Timber! MTB Bell - Why every mountain biker should consider one 

I got a high decibel thumb bell to use as a mountain bike guide. What I found is dogs pick up the sound a lot sooner than hikers or walkers especially if they are talking. When I am riding back and on a main path I notice people tend to ignore the bell, so I started calling out "ice cream, ice cream." Well that has always done the trick, people stop and look and start smiling and/or laughing.

I heard someone using one of these in Utah last summer on a mixed use trail. It was very effective. Also, if you’re in their territory, it’s only common courtesy that you ring a dinner bell for the bears. 😁

I've been using this on my local trails that are multi-directional for the past few months and it's been a life saver...Literally.

Crazy! I got back from a ride just a couple hours ago. Mixed use trail, bell actuated,twice came upon hikers already standing off the trail. Then a ninja rider comes up from behind me without giving me a warning. Startled me. Riders can startle hikers AND other riders

So now we can look for these bells in bear poop to see if bears are attaching MTBers (-: . Actually looks like a good tool.

Used one all this last season. Get nothing but compliments and thank yous from hikers for using the Bell.

Hi from NJ, Of all the bike bells I have tried this is the best. It has saved me many times with other bikers as well as hikers. Thanks for sharing great video.

Great video Clint. I have a timber bell and it certainly comes in handy when the trails are crowded. I find the bell rings pleasantly and haven’t startled anybody yet. A must for sure. Keep up the good work…..

Seems like a good investment. I would definitely keep it muted most of my trip, but there are a few areas on the trails I ride that a bell would be useful.

A riding friend gave me a Timber bell several years ago. Used it til the lever wore out. Now I have one on my mountain bike and one on my gravel bike. Essential for alerting hikers, runners, dogs, and other bikers on descents, which can be long in my area, Asheville, NC. Occasional bear too. Works great.

I love this bell. I just tell people Rudolph coming through. They appreciate it. Sounds good too

If it was not following Bike Sauce RU-vid channel, I would have not know about this great product! And and now you Clint are featuring it I recommend it highly I do have it on my mountain bike and I use it especially around people in parks and things it’s really a great product thanks for reviewing it and exposing it to your followers!

Yeah I got one of these for bears but it’s somehow both not really loud enough AND super annoying so I really just use it for hikers, who usually thank me for it. 👍🏻

Wow. I just got my first MTB since childhood the other day; I just got back from a lunch ride in the state park near my house and was thinking I need a bell for the bears...lol. Well timed Sir. Thanks for this video. Now I know which one to get.

I use it in basically all the trail that I ride because of the same reasons you said. The are hikers and other riders to and it has safe me from a couple of head on collisions.

I’m been riding with one for a few years now. They really are fantastic.

I've been using a Timberbell since 2018 after a bear encounter in VW. or riding in mountain lion country. However I subscribe to the trial etiquette I grew up with (Pedestrians over Bikers, downhill riders must yield to all uphill traffic). However, I started using it more in areas with high hiker traffic, most people do not realize how quiet a bike is. if you notice most hikers are startled if you don't give a shout out or have a bell.

I use one of these now on trails that also have people on horse back. I scared a horse pretty bad a while back without a bell and felt bad because it almost jumped down a steep hillside. The rider looked pretty spooked from the experience. These bells are nice. I wrapped mine with a wrap of electrical tape to dull it down a bit though. It sounds a little more like a cow bell now but is heard fine from a distance when I'm flying down a hill

I used my Timber bell in Pisgah as a bear bell during the long fire road climbs. Works great.

Great video. Just ordered one.

I have both a bear bell and a manual bell. They are great for not surprising hikers I've been thanked many times for it. Highly recommend the bear bell can become obnoxious I often put the magnet on it to keep quiet when not needed.

I've been using timberbell for a few years and it's the best that I've used. It sounds nice, it's loud enough, and easy to mute. If there's any improvement, maybe lighter, plastic guard so it doesn't scratch your bike during an accident? In any case, all bikers should have one when they are descending. Even ascending to alert others going down so you don't trash your bike in an accident.

also good for areas where there are hunters.

Timber! bells are great in the fact that they're loud enough to notify others on the trail well in advance and that they can be turned on and off with the lever. A couple of things to note with the Timber! bell: 1. They hang down quite a bit and if you have it mounted too far inboard on your bars (such as Clint did in the video) and depending on the brand of bike, it can easily contact and scratch the top tube of your frame. I have found with my Transition Spur that it works better the further outboard I have it and it easily clears the top tube. 2. The cable connected to the clapper is WEAK! If you have a lot of braking bumps/chatter on your local trails (which we do here in Boise) and you use the bell a lot, the cable tends to break at the top of the clapper. These bells have been failing at about two a season (I use them a lot!) and I really wish they'd put a beefier cable on the clapper OR just sell a replacement cable/clapper setup for a few bucks. Their warranty is good but at $25 a bell it's not cost-effective to send the broken units back for warranty repair. I'm currently running a Granite Cricket bike bell which has a single strike mode and a cow bell mode like the Timber!. Unfortunately, it's only about half as loud and I will be going back to Timber!

