 'excuse me', 'good morning', 'on your left' or passing them in the grass where that's an option and no matter what I do they are startled. The inherent problem with voicing your presence is that if you shout at pedestrians from a distance, you startle them, if you speak in a normal voice from a few feet behind them, you startle them.

The last time I rode that path without a bell was after a football game on the campus the path goes next to. I was riding at about 15mph and passed three groups and scared the crap out of all three. I came up behind two women and pulled off the grass and passed them in the grass, one woman screamed and fell down. I came up behind two couples and said 'good evening', all three flinched and one girl screamed and threw her water bottle 10' in the air. The last group was a family of four and when I said 'pardon me' the dad spun around and flipped over the cooler he was pulling behind him.

They were all 100% in the wrong for blocking the entire path, but I'm sure they all thought the cyclist was at fault for scaring them.

I bought a pair of these bells for our bikes and my encounters with pedestrians has been much better when using the bells.

Click to expand...
I too have found through experience that a bell is the best tool for warning others on a trail or path. Horns are necessary though on road.

I hope you have better luck with your Knog-Oi bell than I did. The spring broke on mine during the first season. I also found it to be a bit lacking in volume.

I eventually went back to the plain old style:


Twice as loud for less money.
 
6zfshdb said:
I too have found through experience that a bell is the best tool for warning others on a trail or path. Horns are necessary though on road.

I hope you have better luck with your Knog-Oi bell than I did. The spring broke on mine during the first season. I also found it to be a bit lacking in volume.

I eventually went back to the plain old style:


Twice as loud for less money.
Click to expand...
"Every time a bell rings , an angel gets it's wings"
 
I bought a Juiced horn for my Rad, because here in the streets in Texas, no one pays attention to anything that doesn't have at least four wheels. It works most of the time to get someone's attention, except for that one old lady that turned in front of me - I'd like to think she didn't hear me, but I think she was probably ignoring me.

I found my bell did little on trails, so I went with shouting "ON YOUR LEFT!", which works in most situations. Sometimes they're oblivious, and somethings they're, well, oblivious, but otherwise, it works. But just as important as that is slowing down to a speed where if they veer in front of me, I can stop with minimal damage to any of us.
 
Treesham said:
I bought a Juiced horn for my Rad, because here in the streets in Texas, no one pays attention to anything that doesn't have at least four wheels. It works most of the time to get someone's attention, except for that one old lady that turned in front of me - I'd like to think she didn't hear me, but I think she was probably ignoring me.

I found my bell did little on trails, so I went with shouting "ON YOUR LEFT!", which works in most situations. Sometimes they're oblivious, and somethings they're, well, oblivious, but otherwise, it works. But just as important as that is slowing down to a speed where if they veer in front of me, I can stop with minimal damage to any of us.
Click to expand...
My 48v 110 DB horn has saved me several times from drivers who cut me off making right turns ! I won't ride without one !
 
someone may have already said this, but i am starting to realize that a very effective "tool" is to pedal backwards. the sound of the ratchet pawls clicking against the gear teeth is INSTANTLY RECOGNIZABLE as a BIKE and the pedestrians seem to always understand i am approaching from the rear. i am finding this working better than my BELL. some people don't RECOGNIZE the BELL sound as related to a bike and they either ignore it or freeze or get startled. the ratcheting is also pretty mellow and gentle. kind of soothing. weird but true. tim
 
Holland-Tim-Allant+8S said:
someone may have already said this, but i am starting to realize that a very effective "tool" is to pedal backwards. the sound of the ratchet pawls clicking against the gear teeth is INSTANTLY RECOGNIZABLE as a BIKE and the pedestrians seem to always understand i am approaching from the rear. i am finding this working better than my BELL. some people don't RECOGNIZE the BELL sound as related to a bike and they either ignore it or freeze or get startled. the ratcheting is also pretty mellow and gentle. kind of soothing. weird but true. tim
Click to expand...
Someone did say that they put fat knobbies on their bike for the road noise, warning ppl.
But you have to be pretty close for that to work and going at a good clip as well.
Plus these days , you're pretty much guaranteed to run into, (pardon the pun) someone wearing earbuds, or just not paying attention.
The thing I like about the scooter horn is, ppl immediately know what it is AND expect to see a scooter or park ranger coming up on them, so I very rarely get ignored. In fact I can't think of a time a pedestrian ignored me to the extent that I would have to take evasive action .
 
My bell is winning over my voice for 2 reasons: The bell can be heard more clearly when the passee is wearing earpods, and lately I have been catching bugs every time I open my mouth — ‘tis a good year for insects!
 
I use a bell, and an Air Zound Air Horn. Uses air pressurized in a plastic bottle…is loudest bike horn you will ever hear. Use your floor pump to fill it with air. I have used it for 20 years on my Lightning F40, fully faired recumbent, the fastest bike in the US, made in CA.
I use the bell for those a short way in front of me. The horn is too loud for folks close to you. The horn will get peoples attention, like any train horn would.
Everyone turns around to see what the heck is coming down the trail!
 
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