A bell is required by law in New York and other states, and a good one will hardly make a dent in your budget. They’re available in a wide range of designs to suit your bike’s style, and with a little imagination can be mounted within reach while still being out of the way. Most I’ve seen are mounted somewhere on the handlebars, and that’s where my utility bike’s compass-bell is located. The long straight bars are home to the cyclometer, the bracket for a can of dog repellent, and the compass-bell. The compass is fairly accurate and the bell is loud. The bell striker can be rotated to fine-tune the location of the thumb button.

 

 
The bars on my Long Haul Trucker are crowded enough, and I didn’t want to take up even more room with a bell, so I looked for an alternative location to mount it. I considered various locations, from the stem to the steerer tube, but ended up putting it on the top tube:

 

 
That’s a silver Incredibell, and its amply long strap is just long enough to wrap around the top tube, right aft the head tube. The striker can be rotated, and I place it so that I can quickly reach down and flick it when needed. The bell even works when I’m shipping my Profile Designs snack pack:

 

 
It’s surprising how a small thing can make such a big difference to your peace of mind. Normally I shout when I need to send out an alert, but that doesn’t always work, while the shrill DING DING! of the bell can cut through the noisiest traffic and hermetically sealed vehicle interior. It’s worth the small cost and effort to find a place for one on your bike.

 
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