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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

#421

Post by dmurray »

jmull wrote: post #299
empyrrhicist wrote: post #283

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Shouting that while traveling too fast is indeed incorrect, but a polite "on your left" or bell while traveling an appropriate speed is considered good behavior to avoid surprising pedestrians.

Outside of some stage actors and drill sergeants, there are probably few people who can project their voices well enough that a vocal warning is useful. You're either traveling slow enough that it's not necessary (and why yell at people if you have to?), or are too far away for someone to understand and get a bearing on who isn't already looking at you. A bell is still rude in a shared space but used correctly, a dec…

Cyclists will normally do the same thing passing out other cyclists at a 5-10 km/h speed difference, and it's definitely useful there.

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

#422

Post by Theodores »

shermozle wrote: post #144
0x3f wrote: post #116

Do horns and bells really prevent accidents? In order for e.g. a horn to work you need enough time that the driver processes the situation and decides the horn will communicate something AND enough time for the pedestrian or whatever to process that and react to it. Generally it's a lot easier just to press the brake, and more importantly be travelling at a speed and in a manner where the brake is sufficient. Structu…

A car company wanting to divert attention away from the carnage cars cause. Seems a bit suspicious no?

In the UK, an important market for VW group, there are two types of bicycle, one for the proletariat and the other for the bourgeoisie. Due to the k-shaped economy, the proletariat bicycle died a long time ago, to evolve into the 'Lime bike' in places such as London. In the past, companies such as Raleigh provided excellent proletariat bicycles, and the working man could afford them for his kids and himself. Of course, he would prefer a car, because cars are high status whereas a steel/aluminium bicycle with straight bars is not.

The bourgeoisie bicycle is a relatively recent phenomenon, and anything totally impractical and made of carbon fibre qualifies as bourgeoisie. The bourgeoisie bicycle is also too expensive to lock up in town, plus you need all the clobber to go with it (lycra).

Every bourgeoisie bicycle is owned by a car dependent person. They don't begin their ride at their front door, and their journeys are not useful or with purpose beyond cycling. Their bicycles get strapped onto the back of their car, or placed in the trunk, with wheels removed. These people don't need locks for their bicycles as they have a two tonne steel box to secure their bicycle in. You also get things like power-meters with these bikes, plus the owner has to wear a special polystyrene hat, at the insistence of their mother.

Skoda are selling to those people that spend £5K+ on their toy carbon fibre bicycle. They know the realities of car dependency.

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

#423

Post by alacritas0 »

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.

If you add 5.1kΩ pulldown resistors on the CC lines for USB-C, you can get the standard 5V without a handshake although current may be limited by some chargers without negotiation.

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

#425

Post by elAhmo »

red_admiral wrote: post #237

In the scenario presented (London, mostly not segregated bike paths), the solution is for the cyclist to ride in a way they're not endangering pedestrians. There's even a fairly recent UK law ( https://www.gov.uk/government/news/the-highway-code-8-change... ) that more or less says in a collision, the "stronger" road user is at fault unless proven otherwise. That applies to car v. cyclist as much as cyclist v. pedest…

Writing as a regular cyclist, the other side is seemingly always the problem.

Cars, cyclists, pedestrians, each of them thinks they are right and other side is wrong.

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

#426

Post by embedding-shape »

bmicraft wrote: post #417
embedding-shape wrote: post #408

Overall this bell seems like the wrong solution, and it took me a while to realize not every country has outlawed headphone wearing for bicyclists, something I guess I took for granted. It doesn't make sense for a car driven to use headphones, so not sure why it'd make sense for other vehicle-users to use them either, as you say, we really do use our ears to help navigate traffic so allowing people to be so careless…

You can turn up your car stereo and mow over pedestrians undisturbed in your two ton death machine yet I'm not allowed to cycle on a bicycle-only path with with a podcast and transparency mode enabled? For my own safety? Safety from car drivers that fell asleep driving with their stereo on?

Don't know where you live, but where I live it isn't legal to play so loud music that you cannot hear the outside, especially if it's so loud you cannot hear other car horns. So no, neither should be allowed, because again, we use our hearing when we're in traffic to help our other senses.

Mostly for others safety, and I guess if it helps you; for your safety too.

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

#427

Post by looperhacks »

Zvez wrote: post #257
i_am_proteus wrote: post #146

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Bicycle bells are mostly for warning pedestrians when approaching from behind and passing on shared-use trails. I ride on shared infrastructure and cannot afford to build new infrastructure when my town will not. Not warning a pedestrian when approaching from behind introduces the possibility of collision if the pedestrian makes a sudden change in his walking course. I typically use this etiquette: Passing a single p…

I hate to tell you, but you are doing it wrong If infrastructure is shared it doesn't mean you have more rights to pass than pedestrian. Moreover, bell as a way to warn doesn't work. Because pedestrians will mostly get startled because of it and can actually do this sudden move you are trying to make them not do. So if you are on fast vehicle comparing to others in the same infrastructure, you need to drive in a way,…

Where I live, there are different levels of "shared" and I would be very confused if a cyclist would just stay behind me instead of ringing the bell. It's different cultures.

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

#428

Post by accelbred »

A pedestrian shouldn't need to be able to hear to be safe from cyclists. Focusing on headphones is ignoring that the same dangers are being imposed on deaf people and people with otherwise bad hearing. If a cyclist needs to use the bell for safety, they should hit the brakes.

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

#429

Post by looperhacks »

red_admiral wrote: post #237

In the scenario presented (London, mostly not segregated bike paths), the solution is for the cyclist to ride in a way they're not endangering pedestrians. There's even a fairly recent UK law ( https://www.gov.uk/government/news/the-highway-code-8-change... ) that more or less says in a collision, the "stronger" road user is at fault unless proven otherwise. That applies to car v. cyclist as much as cyclist v. pedest…

Two of the three clips clearly show a bike-lane blocked by pedestrians. The third looks like a shared space - but blocked in a way where it seems reasonable to ask for space by ringing the bell?

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

#430

Post by Theodores »

Oras wrote: post #15

Over engineering in real life, solving lack of common sense by introducing a solution where the cyclist is paying. I think the solution is nice for sure, but solving the wrong problem.

Agreed, however, what do you think about my 'dream bicycle bell'?

I replaced my bell recently because mine had developed a form of 'tourettes' after a bit of plastic fell off. So I did survey the marketplace for something 'more me'.

This made me think about what the ideal bell should be. I reckon that you should be able to buy tuned bells, as in A - G with 440hz 'C' being in there somewhere. Maybe there could be different colours of the rainbow for each frequency.

This would be quite tuneful if I was riding with family or friends, with them also having a tuned bell on their bicycles.

Obviously no use for penetrating noise cancelling headphones, however, I don't think these are an issue. If someone is zoned out on headphones then it is on them if they have no spacial awareness. If they don't hear the bell, then that is on them.

I also think big auto is patronising, to think they have anything to offer the cyclist apart from death and pollution. What would the car dependent ones know about shared path etiquette?

Nowadays the biggest danger to me on shared paths are the Uber Eats delivery guys with their electric motorbikes. Early evenings can be quite risky with those zombies, particularly within half a mile of a McDonalds. They pose a true 'kinetic' risk that the jogger wearing headphones does not.

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