In praise of Spur-cycles bells

[Bill Lindsay]

Crane bells are super cool and very classy.  It's great they are made in Japan, and I love them.  

BUT

Spur Cycle bells are by far the nicest bike bell I've ever seen.  I bought one from Ocean Air Cycles, because Rob Perks is the man, and I was blown away at how nice this bell in.  It's loud and pure and never makes a peep unless you want it to.  I just picked up a second one from a tiny Berkeley Bike Boutique, just because they had it on the shelf, and I like buying local.  Spur Cycle bells are MUSA and they kick butt.  $50 for a bell may seem perverse to frugal riders, but when you can get the very best anything for $50, that's something.  

https://www.spurcycle.com/

Bill Lindsay

El Cerrito, CA

[Christopher Murray]

Couldn't agree more. They are truly a thing of beauty. The only thing more impressive than the look and quality feel of this little bell is the sound. It really rrrrrriiiiiiiiiinnnnnnnnngggggggsssssss.

Cheers!
Chris

[Deacon Patrick]

This are on my list, but other priorities make it hard to pull the trigger. My current bell just doesn't get heard over the mountain breezes unless they are going the right direction. Anyone have a Spur Bell they do not want? PM me please.

With abandon,

Patrick

[Davey Two Shoes]

absolutely love mine

[Deacon Patrick]

I'm all set. Me wife said to go ahead, so I did. Grin.

With abandon,

Patrick

[Wally Estrella]

YES! Got my 2nd one just last week.

[Ron Mc]

I've noticed on the greenways when being overtaken by bikes (not sure why they want to go that fast on greenways, but it's their business) high-pitched single-impact bells like the Spurcycle are in the wind noise bandwidth and not easy to hear when you're riding a bike.  

I like the Crane Karen (Riv's Bell 26) because it flamms, giving multiple strikes like an old-fashioned telephone bell.  That, and the lower pitch is in a voice bandwidth, which more people can hear.  

Have these on every bike along with a spare spring from Rivendell, because the springs do break with high usage.  

[Nick Payne]

I don't find that at all. My wife has Spurcycle bells on her bikes, and I have no problem hearing the bell over quite long distances when she thinks I'm getting too far ahead.

[Ron Mc]

wind noise is certainly sensitive to speed and prevailing wind direction

[John]

   I like bells, so I have both a Spucycle bell and a Riv bought Crane bell with the stronger spring mod on my AHH.  To me, the Crane bells with the hammer are louder than both, and the deeper sound of the brass Crane bells are more easily heard over wind, and by older people who may have lost the higher range of their hearing.

   For years I have been amazed how so many people I know are missing that higher frequency range when I say something about crickets or bird songs and I get blank looks. I noticed many friends and family had already lost the ability to hear those higher notes in their 40's.

John  

[Ryan Fleming]

They certainly are elegant looking in a minimalist way

About 6 weeks ago I bought a Portland Designs bell from MEC

https://www.mec.ca/en/product/5034-839/King-Of-Ding-II-Bicycle-Bell#reviews 

Put it on my mixte which I still haven't gotten around to riding; other stuff going on

We'll see...basis MEC reviews the King of Ding isn't getting a ringing endorsement (apologies for bad pun)

The dutch Selfie bell works fine, as do the Crane bells and as does my cheapie 18 year old Cateye bell. Velo Orange made a brass-plated bell that I also really liked, but the spring striker just gave up the ghost and fell off last fall after about 4 seasons. Truth be told, though it wasn't a very expensive bell

[Philip Kim]

i have both bells. i think the spurcycles look better, but i use the crane for this reason. 

[Glen]

I'm a recent Spur Cycle convert having picked up a blemish from their booth at NAHBS. 

It has replaced the Knog Oi that looks great but has a sorry tone. A Crane with hammer is on my wife's cruiser, it has a great tone and wound't change it.

FYI, for the same $50 you can get a bell and help out Park City Utah's Mountain Trials Foundation a group dedicated to trails both paved and dirt. 

http://mountaintrails.org/become-a-member/  The $50 donation level includes a Spur Cycle bell as a thank you.

