“I goofed up and broke my wife’s generic bell, popping the bike upside down and leaning on the saddle/front bars. I forgot how big most cheap bells are, and how much they hit the floor. I had to get a new one, and I refused to get a cheap and nasty one!
The old school OI classic bell is small enough to fit on a flat bar. I have it installed between my locking grips and my shifter. This is the perfect spacing to allow for single finger enduro style braking.
It’s small enough to not get in the way of shifting, or braking, while still being accessible enough to instinctively ring the bell if needed. It’s also cheap as chips, and doesn’t look like a mushroom has grown on your bars.
I use this on my e mountain bike as well that I cheekily use as a commuter when lazy. Same kind of setup. I would rather go bell-less than have a huge encumbering bell!
It’s small enough to not worry about keeping installed when I take the bike out to trails. Even then, it’s easy enough to uninstall if needed.
It isn’t exactly the loudest bell, but realistically if someone can’t hear this bell, chances are they won’t be able to hear any bell. It’s not like we’re trying to install a glockenspiel to our bike to audition for the Berlin philharmonic.
The classic oi doesn’t easily fit on modern 31.8 bars like a road bike. I’m using different one made by the same brand, supposedly made of titanium with an adjustable metal band. It costs about 4 times more, so I would still get the classic for a “quick fix” bell.
It’s not the best bell out there, but it’s also a bell that does the job, and it’s the bell that you don’t know or see is there until you need to use it.”
“The bell on the bike needed replacing, but I wanted something less noticeable. The bell does what a bell is designed to do, warn others of your approach but it's sleek design allows it to blend with the brake and gear levers.”
“Initially thought it was a bit of a novelty when I mounted it.
However I now find that it works well when riding giving solid ring with a distinct tone.
Certainly better than my previous bell which failed in action when the striker broke off.”
“good little bell that has a surprisingly nice loud ring. gets the desired attention of stray pedestrians and even cars can sometimes hear it if their windows are down. good action on the bell to get it to ring as well, just needing one finger”
