The Bike Bell
Wednesday, January 18, 2012 at 11:00 Anyone who has spent time in a German city knows about the bike bells.
When Herr J first moved to Germany, he took his rugged hybrid bike to the store for a tune up. The store also checked that everything was up to code for city laws and made a few adjustments. Which was how he found his manly bike having a bell like all the little girls' bikes in the suburban US.
Here, the bells are a safety feature necessary for riding through city streets. Some cyclists use it a convenient warning to pedestrians walking in the bike path, and then there are some who seem to use their bells to get our their aggressions. But we've become accustomed to looking out when we hear a bike bell.
In Japan, one clever guy has taken it a step further and walks through the street ringing his bike bell. The bike bell seems to work better than Pavlov's dinner bell.
We should try this here on a Saturday and see if it works enough to clear out some walking space in the central Munich shopping district!
Frau A ... 5 Comments Germany & German Culture, Just for Fun tagged Bikes, city life ... Print Article Email Article Share Article 
Reader Comments (5)
This is hysterical! Unfortunately, my husband could not hear the bell ringing when we visited Germany. I had to pull him out of the way---not fun!
I can't wait to test this!
I live in fear of the bike bell. I'm scared I'm never going to get out of the way fast enough or that instead of getting out of the way I'm going to jump right into their path.
Hilarious. I love the video and the idea. Freiburg is such the bike city that the bell ringing is constant. Have you tried the bike bell on Saturday morning yet? Somehow I can imagine some German lady coming up and explaining how wrong it is to use a bell not attached to a bike.
That is SUCH a great visual! If we try it, we'll have to videotape the reactions. You're so right that some older lady will correct us on improper bell use...