Have them on all my mountain bikes. Won't ride without them. Fantastic product.

A friend of mine brought me back from US, a bear scaring bell 🔔. You close it with a magnet that make it silent and you attach it with a scratch (Velcro?) loop. So I’ve fixed it to my back pack and I’m using exactly the same kind of condition that you’ve been describing. Before I was using a fishing bell fixed on the break pipe.

oh wow.... I have had that bell for sometime.....never realized there is an intermediate position. I always thought the bell was a little too sensitive . now I have to try it with the middle position.

Hydra hubs do a pretty good job too

I would disagree with the “don’t use on climbs.” I use the timber bell on all my bikes and in my neck of the woods downhill riders are supposed to yield to uphill climbers so many times it’s saved me from a close encounter with hikers but ALSO descending riders can prepare better that someone is climbing below them and to not bomb down without a care for line or necessity to yield. I wish everyone used them and I can hear bells that aren’t mine as well so I’m not worried about not hearing someone.

I added the bell over the winter and the hikers are hearing me and pulling over out of my way. No negative comments so far.

Oh that's cool. Thx!

Timber Bell works great

I started using the Awareness Bell this season. I prefer it over the thumb actuated ones. I rarely wanted my thumb in a position to ring when I'm descending. I also think the random and sustained ring overcomes earbuds better, even on the paved trails I've noticed walkers hear me much sooner. Silencing the Awareness Bell takes a little longer to master than the Timber Bell. After a few rides, its quick and easy. The tone is less piercing and maybe louder, haven't met a Timber Bell user on the trails to be sure.

Here in Europe, the little swisstrailbell® is quite popular. Best of bells on the Alps trails.

Just ordered one after crashing on Sunday when I came up on 2 hikers that were looking straight down at their feet after a blind enough corner. Even while skidding, they still didn't hear me, and were still looking down at their feet. In fear of running into them, I started to veer off the trail, but that caused me to wash out, and I slammed down on the embankment (bench cut trail) hard on my right side, hitting my head and giving me a mild concussion. I really don't want to have to listen to that bell for my entire descent, but I guess it's better than another concussion. I have a bell that I have to manually ring, but it's too awkward to try to ring it, and half the time I don't get a good enough fling on it for it to be very loud. And I'm too concentrated on my body position, leaning the bike, weighting the outside foot, etc, to remember to yell or manually ring a bell on every blind corner.

I’ve rode with this bell for a couple years. It’s works really well for hikers but not so much for other cyclists.

Hikers thank me for using the bell on every ride. And the bell has saved me from collisions as well. I’ve tried the cricket bell, but it’s not loud enough.

I can see that being effective for scaring off black bears. The big browns might consider it a dinner call though ;)

The biggest issue I have are people hiking on trails with earbuds in playing loud music, no bell or even speaking is going to alert them. Now for normal situations I've always had bikes with really loud freewheel hubs, Hope, Syntace or Hugi... lately though I'm riding a Giant with it's stock wheels that are quiet and I need to get something to alert people. Not sure if I like this or the thumb dinger. Thanks for the review.

If you can get the clamp bell to work on your bars, I like that better. It tends to stay put better and not slide around as much.

Been using the Timber for a while now. One thing to watch out for is when you position the bell close to your stem, when you have a fall, if your handlebars spin around (which is common), the bell can scratch your top tube. Happened to me. This is less likely to happen if you position the bell closer to your grips/shifter. When it’s located toward the grips, when the bars spin on a fall, the bell passes over a lower point of your top tube and has greater clearance. I recommend the fixed mount for mourning near the grips. The O-ring has too much play at that location.

Here on the Central Coast of CA, it is expected you'll use a bell on descents. Often, there are kiosks at the trailhead with bells for loan (velcro to the bike). I use an inexpensive bear bell with magnet flap to idle it. I'll likely spring for the Timber at some point so I can more easily activate/deactivate it with a thumb. If hikers have earbuds and and don't hear ya' coming, then shame on them. I know the equestrians sure appreciate the warning since they can't get clear of the trail as quickly and horses typically don't wear buds 🤣

I was bombing down a hill with a friend in California and she smacked into another rider railing a curve. Luckily, nobody was hurt. Just dirty, and bikes dusted up. They both had this exact bell and the rider going uphill said she thought all of the extra ringing was from her bell getting loose, but didn’t expect to encounter another rider with the same bell. It’s a great bell, turn it off going up hill.

Just got one! I like it but wish it had a setting that wasn’t quite so loud. Even barley open rings loudly. But I ride on lots of two way trails so I think it’s worth it. While I should be clearly heard, I am concerned that it’s noise prevents me from noticing others as soon as I could.

