Mirrycle Incredibell Bicycle Bell, Original

The second purchase I made for my new bike was a bell. (The first purchase was a Cat Eye CycloComputer.) I'm fortunate to have some bike and hike trails in the neighborhood where bikes and pedestrians share a eight foot wide strip of asphalt. Some bike riders choose to warn pedestrians by shouting "Passing left," but I prefer the friendly sound of a bell when I'm being passed. When I joined the ranks of the bicyclists, I chose to get a bell for my bike. The Incredibell Original fills the bill nicely.

The Incredibell is low tech. It's just a small brass bell, painted black, mounted on an adjustable plastic handlebar mount. At the base of the bell, there is a flexible plastic striker that can be rotated around the bell to put the striker within easy reach of your thumb. Fan the striker with your thumb, and you get a single high-pitched ding of the bell. The sound is bright and clear and carries well. The bell itself if very small, a little over an inch in diameter and about an inch high. It takes very little space on your handlebars. You only need a Phillips screwdriver to install the bell on your handlebar. Anyone can install the Incredibell in a jiffy.