The Bike Bell

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!