Yeah, bells are great they're actually mandatory in Southern California where all the trails are multi-use. It was super helpful to hear other riders in front of me and Riders behind me.

I totally agree I usally say. On your left. Or on your right. With 3. Meaning there is three of us. Now I do know people use the bell. I do like the timber one so you can silence it.

90% of the people have airpods in their ears.

I've used Timber Bell for years, no need to ring it, just switching on and off depending on what you need.

I bought the incredibell which you had on a previous video it worked fine but the piece broke off so now it’s always active you cannot shut it off would you recommend the timber bill over the other one?

Ehhh....don't know about this. I've used a thumb/finger actuated Mirrycle Incredibell since the '90s, and can say that it gets you to about a 95% solution. I get caught out occasionally where I'm late on the bell, or never get to it at all. But, I'm not sure listening to a droning jangle-jangle is worth it, even if it drives the effectiveness to near 100%. I don't ride on bear-infested trails though...that might be a motivator for one of these.

I use a thumb flip actuated bell. Riding for an hour on a trail I see hikers far enough ahead of me to flip my bell and warn them of my presence. Otherwise to have a bell ring constantly for that entire hour would definitely ruin the ride for me to be sure. The argument you need the constant ringing cause you don't know whats right around the next corner tells me your going too fast to begin with on that section of trail.

Better yet, but a $3 bear bell and hang it on either your handlebars or seat rails. In our environment (thick, densely wooded area) its a damn near must. Blind corners, trail runners etc. We use them for awareness of ALL parties. And multiple people have stopped to thank me for putting one on my bike. They’re quite annoyed by riders who don’t have them. We also have true SINGLE track where it’s river valley on one side, and cliff face on the other.

Will the fixed mount ring while transporting bike on a car bike rack? If so I may go for the quick release option.

yeahh .. usefull and friendly , very funny to hear.. however after a couple of trip outside on the mountain I lost the small striker inside and I don't know how to replace it because once attached to the handlebar I had not seen how and what it was made of...can you help me?

Well I will consider it, Because we are dealing with safety and etiquette, Although the trails I ride here in Central Florida are remote and I rarely encounter hikers just some nature Photographers and occasional Trail riders and that’s about it…

Any suggestion for editing out the sound of the bell from a video? I have some DH's I'd like to film but the bell is super helpful on those trails.

In France it is also a way to save your life from been shot at hunting season. Along with fluo yellow clothes!

Or, just get i9 Hydras and never surprise anyone or anything out on the trail! 😃

What do you do if you're on a smooth trail and just want to give someone ahead of you a ring to let them know you are approaching from behind? Looks like there's no way to hand activate.

Sounds like it should be a "Bear" necessity for everyone! :>) Seriously though, it's now on my list of gear to buy.

I prefer to use my manual bell to warn. Having this ring all the time is annoying. My thumb can provide alert.

I want to listen to that 👍🏼 Lol You might as well just be Bluetooth speaker guy 🔊

Good idea but unfortunately my Timber bell got loose and would start ringing randomly. Now it lives in the parts bin.

what about noise pollution? seems awfully frequent ringing and while it might alert people, it will scare any wild-life within a respectful distance... could also be considered 'harmful' especially in Europe where there is a tendency to mark certain areas as 'quiet' zones (also not playing loud music etc). What are your thoughts on this?

Effective range for the people to hear that?

I can honestly say, I will NEVER attach a bell to my mountain bike. Not once have I even come close to another rider/hiker, and listening to a bell jingle while riding is the MOST annoying sound possible.

I just yell STRAVAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA! comes free with the app, paid or unpaid.

What's wrong with a conventional bell that doesn't go off all the time. Only when you need, then just flick your thumb.

Jefe, should I call you Tinker….Bell now

Can't do it. I don't want to listen to a bell for 2 hours, and I'd rather talk to a hiker than ring a bell at them

I heard a few of these on bikes here in NYC a couple of years ago. Interesting concept but like you say can be annoying. Consider a group of cyclists going down steep trails at speed with the bells engaged. Gotta be annoying.

The poor wildlife having to listen to that thing.

But Clint if hikers and cyclists are wearing air pods that you support in your videos,what’s the point? They won’t hear it….This a contradiction Clint that you must address…

im sure they are very effective, but not in a video, its very annoying. I cant watch it.

I think the timber bells are very annoying.

The real “tension “ between mountain bikers and hikers stems from the fact that zero hikers shoe up for trail work days! These hikers won’t even stop to pickup a easily movable tree branch during their hike. If this 130 pound 52 year old woman can lift the branch so can the 170 pound male hiker.

Bells are annoying

Rubbish. Bells are never useful.... people are too concentrated on their phones. Other cyclists don't care