On Tuesday, June 27, 2017 at 7:08:24 PM UTC-6, Bill Lindsay wrote:

[Ryan Fleming]

Also couldn't help noticing and kinda like the nod to almost  everybody's favorite summer condiments

https://www.spurcycle.com/collections/fun-stuff  

On Tuesday, June 27, 2017 at 8:08:24 PM UTC-5, Bill Lindsay wrote:

[fug...@gmail.com]

I've had most of those bells (I love bells) and now have a Lion from Lion Bellworks England; by far my favorite. I think you an get it from amazon.uk. The Spurcycle and Lion reside on different sides and provide eloquent dichotomy

[Ian A]

Those Lion bells are brilliant! I just Google searched Lion Bellworks and found their website. You can have your bell personally engraved, and they are not too expensive for a quality product made in England.

[Eric Floden]

I have one on my Fargo and it has received good feedback...first ever gor me for a bell

EricF

Moose Jaw today, Brandon tomorrow

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[Alex Wirth- Owner, Yellow Haus Bicycles]

They are the best selling bell in our shop and also the most expensive....two things that rarely go together in the same category.  The design and execution is next-level AND the company operates in a professional and courteous manner (somewhat of a rarity these days).

I have one of the original Lionworks bells that my wife bought for me when we first started dating.  They were engraved pretty deep originally, as opposed to etched.  I wish they didn't make that change....the original engraving gave it a heritage quality.  One of my favorite bike related gifts....

On Wednesday, June 28, 2017 at 10:55:31 PM UTC-4, ericf3 wrote:

I have one on my Fargo and it has received good feedback...first ever gor me for a bell

EricF

Moose Jaw today, Brandon tomorrow

On 28 June 2017 at 11:22, Ryan Fleming <ryanmallo...@gmail.com> wrote:

They certainly are elegant looking in a minimalist way

About 6 weeks ago I bought a Portland Designs bell from MEC

https://www.mec.ca/en/product/5034-839/King-Of-Ding-II-Bicycle-Bell#reviews 

Put it on my mixte which I still haven't gotten around to riding; other stuff going on

We'll see...basis MEC reviews the King of Ding isn't getting a ringing endorsement (apologies for bad pun)

The dutch Selfie bell works fine, as do the Crane bells and as does my cheapie 18 year old Cateye bell. Velo Orange made a brass-plated bell that I also really liked, but the spring striker just gave up the ghost and fell off last fall after about 4 seasons. Truth be told, though it wasn't a very expensive bell

On Tuesday, June 27, 2017 at 8:08:24 PM UTC-5, Bill Lindsay wrote:

Crane bells are super cool and very classy.  It's great they are made in Japan, and I love them.  

BUT

Spur Cycle bells are by far the nicest bike bell I've ever seen.  I bought one from Ocean Air Cycles, because Rob Perks is the man, and I was blown away at how nice this bell in.  It's loud and pure and never makes a peep unless you want it to.  I just picked up a second one from a tiny Berkeley Bike Boutique, just because they had it on the shelf, and I like buying local.  Spur Cycle bells are MUSA and they kick butt.  $50 for a bell may seem perverse to frugal riders, but when you can get the very best anything for $50, that's something.  

https://www.spurcycle.com/

Bill Lindsay

El Cerrito, CA

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[Jock Dewey]

Hey, BellBOBs:

Indeed, you are correct sir -- SPUR CYCLE bells are the Campy Nuovo Record of dingers. The joy is if you have a few bikes then you're helping keep these guys going and that's a good thing. 

We bought our first one on the Kickstarter program several years ago and once it came had to have them all around. It's a tiny jewel of engineering and altho $$ for its size, the sound is BIG and BRIGHT and wakes you up. Like the little wrens at our bird feeders, you simply can't believe such a tiny object sings such a big beautiful song. 

