Review: Spurcycle Original Bell

(2021) Affixing a bell to a rig classified as a race bike is like a saloon car having headlights blazing during competition. Yes the endurance cars have functioning headlights that they flash at slower traffic, but it in the British touring car series entries used to be required to pass local street laws. Drive the car to the track was the idea, and it is why many cars taped their headlights: to keep the car legal for the return trip home. Fans of touring car racing might knit their brow at the unlikelihood of many touring cars driving home without one piece hanging off. But a bell on a bike is hardly needed for racing.

In all honesty the bike bell was long overdue. There have been instances of jolting cyclists, positively struck by lightning, when we announce, “On your left.” Is there any way to gently alert a rider of an overtaking? There have been instances of pedestrians occupying the incorrect side of the road. Their erratic behavior induces anxiety as to whether they are aware of their surroundings. A good bell ringing would help. One time a couple of us navigated a blind downhill corner to discover a horse and rider sharing our lane. Unaware how to handle the situation, and with the gap closing quickly, we settled on announcing our approach. This sent the horse in a gallop. We were awarded a stern lecture by the equestrian who had eventually gathered herself and her horse. We felt we couldn’t have done the right thing there, but a bell may have been helpful and she was clearly rattled by the brief flight.

There are bells galore in the cycling world. It is the ubiquitous accessory in television and movies. No bike makes an on-screen appearance without some ringing bell. Of course with the large market for clappers, one out-rings them all. Over the holidays we affixed a Spurcycle Sapphire Original Bell to the handlebar and went looking for people to ring it at, maybe a horse or two. Spurcycle makes small yearly batches of bells for fundraising purposes. The Sapphire Original Bell was made to benefit the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition and Bend Bikes. A ringer that serves more than one purpose is always joyful. But why does the race bike resemble a touring car with headlights?

At the height of its popularity, British Touring Car racing ended the 2000 season in a night race at Silverstone. Touring Cars have a sprint race followed by a longer race, the latter being run in the dark. The cars vying for the championship zipped around the speedy circuit with mounting desperation. With only a few laps to go Jason Plato in a Vauxhall was battling with Gabriele Tarquini in a Honda. Jason Plato had had enough of Tarquini’s aggressive antics and deployed a tactic as-yet seen in racing: He flashed his high beams at him. The announcer was entertained. The next corner Tarquini went off the track for a bit and the position went to Plato. It was the alert from a race car nobody had thought of. We’re not saying to ring a bell to send someone into the grass; we’re also not claiming to be cyclists resembling high performance machines; we’re saying race bikes can have bells, too.

Mounting the bell took fewer than two minutes. It attaches with a metal strap and an Allen bolt for tightening.

Though Spurcycle is more in price, there is decibels in the tiny package. Any bike shop that carries Spurcycle Original Bells knows they will get tested often by clientele, thus making their own sale. The ring is crisp, resonating, and pleasant. It is the perfect alert for any ride during this prolonged training season. Though Spurcycle’s Fundraiser Bell is a limited edition and will sell out soon enough, there are standard black and raw versions always available. It’s nice to have a frame that matches the bell. It’s also nice we won’t scare anyone and send them off the course British Touring-style, pedestrian or equestrian.