From humble origins to an unloved accessory, the bicycle bell has been enjoying a surge of interest in recent years with a spate of new designs hitting Kickstarter that all look to launch the bicycle bell back into the spotlight. The latest to seek your funding support is the Bellio, but this one is a bit different.
It’s not actually a bell. What you get is a wireless Bluetooth button mounted to the handlebars that is linked to the Bellio smartphone app. Hit the bluetooth button and the app rings like a traditional bicycle bell.
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“We have taken the traditional bike bell and raced it into this century, and we think you are going to love it! You can shout! You can sing! But we all know that a bell on your bike is the best way to let people know you are coming up behind them fast. Damn fast!,” shouts the company on its Kickstarter page.
The Bluetooth button fits any size handlebar using a silicone band. The battery is claimed to last a year. The smartphone can be stored in a jersey pocket or fitted on the handlebars, we’d imagine you’d get a better response with the phone mounted to the bars.
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The company is seeking AU$85,000 funding and at the time of writing has hit AU$650 from 12 backers. Check it out here www.kickstarter.com/projects/340874591/bellio-the-bike-bell?ref=recs
So what do you think? Yay or nay?
16 thoughts on “Bellio smartphone cycling bell hits Kickstarter”
Truly, we are in the end
Truly, we are in the end times, when cheap, simple, reliable technology is replaced by a smartphone and a wireless button.
“We have taken the
“We have taken the traditional bike bell and raced it into this century, and we think you are going to love it! You can shout! You can sing! But we all know that a bell on your bike is the best way to let people know you are coming up behind them fast. Damn fast!,”
Exactly, a BELL is still best. Not a smartphone and app.
Why would anybody even write about this nonsense…
Almost everyone I know rides
Almost everyone I know rides with their phone in their jersey. This will be really handy for letting people know you have just gone past them…
nopants wrote:
…especially as sometimes there will be a delay from pressing the button to the phone stopping the other things that it is doing to respond to bluetooth, load the sound and then play it.
Is it restricted to their
Is it restricted to their bell tone(s)? That seems like a missed opportunity to me to add probably the only redeeming feature… if you could choose your own sample.
Being able to play the Jaws music or Queen’s Bicycle Race as you approach peds and their dogs might at least have novelty value.
As it is, this replaces the traditional bell on the handlebars by removing your phone from its safe place and sticking it on your handlebars (mount presumably not included) instead… alongside a wireless button…? A solution looking for a problem if ever there was one.
davel wrote:
I’ll go with Leslie Phillips saying “ding [b]dong[/b]!”
(One for the younger readers, obvs)
Quote:
Just because you can, doesn’t mean that you should…
I’m more than happy with a direct analog physical connection between the button I flick and the bell making the sound, thank you very much.
So replacing something that
So replacing something that can be the size of a 50p piece for something that can be the size of the iPhone 7, just to be able to make a ‘ting’ sound at short notice?
Am I missing something here? The Emperor needs to get new clothes, methinks!
Fabulous, now we can have an
Fabulous, now we can have an expensive gadget for people to ignore / pretent not to hear instead of a low cost one . . Because unless it can make a sound like a train horn, some people just won’t notice ! (Even at that in some cases I’m doubtful) Just one example – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qOGJnAfyGks
They should make a voice
They should make a voice activated bell that rings when you shout ‘Oi!’, or say ‘excuse me’
Quote:
So it’s for wankers.
Slow down, don’t assume you’re not coming up behind someone whose hearing works, and don’t expect everyone to jump out of your way when they hear your bell any more than you’d jump into the hedge when some doglobber in a car comes hurtling up behind your bike with their horn blaring.
I mean, I know you don’t *have* to use a bell like that, but if that’s the sales pitch then simply slowing down and saying “morning!” is a far better solution.
The stretch goals are my
The stretch goals are my favourite bit
O brave new world…..
O brave new world…..
So many things wrong with
So many things wrong with this.
*checks calendar*
*checks calendar*
nope, not April 1st!
Oriental head of state
Oriental head of state visiting his tailor again…..