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review
£5.99
VERDICT:
Interesting concept and nicely finished but bells are little more than ornaments on British roads
Weight:
21g
Contact:
At road.cc every product is thoroughly tested for as long as it takes to get a proper insight into how well it works. Our reviewers are experienced cyclists that we trust to be objective. While we strive to ensure that opinions expressed are backed up by facts, reviews are by their nature an informed opinion, not a definitive verdict. We don't intentionally try to break anything (except locks) but we do try to look for weak points in any design. The overall score is not just an average of the other scores: it reflects both a product's function and value – with value determined by how a product compares with items of similar spec, quality, and price.
What the road.cc scores meanGood scores are more common than bad, because fortunately good products are more common than bad.
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This System EX bell with integral Aheadset spacer is a convenient, unobtrusive means of carrying a bell. However, courteous greetings are arguably more effective, and weigh and cost nothing.
The bell is made from powder coated aluminium alloy and is available in five pretty colours. Employing a very simple sprung striker, there are no other moving parts to corrode, or break: simply flick it against the dome using thumb, index or forefingers.
The spacer comes in any colour or size you like, so long as it's gloss black, 10mm deep and 1 1/8in diameter. Look closely and you'll notice three neatly machined flanges. Other than hosting the bell, these prevent it orbiting the steerer when refitting stems, or adjusting bearing tension.
I prefer the outright convenience of discrete 'ping' type bells that can nestle against old school bar-end shifters; this arrangement still keeps the striker within easy reach while retaining an uncluttered look.
Nonetheless, two swift rings seemed sufficient to attract the attentions of horse riders and ramblers from approximately 25 metres along quiet bridle/towpaths without driving dogs into a frenzy. That's better than many OEM giveaways, this suggests it would comply with Dutch guidelines. It tempered some anti cyclist sentiments when combined with a polite call-out.
Only the 100+ decibel horn models make any impression on the Queen's highway; the SystemEx's chirpy metallic ring proved almost completely mute, even along lightly trafficked side-streets.
However, there are countries where having a bell fitted is mandatory and while it would be a cruel copper who booked you, £5.99 is markedly cheaper than a fine when touring on the continent.
Verdict
Interesting concept and nicely finished but bells are little more than ornaments on British roads
road.cc test report
Make and model: SystemEX Bell with Integral Aheadset Spacer
Size tested: Black
Tell us what the product is for, and who it's aimed at. What do the manufacturers say about it? How does that compare to your own feelings about it?
'Compact bell to fit in place of a 11/8 stem spacer'
Tell us some more about the technical aspects of the product?
Aluminium alloy spacer and bell, the latter is available in a choice of colours. Spacer incorporates several flanges, which host the bell and prevent it moving from the desired position when refitting the handlebar stem or adjusting bearing tension.
Rate the product for quality of construction:
7/10
Quite nicely machined and finished.
Rate the product for performance:
5/10
Rate the product for durability:
6/10
Rate the product for weight, if applicable:
7/10
Rate the product for comfort, if applicable:
7/10
Simple, user-friendly design.
Rate the product for value:
5/10
Depends on context and perspective. It's quite well made and considerably cheaper than a fine when riding in Europe but on these shores a well-timed yell is more effective and moreover, free.
Tell us how the product performed overall when used for its designed purpose
Overall, the combo is very unobtrusive and the spacer works just fine. However, while emitting a distinctive "ring"; bells are of very limited use. This one was quite audible along bridleways and other quiet shared use paths but as might be expected, completely useless anywhere else.
Tell us what you particularly liked about the product
Innovative concept - combining spacer with accessories.
Tell us what you particularly disliked about the product
Nothing but bells are of little practical use, especially in built up areas.
Did you enjoy using the product? Yes.
Would you consider buying the product? No.
Would you recommend the product to a friend? Possibly, if they were touring in/through mainland Europe.
About the tester
Age: 41 Height: 1m 81 Weight: 70 kilos
I usually ride: Rough Stuff Tourer Based around 4130 Univega mtb Frameset My best bike is: 1955 Holdsworth Road Path and several others including cross & traditional road
I've been riding for: Over 20 years I ride: Most days I would class myself as: Experienced
I regularly do the following types of riding: cyclo cross, commuting, touring, fixed/singlespeed, mtb,
Shaun Audane is a freelance writer/product tester with over twenty-eight years riding experience, the last twelve (120,000 miles) spent putting bikes and kit through their paces for a variety of publications. Previous generations of his family worked at manufacturing's sharp end, thus Shaun can weld, has a sound understanding of frame building practice and a preference for steel or titanium framesets.
