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Škoda DuoBell: A bicycle bell that penetrates noise-cancelling headphones

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Re: Škoda DuoBell: A bicycle bell that penetrates noise-cancelling headphones

#461

Post by pjdesno »

amluto wrote: post #306
srejk wrote: post #300

Earlier quoted context omitted.

When I was commuting 60k/day on my bike in shitty suburban conditions, I used one of these instead - you get limited use per trip, but you can always fill it up with a CO2 cylinder/bike pump: https://www.hpvelotechnik.com/en/recumbent-trikes-bikes/acce... It is loud .

That’s a crappy pressure vessel holding 350ml of 80psi air, for about 100J of stored energy. I’m not entirely sure I’d be comfortable with that, especially anywhere with my face in the line of fire it it fails.

It's a soda bottle - it fits in your water bottle holder, and you can replace it for a couple of bucks if it fails. 80 psi is pretty low pressure (typical narrow tires are 100-120) and the bottle itself is very low mass, so the fabric around the bottle should ensure safety if it bursts.

IIRC these came out in the early-mid 90s; a bike messenger trick at the time was to fasten the horn to your handlebars with velcro, so you could take it off and hold it near a car window when triggering it.

Re: Škoda DuoBell: A bicycle bell that penetrates noise-cancelling headphones

#462

Post by kube-system »

pandaman wrote: post #301
prmoustache wrote: post #285

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That is an issue on bike paths that are build inside a sidewalk, the cycling path is usually build using a smoother surface than the one designed for pedestrians. Plus it sometimes has a brighter paint. I am pretty sure most people don't realize it but they are inconciously attracted to it. It just feels better walking on it.

That's an issue on any bike path in the US, even if it's a fire road in the middle of nowhere. I bet there are people walking their dogs or checking Instagram on the single track course that is used for the Red Bull Rampage.

Yeah, it happens on sidewalks, bike trails, mixed use trails, and dedicated bike lanes. If anything, dedicated bike lanes are the worst because they get errant pedestrians and cars.

Re: Škoda DuoBell: A bicycle bell that penetrates noise-cancelling headphones

#463

Post by tbrownaw »

SoftTalker wrote: post #418
serial_dev wrote: post #242

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's not only about preventing accidents (but I do believe it prevents some to attempt answering your question). It's also about signaling to someone that they might be doing something wrong or they might not be paying attention. For pedestrians it takes significantly less time and distance to stop, for cars, trams, and bicycles, it takes longer. It happens all the time that pedestrians don't know the customs of a co…

Phones? I've seen cyclists using laptops. Some of the most oblivious and entitled vehicle operators on the road.

> I've seen cyclists using laptops.

How? That seems like it would be rather mechanically challenging.

Re: Škoda DuoBell: A bicycle bell that penetrates noise-cancelling headphones

#465

Post by jonahrd »

arjie wrote: post #304
eigenspace wrote: post #187

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I still think that ringing bells at people is a little rude, regardless of the tone. Like imagine if you were at the grocery store, blocking the isle and someone lightly chimed a bell at you instead of just saying "excuse me". IMO if I'm in a dense pedestrian zone and I can't go around people and I can't communicate by voice, it means I'm going too fast.

It's just cultural. If there's a cultural expectation of the ring/honk it's not rude. e.g. in India people will honk as a form of active group flock behaviour but foreigners will interpret it as everyone saying "get out of my way"; but in some European countries I have seen that people use the bell (much less noisy than the typical Indian street) and it's got the same meaning. In Hawaii, if you ever honk at someone,…

Can you explain to me what it means to try to get the traffic light to change on Bush street? I tried searching for it but couldn't find anything.

Re: Škoda DuoBell: A bicycle bell that penetrates noise-cancelling headphones

#466

Post by thewebguyd »

stevage wrote: post #302
eigenspace wrote: post #126

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A horn or bell is mostly for telling other people "hey I'm here, stay out of my way and dont suddenly cross into my path" My opinion as a cyclist is that I should basically only be using my bell on pedestrians when the pedestrians are wandering onto the bike lane. If im cycling through a shared space, I find it extremely rude to ring the bell, because it feels like I'm telling people to get out of my way, but they ha…

>My opinion as a cyclist is that I should basically only be using my bell on pedestrians when the pedestrians are wandering onto the bike lane. If im cycling through a shared space, I find it extremely rude to ring the bell, because it feels like I'm telling people to get out of my way, but they have just as much right to a shared path as I do. The culture around this varies a lot. I'm in Melbourne, Australia. Virtua…

> you're telling them that you're there.

