When I started riding the Raleigh as my everyday bicycle again, I noticed that my bell was dinging constantly. It’s the kind that goes “brrring brrring” and I got it at the Tour de Fat in 2007. It has the New Belgium Brewery logo on it.
And it was dinging at all times. A constant, cheerful “ding…dingity ding…ding! ding dingity.” It was louder if I went over bumps in the road, too. Especially if I was going downhill and picking up speed–when it was loudest–it would drive me nuts.
What was funny, though, was people’s reaction to my bell. On several occasions people clearly thought I was intentionally ringing my bell in a friendly “hello” kind of way, and would ring their own bells in response. People who passed me would turn and look, thinking I was trying to get their attention. Most people, both pedestrians and cyclists, seemed to think it was amusing.
As it turns out, it just needed to be tightened a little bit, which made me feel silly for putting up with it. And now it’s silent unless I intentionally ring it. I almost feel like something’s missing.
It almost makes you want to loosen that baby..
Almost!
Funny! I’ve lived through the same thing. Eventually, I got a new bell. Of course, now I feel my new bell isn’t loud enough . . .