A bicycle bell is the traditional way of letting other road and cycle path users know that you're there, and it's doubly useful when there are lots of people on foot about. Bells may not be glamorous, but they've had a bit of a renaissance in recent years as accessory makers come up with bells that are more reliable, and look and sound better. Here's our pick of the best bike bells.
Best bike bell overall: Crane Bell E-Ne Revolver - Stealth Black
Best posh bell: Spurcycle Original
Best for sheer volume: Hornit dB140 with Garmin Style Mount
Best money-no-object bling bike bell: Van Nicholas Bell Titanium
Best budget bike bell: BBB Easyfit Bell
Best bell for drop bars: Crane E-NE SBR Bell
Here in the UK, you're not legally obliged to have a bicycle bell, but they can be a handy way to give a friendly warning of your approach. We favour a pleasant tone and the option to have the bell sounding constantly.
There's a huge range out there, from tiny, cheap pingers to spendy titanium units and even (allegedly) aerodynamic bells! Don't wait till you're almost on top of someone to sound your bell; startled pedestrians quite reasonably take umbrage, so make a small investment and let people know you're there with a cheery ding ding...
Below you'll find our current top six bike bell recommendations, plus plenty more honourable mentions, at a wide range of price points from just over a fiver up to a whopping £81. There's also a bit more bonus info and advice towards the bottom of the page.
How we review bike bells
We ensure road.cc reviewers keeps hold of their product for at least a month before submitting their verdict, ensuring they've experienced it as a customer would have done and had enough time to gauge whether there are any fundamental issues.
When it comes to bells, reviewers will be assessing the build quality, how easy the product is to set up and use, the value compared to rival products and that all important sound. Some of those things will be subjective of course, but we're doing independent reviews here after all, not lab tests or surveys.
Why you can trust us
Our reviewers are experienced cyclists, and the staff in charge of putting these guides together are too. That means you will only ever get proper recommendations of products we've fully reviewed, or have used enough to be able to recommend to our readers. It also means only products that are rated highly by us can make it into our buyer's guides. If something gets an average-or-worse review on road.cc, it ain't going in.
With all that said, let's get down to our recommendations...
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14 comments
Also the Lion Bell Works bells (made in Birmingham, Barnsley and Manchester) are excellent:
https://lionbellworks.co.uk/webshop.php#!/Classic-Bicycle-Bell-handlebar-mount/p/8200943/category=2594390
I've just bought and installed the Crane, and it does sound lovely, especially compared to the crappy one that came on my Trek District 4. I won't get a chance to ride that bike until the snow melts, though.
The Crane goes completely dead after being out in a moderate amount of rain if mounted horizontally. The spinner is basically a cup, and fills with water.
I modified it today by drilling some holes in it.
I was surprised to find out that the part is made of metal, not plastic.
I put a piece of scrap behind it so that I wouldn't scratch my bar, but I didn't bother with niceties like punching or spacing them exactly when nobody will see them.
Was this an effective solution?
I mostly use my bell to warn walkers that I am approaching so I find it needs to be as friendly a sound as possible
plus it needs more than a single short ding - especially for groups who may be chatting
Which is why a review of bells - and web sites that are trying to sell them - need audio files
I have a trigger bell and love it fits anywhere on a drop bar and nice and loud. Rarely use it however as I find a friendly hello or Morning! is better received.
Shame you didn't review the Knog bell - these bells look fantastic and are very practical. I love the design and I have one in copper which looks smart. They include cable grips if you are fitting to a drop bar bike with cables exiting the handlebar tape which makes fitting close to the tape in really easy which is a bonus.
I was a backer on Kickstarter for the Knog Oi in 2016, and got one in titanium. I agree, it's a great looking bell with a very pleasant ding, but I ended up removing it as it's just too quiet to be practical. It's currently in a drawer somewhere.
A bell is a legal requirement in Northern Ireland. It would though take a highly officious peeler to fine you. Mind you if you were being gobby with them the might toss that fine in for good measure. My dad was fined back in the sixties by an eagle eyed peeler who was walking past at a junction.
South of the border it's a requirement on bikes used in public places with an exception for "bike made or adapted for racing" which is in the statute book, but not repeated in interpretations of same. That in and of itself is somewhat ambiguous - I can argue 2 of my bikes are "made for racing" but they never will be.
That said, a bell is a good thing to have, especially on a bike that might end up on greenways and the like. I personally really like the Trigger Bell - cheap, easy to fit, and does a good job
a gas air horn is required for the earpod/earphone using pedestrians - the ones who are voluntarily oblivious
My front disc offers similar auditory performance in damp conditions, and yes, I like it like that;)
What's the point of reviewing bells if there's no audio files or videos?
You'll just have to close your eyes and imagine the 'ding'