Loud horn - recommendations?

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 MisterPiggy 02 Jul 2020

I searched past posts and didn't find recommendations for a loud cycle horn, anyone have one?

I often need to warn cars 10-20m ahead that they're about to kill me and tell them that I'd  rather they didn't, and my pedestrian friendly bell just can't do the job.

City centre, rush hour, time of Covid and drivers all have their windows up, revelling in their a/c and listening to drive time radio. And they've just been voted world champions for road rage...

Thoughts anyone?

j

6
 MG 02 Jul 2020
In reply to MisterPiggy:

> Thoughts anyone?

How are cars 20m ahead of you going to kill you?

You sounds smug, aggressive and contemptuous of other road users.

18
 Andy Manthorpe 02 Jul 2020
In reply to MisterPiggy:

https://www.sjscycles.co.uk/bells-horns/samui-air-zound-3-rechargeable-horn...

Would 115 decibel be loud enough ?

I haven't used these horni, so can't vouch for them.

Removed User 02 Jul 2020
In reply to MisterPiggy:

I had an air zound. It isn’t particularly robust and the mount broke after a fairly short time. It’s very loud, but you will upset pedestrians and other cyclists if you blast the thing at them.  
 

 Run_Ross_Run 02 Jul 2020
In reply to MG:

Because some car drivers are totally oblivious to cyclists. 

I get it all the time. Even resorted to now having lights on the bike, front and rear, all year round and not just in the winter. 

 Bobling 02 Jul 2020
In reply to Run_Ross_Run:

> I get it all the time. Even resorted to now having lights on the bike, front and rear, all year round and not just in the winter. 

Isn't this built up area/traffic cycling 101?

To OP: I'd be very wary of using a loud horn as it seems confrontational, and despite how in the right you are, and how much of a tw*t the white van driver is they are the one in charge of a potential weapon that can be used to do you lots of damage in a split-second of road-rage.  I know how much this sucks but you are very, very vulnerable as a cyclist (you know this already though hence, the post!).

I'm thinking of a couple of times when I have let my mouth run away from me having just been bullied by a motor vehicle on the road, only to see that motor vehicle stop in front of me to carry on the confrontation.  It's not a pleasant place to be on the wrong end of such a dramatic power imbalance.

 gethin_allen 02 Jul 2020
In reply to MG:

> How are cars 20m ahead of you going to kill you?

> You sounds smug, aggressive and contemptuous of other road users.

30 mph is 13.4 m/s so a car traveling at 30 mph 20 meters from you could be less than 1.5 seconds from killing you.

I'd say that it's people in vehicles are more often contemptuous of other road users and kill a whole lot more people while at it.

OP MisterPiggy 03 Jul 2020
In reply to MG:

Not very helpful.

In France, traffic merging from the right has priority. Many times a day I get almost crashed into or have to dangerously swerve to avoid cars that 'don't see me' or just don't bother to look.

As I said in my post, this horn isn't for pedestrians, nor is it an audible middle-finger for road hogs, it's to make oblivious motorists pay attention.

Suggestions welcome.

1
OP MisterPiggy 03 Jul 2020
In reply to Andy Manthorpe:

Thanks Andy, this may be what I'm looking for. 

1
J1234 03 Jul 2020
In reply to MisterPiggy:

> I often need to warn cars 10-20m ahead that they're about to kill me and tell them that I'd  rather they didn't, and my pedestrian friendly bell just can't do the job.

Well I would in this instance, stop. However I find a bell ineffective, pedestrians just are not tuned in, and often have ear phones in, however an air horn would seem a tad aggressive, so will be interested to see any suggestions.

In reply to MisterPiggy

I wouldn't recommend the air sound the trigger is unreliable so when you really need it you either get nothing or a faint squeak. 

I'd go for the hornit, you can achieve a more friendly quick beep as well as a more decisive noise when required.

 Jamie Wakeham 03 Jul 2020
In reply to MisterPiggy:

I had the Air Zound.  It seemed shockingly loud on the bike - of course, it was only really about the same volume as a car horn, it's just that you don't expect that from a bicycle!  

It was also clearly not a car horn - they're invariably two or more tones at once these days, and the single note of the Zound was obviously different.  It does make it sound pretty aggressive.

It was much too aggressive to use in place of a bell to warn pedestrians; I kept my bell for that.  But it was capable of warning drivers of your presence in a way that the bell could never achieve.  Twice, I reckon, it saved me from a nasty accident.  The first was when a white van was doing a u-turn on a wide street - he'd simply not seen me and was about to sideswipe me.  Without the horn I'd have needed to jump off the bike and onto the pavement to avoid him.

The second was on a fairly narrow road, when I was overtaking a stationary bus.  There was heavy traffic in the opposite direction, and when I was halfway up the length of the bus it pulled out with no indication.  Without the horn I would have been squashed between the bus and the opposite traffic - nowhere to bail out to this time.

I never had reliability issues, but you do have to make sure you keep it charged up (it pumps up using the same valve fitting as your tyres).

 tlouth7 03 Jul 2020
In reply to MisterPiggy:

For a while I had an air horn (as in, compressed air aerosol bottle) cable tied to my handlebars. It was effective at clearing the large groups of pedestrians you get in Cambridge.

1
 nniff 03 Jul 2020
In reply to MisterPiggy:

I regularly encounter (well, I used to, in the before time) a fellow cycle commuter with one of these https://www.tredz.co.uk/.Hornit-DB140-Cycle-Horn_58123.htm?sku=165421&u...