The only discord they strike is this: I ride a lot with my son, and altho he has them on his bikes, too, he cringes when I acknowledge our fellow riders in passing. Being the cheerful chap I am, I just can't help ringing and waving. One pal (affectionately I think) calls me the 'ice cream man'. Why have the thing if you don't use it, right?

BEST REGARDS / Jock Dewey / Athens, GA

[Jock Dewey]

Hey ~ Oh:

Oh oh, just realized this is not the BOB list, sorry for the typo.

BTW, in case you were wondering, the dome of the Spur Cycle bell is made in CT by the oldest (1832) and only remaining bell manufacturer in the USofA. 

Keep ringing!

BEST / Jock Dewey / Athens, GA

[Mitch Harris]

+1 Also have the Spurcycle bell on several bikes, with a special mod to mount it to a stem's M5 bell mount. 

I like the sound, pitch, sustain, low profile, design and quality. 

On a recent MUP ride with my wife I we compared the Spurcycle and a brass Crane bell from Riv, and alternated, to see if there was a difference in how people responded or how the bell sounded to us. We rode ahead separately to see if we could hear one better than the other.  We had good results with both, couldn't tell a difference (in our non-empirical test) in how people responded to the bells. We thought we could hear the Spurcycle from further away but that might have been sustain/duration. 

Haven't tried it with a tuner to see what the actual pitch is, but it only seems an octave or so above the Crane, and that doesn't seem like enough of a pitch difference to pass out of hearing range for most people. There are lots of higher freq overtones in bell sounds so I imagine some of those are less audible for some people, but that would be true for all bells. 

--Mitch 

[Ken Yokanovich]

My eldest daughter was generous enough to have purchased a Spur Cycle bell for me for Christmas. It's a special bell in many ways; MUSA, aesthetically attractive, well made, sounds amazing, and was a gift from one of my favorite people in the world.  It deserved a special bike, which turned out to be the HubbuHubbuH tandem that I enjoy riding with my other daughter.  Since it is a tandem that begs to be ridden whimsically with two sets of bars, we've adorned it with 4 bells.  The Spur Cycle, the Crane Clone, a Crane Jingler, and a cheapy New Belgium brewing jingler.  All four are fun, but the Spur Cycle is the best one of the lot

On Tuesday, June 27, 2017 at 8:08:24 PM UTC-5, Bill Lindsay wrote:

[Marc40a]

I've have all of the bells mentioned... or should I say, "Hello my name is Marc and I'm a bellaholic."

Seriously, I have all of them except for the PDW bell (I have the stem spacer version of that bell, the Alexander Graham Bell)  and the Lion. 

The Crane mounted on a quill stem crushes them all -  an authoritative sonourous ding that can be heard from a good distance back. 

The PDW (Alexander Graham Bell) is a distant second, the Spur, a distant 3rd. 

I, too, was enticed by the backstory and engineering aspect of the Spur cycle bell but one day I had a moment of clarity that changed everything:

I was commuting home on the bike trail on a hot summer day and came up behind a very attractive female jogger. "Perfect, opportunity to use my new bell," I thought to myself. "Everyone loves the bell."  Plink, Plink. She didn't hear me. A little bit closer.... Plink Plink.... Nope. Plink, Plink....Plink, Plink... "NOTICE ME" "ACKNOWLEDGE MY PRESENCE". Well, eventually she did and it wasn't with a smile. The creepiness and absurdity of of the scene struck me  like brick in the head. I was 'that guy'. I saw the scene for what it was: A middle aged guy on a bike, vigorously flicking his little penis-head shaped bell, smiling like a madman while riding behind an attractive female jogger on the bike path. 

I ding loud and proud from as far back as possible now. My bell is a thunderous warning, not a creepy plink plink. 

On Tuesday, June 27, 2017 at 9:08:24 PM UTC-4, Bill Lindsay wrote:

[Christopher Murray]

While the phrase "penis-head shaped bell" made my day, I highly doubt the shape of the bell is an issue. Unless you were over-dinging I'd assume she just didn't want to move. It's not the shape of your bell, it's how you ding it.

