Photo: Courtesy Knog.You're walking ("jogging") through the park, chatting with your friend, when you hear a familiar sound. Ding ding ding. You move right as a cyclist pedals by on two wheels. That scenario could play out differently in the near future. A new bike bell raising funds on Kickstarter changes up the whole idea of what a bell looks like, and sounds like. And it's ring, while not bell-like, is very familiar.
Instead of a typical bell that attaches to your handlebars, the Oi bike bell is merely a discreet, curved piece of metal (that attaches to your handlebars). In aluminum and black, it looks like it could be part of the bike itself, while in titanium, brass, and copper hues, it looks more like a bracelet than a bell. Quite chic.
But, it's Oi's ding that's really interesting: It sounds exactly like a text message ding. You can listen to it here. It's a sound we're all familiar with, and draws our attention. But on a bicycle? We have some reservations.
Rather than telling folks in your path "Bicycle coming through, move out of the way!", wouldn't they get confused and check their phone instead? On the other hand though, maybe people would turn around to see whose phone is so damn loud, see the bike, and get out of the way more quickly than with the usual bell tone. At any rate, Knog, the company behind this bell, is on point that it's time the ol' bike bell got a facelift (although this $10 burger bike bell would do just as nicely).
You can pre-order an Oi bike bell for yourself for only $19.
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