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Ting ting...


Neil2

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I know cyclists on the towpath are here to stay but that ting ting noise is driving me mad.  On the Leeds LIverpool it's an almost constant refrain.

When we were kids you had a proper bell that made a more acceptable "brrrring brrrrring" noise they had a removable cover with t sort of whizzy thing inside on a ratchet can you still get them?  

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Firstly I'd rather have a bell behind me, than nothing. But that said, I do sometimes realise that I've heard a ting but it hasn't impinged, the second or third ting impinges. So yes, I'd rather hear a proper bicycle bell. But someone probably decided that noise pollution had to be kept to a minimum. That's progress! (Not).

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And some people have that ting sound configured on their mobile phones when they receive a message so people on the towpath think the ting noise is someone receiving a text instead of a cyclist approaching.

 

So bringing back the "brrrring brrrrring" noise is a good idea IMHO.

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4 minutes ago, Victor Vectis said:

But what is 'Ting ting' meant to mean?

Is it "Please be aware that there is a bicycle behind you?" or "GET OUT OF MY BL00DY WAY"?

Well I've always thought it meant "excuse me please, I'd like to pass you". But then I'm not so quick to find the bad in everyone, or to relish blocking people.

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10 minutes ago, nicknorman said:

Well I've always thought it meant "excuse me please, I'd like to pass you". But then I'm not so quick to find the bad in everyone, or to relish blocking people.

When they're hammering along the towpath at 15+mph?

(And I'm not being judgemental here, unlike some I could name)

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1 minute ago, blackrose said:

Sometimes I can't help thinking that people on this forum just enjoy a good moan. Oh the sufferings of the first world! If bicycle bells really are the bane of your life then I think you've got it petty good...

An apt Freudian slip.

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I have a constant hissing in my ears, I don't want to bother the doctor who will only send me for umpty'teen tests and keep me dangling for ages before they tell me it's a form of tinnitus. I don't want to hear that, I'd just rather hear the hissing noise.  I'm able to pretty well tune it out, but in the process I lose other small irritating noises like "Isn't it your round?" "You said you'd do the washing up" and "Ting Ting"

Now I feel bad about this, as they have taken the time and trouble to let me know they're barrelling along towards my back and rightfully expect me to leap out of their way for they know not that I might not have heard them.

I think I should wear a sign on my back that says ......

I don't hear everything, so if I don't acknowledge your bell please assume I don't know you're there.

Then in order to acknowledge those I do hear I'll carry one of those compressed air horns that sporty types take to football matches so I can respond to "Ting Ting" by turning around and blasting them with gallons of db, after all they also may have hissy ears.

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9 hours ago, Victor Vectis said:

When they're hammering along the towpath at 15+mph?

(And I'm not being judgemental here, unlike some I could name)

You and I tend to cruise similar canals. I rarely see "antisocial cycling" although as with everything, the one maniac is memorable whilst the 100 normal ones aren't. Perhaps there are more maniacal cyclists in the likes of London?

However I think there is a touch of self-importance and self-righteousness here, the same condition that causes people to cruise along in the middle of the cut at tickover whilst chanting their mantra "you mustn't hurry on the canals", pretending not to notice the queue of people behind wanting to overtake. Similarly the people who drive at 40mph in a 60 limit and are then outraged when you overtake. Some people just feel that they are empowered to set the speed that everyone else has to go at. I don't like those sort of people.

Personally I see no problem with the vast majority of cyclists. When I hear the ting, I move out of the way if I can. Why wouldn't I? There is no virtue in being deliberately obstructive to someone going at a different speed. There is virtue in being considerate, sharing the space and making room for other people with different agendas to me when I can do so with minimal effort.

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11 hours ago, Neil2 said:

I know cyclists on the towpath are here to stay but that ting ting noise is driving me mad.  On the Leeds LIverpool it's an almost constant refrain.

When we were kids you had a proper bell that made a more acceptable "brrrring brrrrring" noise they had a removable cover with t sort of whizzy thing inside on a ratchet can you still get them?  

No Idea if the doughnut shaped ones are still available but the larger mushroom shaped "Lucas King of the road " models are now collectors items for vintage/historic bike movement  I saw 2 on a stall at a cycle jumble a couple months back they were in no way pristine & hes asking £ 60 for 1 & £75 for the other

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The majority of bells these days, manufacturer fitted/provided or bought from shops, are cheap little metal domes on a plastic base with a plastic hammer suspended on a spring. You basically cock the hammer with your digit of choice then release which causes it to strike the dome giving you a "ting". These are not 100% reliable and often do not strike, but sadly are the type that most places stock due to being cheap and cheerful to manufacture.

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My take is that on the minimalist bells came about to satisfy the requirement that new bikes had to be sold with one, but the lumbering things of our youth didn't fit the image of modern road or mountain bikes.

The first thing many people did was take them off.  I think you didn't have to have them, but the law required bikes were supplied with them.

In fact the "ting ting" bells on a rough towpath only sound when you want them to, whereas the old style ones with "flying washers" inside were far more irritating, as they made some sound continuously on a rough surface.


Athy is quite correct - CRT have made "two tings" part of their cycling code of conduct, so providing they are not trying to mow you down the "tingers" are actually doing exactly what CRT want them to do.

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1 minute ago, mross said:

It seems most bikes don't have a bell.  Its a legal requirement that is more honoured in the breach!

They are usually found in the "finishing kit" that is supplied with the bike, and 9 times out of 10 not fitted even when your shop of choice builds the bike for you. That said, not all manufacturers provide them, and I'd guess the more expensive the bike the less likely they will.

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15 minutes ago, nicknorman said:

I don't like those sort of people.

 

I don't like those sort of grammar. That (or those) apart, I entirely agree with your points.

A difficult one, though, is if a car is going at 70 m.p.h. in the outside lane of a dual carriageway or motorway and another car comes up close behind, obviously keen to overtake. Should the first car move over and let him pass? I'd say no, as that would be encouraging the second driver to break the speed limit, and thereby the law.

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8 minutes ago, mross said:

It seems most bikes don't have a bell.  Its a legal requirement that is more honoured in the breach!

A common misconception.  The laew is a bit odd in this case.

Quote

Bikes have to be fitted with bells while in the bike shop, but there is no legal requirement to fit or use them once on the road. The Highway Code merely suggests that cyclists ‘should be considerate of other road users, particularly blind and partially sighted pedestrians. Let them know you are there when necessary, for example by ringing your bell.’ Any other ‘audible warning’ – horn, rattle, duck call or the human voice – would do.

 

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I'd go for the duck call - though a loud swan hiss might make people jump out of the way with more alacrity.

 

The thread title has a curiously Jamaican ring (?) about it; reminds me of the definition of 'panting' as 'a Jamaican cooking utensil'.

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9 hours ago, blackrose said:

Sometimes I can't help thinking that people on this forum just enjoy a good moan. Oh the sufferings of the first world! If bicycle bells really are the bane of your life then I think you've got it petty good...

 

Mrs Dharl always asks 'what are they moaning about now on the forum....'.   She is usually right, however you can find some good nuggets of info on other pages away from the general topics!

 

Can get equal good info / moaning when talking to people on the towpath anyway!

 

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