Cheers!
Chris

[Kiley DeMond]

I bought it. Reasons: I love steel and the natural steel is beeyoutiful. The 'ding' doesn't make me cringe. They really did research its frequency and the pitch is pleasant as a bell can be. It's made in USA. I justified it when I returned something to the LBS in Ann Arbor and had an almost-as-much-as-it-cost credit. 

On Tuesday, June 27, 2017 at 6:08:24 PM UTC-7, Bill Lindsay wrote:

[Deacon Patrick]

I've have a quite a few bell encounters with my SpurCycles bell now and I am curious to see how the deeper and possibly louder tone of the Crane Rivenbell, which was supposed to arrive today but didn't, does in comparison. Observations and interactions so far:

-- Spur is heard far more easily far sooner by most people and the interactions are nearly all positive and people are already smiling by the time I am close enough to talk. Beats the finish off my previous bell I can't remember the name of.

-- The tone is too high pitched for the comfort of my brain. While I can handle it, it is near piercing. The ease of interactions and passing people on near-town mountain trails in tourist season more than makes up for the brain energy lost to the tone, and, on a cognitive therapy note, my brain seems to be handling it better now than when I first started using it.

-- One woman, hiking with another saw me, waved, and stepped aside. The woman she was hiking with saw me (direct eye contact), did not step aside, then was stunned when I "appeared" next to her. I must have looked like I was biking slower than a standstill. Sardonic grin.

-- multiple families with kids and/or dogs saying a poignant and heartfelt thank yous for a friendly notice that I am there and coming and not running them over and being polite while doing so. How sad that that stands out, and yet it does.

-- A gaggle of golden agers was spread out and shuffling up the trail. Hoping to give all 20+ plenty of time not to be startled out their loafers I began ringing early and often to no avail. Finally, when I was going nearly their speed three feet behind them and coming to a stop, a woman saw me and organized the move to the right track of the double single track. I said thank you loud and and clear, or so I thought, several acknowledged it and exchanged pleasantries, and then the matron of the group urged me to be polite and say thank you (she was all of five people in). "I just did, Ma'me." I said and continued to exchange pleasantries with the remaining folks who were, indeed, pleasant.

-- I rang the bell descending to a blind series of turns, creek crossing, and climb to more turns, because there have been a lot of interesting encounters here. Doing this, I've had people waiting off the trail, smiling and waving as they watch me either make or almost make (to their great entertainment either way it seems) the 178˚ switchback into a steep climb.

So the bell is so far a ringing success and I suspect I will be choosing the best among the great between this Spur and the Rivenbell.

With abandon,

Patrick

On Tuesday, June 27, 2017 at 7:08:24 PM UTC-6, Bill Lindsay wrote:

[Deacon Patrick]

No bell could have been understood as a bike bell by one group I encountered on today's ride. They each wore bear dinner bells. One of them said, "Oh, that was a bike bell. I heard a cow bell but couldn't make sense of it."

With abandon,

Patrick

[Steve Palincsar]

What is a "bear dinner bell"?   And why would anyone wear one?   This is all I could find, and I can't see how (or why) anyone could possibly wear this.

[Deacon Patrick]

Tourist hikers wear bells to warn bears of their impending presence. The joke is bears come to know these as dinner bells.

[Deacon Patrick]

Well, I should have gone with the Rivenbell from the bell. I got their hammer strike bell, https://www.rivbike.com/products/hammer-strike-bell-brass, and this is a wonderfully deeper tone that nearly everyone but the deaf hear, even with wind, birds, conversation, and traffic in various combination. 

Usually one dig does it. First time on the MUP trail, I test rang it as it parallels the highway. DIIIIING! I rounded the top of the hill and dropped down to the horse barn to see a man smiling and waving and standing to the side of the trail. Wow. This beastie works! Didn't even know the lad was there.

My own experience places the Rivenbell as much ahead of the SpurCycle bell as the SpurCycle bell is ahead of the other bells. Both are friendly, but the Rivenbell's deeper, louder tone gets heard and that makes all the difference.