Citing Richard Ballantine and an Au pair as his earliest cycling influences, he is presently writing a cycling book with particular focus upon women, families and disabled audiences (Having been a registered care manager and coached children at Herne Hill Velodrome in earlier careers)
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20 comments
I have one of these, its branded differently, but im sure its the same thing. Works well, but doesn't fit on side of the bike if you dont run an inch of spacers, as it will hit your top tube {at least on my bike}. So for this reason I don't recommend it. I had to place mine behind the stem, looks pretty silly.
The big problem however is when you hit a bump, it rings. This is a pain an a bumpy descent, or generally bumpy roads.
I wouldn't buy another one...
Has the stem mounted oyster shucker I sent in for review been received yet?
Everyone has there own technique, but personally a bell on the steerer tube is a bit too far out of reach for me.
When I used to do a daily urban cycle-commute, my spring/ratchet bell was mounted in such a way that I could ring it with an index finger knuckle, so my hands stayed in position for braking etc.
Trigger bell is better. http://triggerbell.com/
Really?! They're selling it as safer because you don't have to move your thumb?! If moving your thumb up to ring a bell causes you to be a danger to yourself or others, I'm not sure you should be on a bike!
Agree with the sentiment of most of the comments - I wouldn't write a bell off as not being any good because it's no good for letting people driving motor vehicles know you're there. I find the bell on my bike very useful for when I'm on cycle and shared use paths.
There's always the super-expensive over engineered hipster option: http://www.spurcycle.com/ (and in case your wondering, yes it did launch on kickstarter
)
The one they sell in Wilko for about £2 is a good bell - small, loud and easy to fit. But I prefer the noise of bells with a spring/ratchet inside. Brrring! is friendlier than Ding!
The drawback of that one is it has a plastic axle in the centre which snaps readily in a fall. One with an adjustable metal axle (Bibia crown, I think) is £5 in a good local bike shop so you get what you pay for. The wilko one is good and loud though.
Except in my experience, squeaky brakes startle people, and not in a good way.
I don't want to scare folks, just alert them that I'm behind and would like to politely pass through.
My brass one is indeed brass.
Of all the options of ringing a bell, not ringing a bell, calling out, not calling out etc, there is not one that is universally acceptable to everybody.
The one true audible signal is squeaky brakes. The noise says
- There's a bike behind you,
- I'm not actually addressing you but I am here,
- I'm already recognising your right to be there and slowing down for you,
- I'm not asking you to move out of the way, it's just my bike making a noise.
It's perfect.
I should start a kickstarter for a gizmo that makes a squeaky brake noise when you press the button.
Yay fortune made.
I dunno, I've got disc brakes on the pootling bike and they're not always polite. There have been a few occasions in the wet where the sound startled people, beginning with the person on the bike!
It's not real brass! But it does so far look shiny
I've had a couple of these (albeit Crane ones) - the springs fatigue where they wind round the centre pin and the striker drops off - had two go in year. Moved to a brass Crane Sakura with a proper lever arm striker - a single ping is louder than these and appreciated by dog walkers and horse riders. It's certainly not an ornament.
Mandatory in this neck of the woods, well the legal phrase is "warning device"
on another note though the review mentioned this is a stem mounted bell and as someone above said this makes it secure, fitting one safely may be beyond the mechanical capabilities of some and believe this should be specifically covered...I've seen people do stuff with headsets that is very scary.
I've got one of these (brass coloured) and it's decent. Not very loud, but enough for quiet parks and such, where it gets use. On the road, shouting is required anyway.
I've got complimentary responses a few times from pedestrians whom I've wished to pass from behind, which is great.
Saying something tends to make a lot of people confused, a bike bell is identifiable, and this one is 'polite' too.
8/10 for me.
I'd like to take your comment and put it where the review is, and take the review and put it where your comment is.
And I'll buy a brass one if I find one that's real brass.
Yep, what next are you going to review a fat bike and mark it down for being crap to ride up Alp D'Huez? Agree that bells aren't much use on our highways but disagree on marking down a good product because it's not brill at everything. What its for I'm sure is the points you've mentioned in the review, i.e.making yourself known to other non-motorised road/path users. Surely then if it does that and does it well then 5/10 is pretty harsh?
A bit of an odd review. It seems to say it's a good product, but it only gets 5/10 because the review doesn't think much of bells. As with the mini-pump reviews, I don't really want a general opinion on bells, I want to know about THIS bell.
Funnily enough, I was going to buy one of these a few weeks ago and forgot. I'll take this as a reminder, and go ahead.
What do I like about this design? Well, I want it for the bike that I use to pootle about locally in London on most days. Just about anything not fixed to is vulnerable to being pinched, and that once even included the damn bell! I like the idea of a bell that is discrete and less trivial to remove.
My bell is a very useful annoucer to pedestrians and other cyclists in London. It is amazing how much people rely on their ears to tell what is coming.
This is why voices are good too.