Which, IMO is important. Even if they aren't in your way, it can help avoid an accident. If you're on any sort of nicer, well maintained road bike, it's going to be near silent. I've startled pedestrians on mine, so I now ring my bell every time I'm approaching someone, not as a "get out of my way" signal but more of a "hey! I'm coming up behind you, don't get startled and jump into my path"

Generally though, if its a particularly crowded path, I just ride in the road. In stop and go city traffic I'm usually going as fast if not faster than traffic anyway.

Re: Škoda DuoBell: A bicycle bell that penetrates noise-cancelling headphones

#467

Post by hdgvhicv »

pjdesno wrote: post #461
amluto wrote: post #306

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That’s a crappy pressure vessel holding 350ml of 80psi air, for about 100J of stored energy. I’m not entirely sure I’d be comfortable with that, especially anywhere with my face in the line of fire it it fails.

It's a soda bottle - it fits in your water bottle holder, and you can replace it for a couple of bucks if it fails. 80 psi is pretty low pressure (typical narrow tires are 100-120) and the bottle itself is very low mass, so the fabric around the bottle should ensure safety if it bursts. IIRC these came out in the early-mid 90s; a bike messenger trick at the time was to fasten the horn to your handlebars with velcro,…

If it fails by blowing the end off toward your face what damage will it do?

Re: Škoda DuoBell: A bicycle bell that penetrates noise-cancelling headphones

#468

Post by hdgvhicv »

hnuser123456 wrote: post #365
vscode-rest wrote: post #342

Earlier quoted context omitted.

At least they’re forward about it - I’ve lost count of how many bike accessories claimed to be USB C, but they only charge when connected to their specialized cable that converts from USB A to C.

Double-sided USB-C connections require a handshake before sending voltage. USB-A ports can have the 5v line active at all times. Cheap USB C gadgets often don't make the handshake, they just use it as a 5V input, necessitating an A to C cable.

One of the many deficiencies of usb-c (who knows what power your cable supports, charger supports, if you accessory will charge, of it will connect at all)

Re: Škoda DuoBell: A bicycle bell that penetrates noise-cancelling headphones

#469

Post by Tepix »

srejk wrote: post #300
michh wrote: post #234

Coincidentally, I bought a 12v car horn yesterday with the intent of wiring it into my ebike's power supply with a little button on my handlebars. Not because of other cyclists or pedestrians wearing (anc) headphones but because modern cars are so heavily sound-proofed they don't hear a bicycle bell anymore. A recent incident with an inattentive taxi driver in a brand new EV nearly flattening me prompted me to want t…

When I was commuting 60k/day on my bike in shitty suburban conditions, I used one of these instead - you get limited use per trip, but you can always fill it up with a CO2 cylinder/bike pump: https://www.hpvelotechnik.com/en/recumbent-trikes-bikes/acce... It is loud .

Can confirm, AirZound is great!

Re: Škoda DuoBell: A bicycle bell that penetrates noise-cancelling headphones

#470

Post by kube-system »

empyrrhicist wrote: post #279
eigenspace wrote: post #126

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A horn or bell is mostly for telling other people "hey I'm here, stay out of my way and dont suddenly cross into my path" My opinion as a cyclist is that I should basically only be using my bell on pedestrians when the pedestrians are wandering onto the bike lane. If im cycling through a shared space, I find it extremely rude to ring the bell, because it feels like I'm telling people to get out of my way, but they ha…

> Some cyclists ring their bells because they're worried a pedestrian might suddenly turn into their path, This is wrong - on mixed use paths, it is customary and proper to announce "on your left" when passing, and a bell is a nice alternative. Even cycling slowly pedestrians can do some very erratic things, and moreover are very surprised when cyclists suddenly appear on their left (and may do something dumb in surp…

> This is wrong - on mixed use paths, it is customary and proper to announce "on your left" when passing

This is neither customarily nor regulatory uniform. There are mixed-use trails near me where bells are required. There are some trails where most people use a bell, some trails where nobody uses a bell, and some where there is a mix.

In my personal experience, the ratio of bikes to pedestrians and the purpose of the trail greatly affects how people tend to handle this.

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