With abandon,

Patrick 

[dstein]

Inspired by Bill's post I bought a Spur bell on a whim at a bike shop the other day in the Mission (SF). It's super expensive, but a damn good bell and I like that it's smaller. It does has a super nice ring to it. The attachment is kind of weird, it comes with two different flimsy aluminum pieces, i'm guessing for 26 and 31.8mm size bars. Feels a little loose around my 25.4 bars unless i get it right around the twine. Maybe i'll zip tie instead.

[Ron Mc]

And the Crane Karen (Bell 21) is even better, because you play it and it flamms.  From loud and percussive to a tiny ping.  

[Mitch Harris]

On Friday, July 14, 2017 at 9:20:45 PM UTC-6, dstein wrote:

Inspired by Bill's post I bought a Spur bell on a whim at a bike shop the other day in the Mission (SF). It's super expensive, but a damn good bell and I like that it's smaller. It does has a super nice ring to it. The attachment is kind of weird, it comes with two different flimsy aluminum pieces, i'm guessing for 26 and 31.8mm size bars. Feels a little loose around my 25.4 bars unless i get it right around the twine. Maybe i'll zip tie instead.

All my SpurCycle bells came with mount straps that are stainless steel, not aluminum, and not flimsy at all. And they fit fine on 25.4 bars. I have seen several rip-off copies of the SpurCycle?

--Mitch 

[David Stein]

maybe it was stainless steel. and i’m sure a bit of user error as always ;) it did seem too big for 25.4 bars and i had to find a thick spot with bar tape and twine to get it tight and still though. i haven’t ridden much w/ it though so i’ll see how it holds up on a ride tomorrow

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[Deacon Patrick]

Did you tighten the wee Allen bolt atop the bell, and use the smaller strap?

With abandon,
Patrick

[Carla Waugh]

Sam now has a pretty little silver Spur jewell on it. I already had two and gave my twin a Spur and have one in black with a blue dinger on my 650B so Sam had to have a new pretty.

[davec...@gmail.com]

Turns out it was user error on my part. Turns out it can be tightened by the nut on top. Thanks Deacon Patrick for the tip!

Sent from my iPhone

> On Jul 15, 2017, at 1:11 PM, Carla Waugh <lhtbik...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> Sam now has a pretty little silver Spur jewell on it. I already had two and gave my twin a Spur and have one in black with a blue dinger on my 650B so Sam had to have a new pretty.
>

[Deacon Patrick]

You betcha! I have a lot of experience sussing out my own loose screws. Grin.

With abandon,

Patrick

[Bill in Roswell GA]

I just wonder when someone is going to make a real spur bell. You know, like with real boot spurs that cow pokes actually use daily (hey, I lived in TX and OK for 20 years). Guess I'll pull out my invention sketch book.....

Indeed, the Crane Karen bell has the most clear, beautiful tone. Cheerful, even. I try to ring it a ways out so as not to startle people. 

Cheers,

Bill in Roswell, GA former home of many horse farms that are now filled with houses 

[Ash [who works to bike]]

While everyone else here is trying to find the best sounding bell, I'm on a different kind of journey.  I keep looking for bells that don't eat up the precious real estate on the handlebar (I like to have multiple hand positions feasible).  

First I tried Knog Oi.  I like it so much in theory.  Over many many uses on shared bike path, the large version that's on my road bike might have been ever heard bike one or two people.  No such like with the small version that goes on 22.2mm bar.  Sometimes I can't hear it myself.  Recently I ran into Incredibell bar end bells at an LBS.  Used it for a few rides so far.  I think it sounds just good enough.  Build quality seems fine as well.  Picture attached.

[Tim Butterfield]

Ash,

There is always the stem mount position; no bar space required.

Tim

[Steve Palincsar]

As Tim says.

[lum gim fong]

Dats where i put mine too.
I like holding the tops right by the stem so i need the bars wart-free.