Loud-ish and noticeable, but couldn't really compete with a car horn.

An aerosol fog horn on the other hand is a beast.  it just needs a suitable mount....

https://www.googleadservices.com/pagead/aclk?sa=L&ai=DChcSEwjAif37-rDqA...

Post edited at 12:19
 Hutson 03 Jul 2020
In reply to MisterPiggy:

I've trained myself to emit a blood-curdling scream if they do something really dangerous eg if someone pulls out on me. More instinctive than reaching for a horn. Not an aggressive noise, more an I'm-terrified-you're-about-to-kill-me one. I used to freeze in silent fear but got past that.

It did recently stop someone opening their door all the way without looking (as it happened I was riding just far enough out that it didn't hit me, but they soon pulled it shut again). Arguably I should have been riding even wider but that's easier said than done when you're constantly being bullied by cars behind. Good reminder though.

 Yanis Nayu 03 Jul 2020
In reply to Hutson:

Agree, your voice is more much responsive and adaptable than a bell or horn and you can keep your hands free for braking and steering.

 Cobra_Head 03 Jul 2020
In reply to MisterPiggy:

I have a huge horn and it can be very loud, would you like some pictures?

I've never used it with an aerosol though, if that's important to you.

Post edited at 12:46
OP MisterPiggy 03 Jul 2020
In reply to Jamie Wakeham:

Thanks for your inputs Jamie.

I have incidents similar to that several times a week. I'm hoping the air horn or the Hornit will help. As you do, pedestrians get belled only, and that'll continue.

I just wanted to add a story from today's homeward commute, typical. Along with eye-popping close shaves, I often experience the opposite.

At the last traffic lights before the house a post office van pulls up to me, and the driver leans out of his window, and with a sheepish, apologetic smile, said: Sorry mate, for passing so close back there. I replied that it was perfectly fine, I hadn't noticed, then thanked him for gesture. Gave me a warm feeling for the remainder of the ride.

In the end, we're all just trying to travel safely, if we watch out for each other and anticipate as much as possible, our experiences on the road can be cordial and even friendly.

Wishing UKC-ers a safe and happy weekend.

 JdotP 04 Jul 2020
In reply to MisterPiggy:

I recommend the AirZound as someone else linked to above.  It is a couple of tones higher than car horn but motorists who hear it do still, at least in my experience, identify it as a vehicle horn or at least a sound that requires their urgent attention.  I did try the Hornit before switching to the Airzound.  The (electric) Hornit just sounds like a car / burglar alarm so though motorists will hear it they may not identify it as a sound they need to pay any attention to.

It's also effective to give motorists a prod when they're dawdling when the traffic lights to green as they're too busy staring at  their mobile phone screens etc.

 pamph 05 Jul 2020
In reply to MisterPiggy:

I have seen a video where a cyclist is using an air horn in a city somewhere, and thinks it extremely funny to sound it off when quite close to people walking along the cycle path. This causes lots of folk to jump quickly out of the way, until one guy collars the cyclist and thumps him hard! so be careful how you use it!

 GrahamD 06 Jul 2020
In reply to pamph:

It probably smarts a bit, having an air horn removed from where the sun don't shine.

 Timmd 12 Jul 2020
In reply to MisterPiggy:

I use an Air Zound and find that it's just the thing for when a driver isn't looking properly, it could be more robust, but it's the loudest thing out there, and I've never managed to brake mine.

You can turn the dial to 'full' and just gently tap it for a 'peep peep' style noise, or call out hello in that kind of situation.

Having driver's heads spin around in alarm when I press it is a tiny bit of a guilty pleasure, the main thing is not being knocked off my bike, for which it's very helpful.

Post edited at 13:55
 Ciro 12 Jul 2020
In reply to MisterPiggy:

+1 for the zound. 

I used it commuting in London - I found the high pitch actually very useful, as people are so used to the normal car horn noise it can take a little time to react, whereas the zound is loud and unusual enough to make reactions instant.

If you're on a road bike, I tend to ride on the hoods so I positioned the trigger right under my pinkie - quick and easy to hit.

​​​​​​To those saying voice works best: it does for pedestrians, you need a horn for cars as people don't hear you so well inside a tin box with potentially a radio on.

To those saying "just stop", that's fine if you're pootling around at jogging pace, doesn't really work when you're cycling at a decent clip trying to get somewhere. 20m is nothing if you're doing 30mph, and the guy in the car is heading towards you preparing to turn right across your path.

 Timmd 12 Jul 2020
In reply to Ciro:

That's true enough about 30 mph and stopping distances.

I tend to go a little bit slower than I used to do in traffic now, towards making my safety margin a little bit bigger, but sometimes it can feel safer to keep pace with the traffic.

Post edited at 16:05
OP MisterPiggy 22 Jul 2020
In reply to MisterPiggy:

Thanks everyone for your thoughts.

I liked the sound of the air horn, but the trigger was impractical for me. So I got the Hornit. I use the gentler 'beep' not the annoying car-alarm sound. It doesn't seem excessively loud, despite what the website claims. But it's loud enough for what I need, and a short 'toot' is kind enough for pedestrians. Little old ladies/gentlemen toddling across the road against the light still get a wide berth, a smile and the ting, ting of my usual bell.

Have a great mid-week,

regards, julian


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