Imagine if your car's horn was controlled by a button on the dash, that you had to reach for every time you wanted to honk it. It would be OK for some situations, but not those in which every second counts. Well, that's kind of how things are with bicycle bells. That's why London cyclist Stefan Buxton invented the Trigger Bell.
Buxton was inspired to create the device after getting in an accident that might have been prevented, if only he could have rang his bell just a fraction of a second earlier.
Unlike a regular bell, which the cyclist has to reach for, the brass-bodied Trigger Bell can be mounted right beside the hand grip, under the brake lever – this means that the rider can keep their hand in the brake- and shifter-ready position, with just a flick of the thumb required to ring the bell.
Unfortunately for mountain bikers (who could really use it, on multi-use trails), the Trigger Bell works best with single-speeds or bikes with single shifters. On dual-shifter setups such as Shimano's Rapid Fire (seen above), the Trigger Bell still makes the bell-ringing a little easier, but the rider's thumb does have to reach above the bar to get at it.
Stefan is currently raising productions funds for his bell on Kickstarter, and has already surpassed his funding goal. A pledge of £8 (US$13) will get you one, when and if they're ready to go.
You can see a demo of the Trigger Bell in the pitch video below.
Sources: Kickstarter, Trigger Bell
For instance on my MTB's I have one mounted just of the inside of the shifter which means I shift my thumb maybe 30 degrees to go from the shifter paddle to the bell spring. There is like maybe ½ inch at the most between the two contact points. On the handle bar it's bell, shifter, brake and then the grip - easy.
Also, for any bike that has a 22.2mm handlebar with one shifter-free side, like a fixie, single-speed, internally geared, 7-speed without front derailleur, etc., the Mirrycle Incredibell Grip has been on the market for years and is superior to this design.
https://www.mirrycle.com/gripbell.php
www.airzound.co.uk
Bells - who the hell will hear your bell if they are talking on the phone or listening to music in the car - nobody.
I think maybe Ben was stretching for something to write...
A "polite ring" wouldn't need instant access and wouldn't be able to prevent an accident like Buxton claims. Also, the Incredibell Grip can give you a single "polite" ding with just a little bit of twist, near continuous attention-getting brrrring with vigorous back and forth twisting, or anything in between. Good luck trying to quickly flick a striker with your thumb multiple times.
Ironic that you should bring up scooters after deriding the need for a 22.2mm handlebar, when all scooters use that bar diameter.