The bicycle bell is a very important bicycle accessory. The function of the bell is to warn other road users for example if you want to overtake a slower cyclist or if a pedestrian is walking on the cycle path. A bicycle does not make a sound and can therefore easily be overlooked. A bell must be audible at least 25 meters away, modern bicycle bells easily reach this distance.

The bicycle bell was invented by the British bicycle manufacturer John Richard Dedicoat (1840-1903), who also invented the pencil sharpener, and was fitted as standard on the Pegasus bicycle he manufactured.

Every bicycle has to be equipped with a bicycle bell no matter if it’s a playful ‘ring-a-ling’ or a clear ‘ding-dong’.

You’ll find the sounds of the most used bicycle bells HERE.

There are many many bicycle bells: different shapes and sounds. Here’s a good impression of which bells can be found in Amsterdam: https://youtu.be/1PP86mFgfhw

Never thought a bicycle bell could inspire people for competitions, but YES it happens:

The official Guinness book of records mentions: the largest bicycle bell ensemble involved 639 participants and took place at the Prudential RideLondon FreeCycle in London, UK, on 9 August 2014.

The unofficial world record ringing bicycle bells was established February 12, 2018 in Etten-Leur (Netherlands): 3148 people ringed simultaniously their bell.

On May 13, 2021 in Sint Niklaas (Belgium) cyclists tried to beat the Dutch world record. It was a good attempt and all together they made quite a lot of noise. However no more than appr. 1500 cyclists joined this happening.

Sometimes the bell even leads to romance! A Dutch song from the fifties by Max van Praag says:

🎶 “If I ring my bicycle bell twice, well then you know (it’s me)” 🎶

If you are longing to ring a bicycle bell, check our pages on Bike and Boat.