BELLS! We Don't Need No Stinkin' Bells! or I Think We Need More Cowbell

My friend George sent me one of these Timber Bells. At first I was very annoyed anytime I had it switched on. It is a great feature to be able to turn it on and off. So I had it off a lot, I thought to myself, "That's why George's other friend took it off of HIS bike" LOL. I have a regular bell as well and am pretty good about using it. Even so, when the trails get busy, riders can sometimes sneak up on me on blind corners and such. So I started using it for high traffic situation. I started to get used to it and am hardly annoyed by it at all, until I am, after a long while.  Then I can just turn it off until things get fast and/or twisty or the traffic picks up.  Then something unexpected happened, hikers would often thank me for having a bell.  Bells can be more audible in some conditions than just saying "on your left", like wind or if the group is talking.  If you are coming up on somebody with earbuds in, then it's a crapshoot.  Which is pet peeve of mine, I mean really, we are out there to enjoy nature.  To me that means hearing the knobbies as they surf the dirt and allows me to hear things that need my attention, like the way the chain is meshing with the gears, other riders or cars when you are on the road.  Reserve the headphones for the gym or the indoor trainer, when you need to placate your brain while doing mind numbing things like pedaling and going nowhere!  On the trail my brain turns on the tunes when I get into a rhythm, it always seems to pick the right song, usually from Tool.  

OK back to the Timber Bell.  At first I did not think the Timber Bell was loud enough, but along with the hikers comments and George saying it was plenty loud, when he came out for a visit, I have change my opinion and conclude that the Timber Bell must throw more sound out wards than toward the rider.  This is a good thing as I can't imagine how annoying it would be if I heard the full blast. 

Along with on and off it has a shmedium setting.  I'm kind of an all or nothing kinda guy, but in really rough terrain, it calms down the cacophony.  The least obtrusive place is next to the stem, however this requires you to take your hand off the bar to flip the switch on wide bars.  Fortunately my bars on my Single Speed are narrow and I can still reach it with my thumb. , for my thumb to reach it.  I had to adjust it forward to prevent my knee from smashing into it on some steep stand up sections.  You can adjust the output quantity somewhat from straight down for the most on flatter terrain or tilt it fore or aft to varying degrees to calm it down on flats, with forward allowing the most clapper action going down hill and less going up, while tilting this mini cowbell rearward, it is more active going uphill.  You can set it for your personal preference, with straight down covering most situations.  As mention before, I had to tilt mine, forward just a bit, for the health of my knee as well as the bell.  

Sometimes the clapper sticks in the off position, when turning it on, usually frees up after a few bumps.  If the trail is too smooth, I just bounce the front wheel a couple times or give it a tap.

I believe I will buy at another one more for the Unit!