Didn’t know Audi make bikes.
2 Likes
Goodness Stella, you’re becoming a bit of a stickler for the rules recently 
I’m going the other way, in favour of growing old(er) disgracefully (BTW, good progress being made). Next time I drive by a contrôle de sonnette I will “tootle melodiously” as advised by Honda way back when.
3 Likes
BMWs are worse 
We do a 10km walk on the Lot veloroute most weekends and I reckon less than 10% of cyclists using that path have a bell, despite sporting all the lycra kit and helmets which seems total overkill for what’s a gentle bicycle ride on a tarred path. Around here, I’ve always preferred a wide-rimmed straw hat (elderly peasant look) and if you’re on a road, cars give you a much wider berth.
So why can’t these weekend lycrites lash out on a bell to complete their ensemble?
Are bells considered effete, or what?
Rant over.
I love that! And we thought that the Chinese were the first to use badly translated manuals!
1 Like
They’re too busy riding three abreast and going through red lights.
1 Like
The thing to have for an actual warning that the cyclist is there, to be perceived is an air horn, not a bell.
Air horn is actually noticeable and unlike your typical genteel sonnette, can penetrate the cages automobilists surround themselves with. Though still not sometimes the hearing, of a motorist in his own caged world.
1 Like
I haven’t passed any pedestrians on my trike but would hesitate to sound a warning as the so-called bell on it is more an angry buzzer and I wouldn’t want to alarm them.
As regards bikes and bikers ignoring traffic laws I saw a classic the other day and will try to dig it out from my dashcam later. As I approached a left turn which I was intending to take I saw first one, then another, 2-up moto emerge, neither stopping at the STOP.
The 3rd one pulled into the middle of the road and stopped to allow a massed collection of about 20 others to similarly transgress both the sign and any rules of obstruction. Obviously they thought it was justified for safety reasons but in fact it was quite the opposite and merely an excuse to allow them to all stay together. Before the blocker departed the pillion passenger waved in thanks, my response was a sad shake of the head and possibly a lip-reading opportunity for her.
I don;t go on group rides with my motorbike as I think they can be quite dangerous - unless the group as a whole is well marshalled there is a tendency for peer pressure to kick in and people end up riding too fast - some may be able to keep up but others can come a cropper.
Same applies to bicycles - even the professionals in the Tour de France get caught out if someone has a puncture or misjudges a corner in the peloton!
I take your point at least in urban traffic, whereas in rural situations where there’s just walkers and horse riders an airhorn seems a tad aggressive and potentially dangerous .
Yes, bells are effete.
I agree entirely with that, I think some people are more likely to take offence at a warning not made with a real hazard threatening. In any case, to follow that advice and the tide of electric vehicles you would not hear yourselves think with all the racket going on.
If in a rural area without pavements I would hope that all pedestrians walk facing the traffic (ie in France, on the left) so need no other warning
I walk using a stick, sometimes two sticks… and being “surprised” on these narrow country lanes , by stuff coming behind… is not really a good thing. There are a few cyclists who do ring their bells well in advance, but most do not… and those tend to come along in the middle of the road, which doesn’t help…
If they were “on their side” there would sufficient space for me to wobble safely as they pass. 
but, of course, there is gravel/whatever at the sides… which the cyclists don’t like.
As this thread is about cyclists, I was interested to find out how many of you do actually use your bells correctly.
The problem I was referring to concerns cyclists silently approaching walkers from behind on a path - you don’t hear them!
1 Like
in the peace of the countryside… for a bicycle, a bell gives sufficient warning … provided it’s rung before knocking me off my pins…
Just tried to upload a video taken from my dashcam but all I get is this. I’m sure I’ve done it before but anyone know why I just get this?
Sorry, the file you are trying to upload is not authorised (authorised extensions: jpg, jpeg, png, gif, pdf, doc, docx).
1 Like
Yes - you can’t upload videos directly to the forum (I would guess because they would take up a lot of server space and also internet bandwidth) - but you can link to a video hosted elsewhere, such as on YouTube, Vimeo, etc. by just copying and pasting in the video’s URL.
For example here’s one of mine that’s hosted on YouTube:
It’s better to do it this way in any case as YouTube etc. have big fat servers able to cope with lots of users per minute and also they will serve up versions of each video at different quality levels depending on the visitor’s internet connection speed.
3 Likes
Sorry Stella, I mean no offense and there’s no excuse for cyclists’ rudeness. A bash with a stick might teach them a valuable lesson.