The BellBeats from Trek is a small Bluetooth speaker that attaches to the handlebars. It uses a thumb button to activate like a traditional bike bell, but it has eight different tones you can select that range from friendly to urgent. There’s sounds like a ringing metal bell, much like the old-fashioned ones, a subdued train horn and an ahooga horn. You can select two of them before a ride and then choose which one to use at a given time with either a short or a long press of the button.
Why would you want an electronic bell on your bike?
Answer: Because traditional bells don’t sound urgent enough.
Photo courtesy of Shutterstock
Sometimes a good old-fashioned bike bell just doesn’t cut it, and you need a better way to let people know that you’re behind them. Rather than shouting, though, you can use this new electronic bike bell that lets you customize the urgency of its sound.
The BellBeats from Trek is a small Bluetooth speaker that attaches to the handlebars. It uses a thumb button to activate like a traditional bike bell, but it has eight different tones you can select that range from friendly to urgent. There’s sounds like a ringing metal bell, much like the old-fashioned ones, a subdued train horn and an ahooga horn. You can select two of them before a ride and then choose which one to use at a given time with either a short or a long press of the button.
Of course since this is an electronic gadget, there’s a whole host of other things it can do besides just sounding an alert. Riders can choose to play looping ambient tones so that people or wildlife can hear them at all times. You can also use it as a Bluetooth speaker to play music, podcasts, audiobooks or even GPS directions. And its IP67 rating means it’ll be just fine if you get caught riding in a sudden downpour.
The BellBeats from Trek is a small Bluetooth speaker that attaches to the handlebars. It uses a thumb button to activate like a traditional bike bell, but it has eight different tones you can select that range from friendly to urgent. There’s sounds like a ringing metal bell, much like the old-fashioned ones, a subdued train horn and an ahooga horn. You can select two of them before a ride and then choose which one to use at a given time with either a short or a long press of the button.
