My Timber bell won't turn off

Happened to mine. I just put some locktite down in the switch mechanism. It was a bit too tight for a while but it definitely worked. Assuming it's that which is failing.

Forget this - the internal wire has frayed and snapped. Kind of crap quality

Is there a better quality option available
Had a look at the Awareness Bell - but only in the US.

Currently I have a Rock Bros copy - and will see how I get on

Is yours a first generation one? I think the early ones had a bit of a redesign after a few people had that problem.

Hey everyone - Timber! bell importer Cyclorise here.

The Rock Bros copy is the copy of the Timber! v1.0 bell which was phased out a few years ago. We’re now on the v4.0.

With each version, the internals and mechanism improved. The current v4.0 has been available through the Singletrack shop for two years now and has proved exceptionally reliable. In fact, the v4.0 bolt on bell has recently been replaced with the new ‘Yew!’ Which is more robust for not only use/wear, but from impacts/bashes. Then, if it does get damaged for whatever reason, it is rebuildable with replacement parts if required.

Earlier model bells such as the v1.0/2.0 definitely wore in regards the mechanism over time. Keeping them switched off became harder as they aged. The v3.0 was much better and came with a slimmer clamp. Though the cable crimp that holds and pulls the clapper up tight sometimes vanished. The v4.0 solved the cable crimp issue and also solved the longevity issue. But of course eventually, any mechanical er…mechanism will wear.

I hope this lowdown helps. To my knowledge, there’s only Timber! (And the knock off rock Bros v1.0 copy) as well as one other copy cat who literally bought one off our show stand a few years ago who make a trail bell with a on/off function. Timber! is the only one that can be activated without removing your hand from the handlebar.

For long term reliability and serviceability, check out the new Yew! from the Singletrack shop. Or subscribe to Singletrack Mag and get one for FREE 🙂

👍

Where's that like button again?

^ Already subscribed
And I didn't get one 🙁

Guess I have go order the full fat one

Not sure if they still do it but in the past Timber in the US did a crash/damage replacement discount. Just needed to email them a photo.

Email me a photo and purchase receipt. Sales@cyclorise.com - I’ll sling you a discount on a replacement.

What's the consensus on band-on vs bolt-on? I really like to be able to swap between bikes but I can imagine the bolt-on option giving a more reliable tinkle. Also mine is somewhere in Scotland after (presumably) the band popped off, hence the need for a new one.

I've got a Timber, V4 I think. Ordered off here a couple of years back. Mine similarly has developed a bit of actuation droop and doesn't stay off any more. Will try some super glue on the lever to see if that adds some extra grip. Someone recommend that on a thread here a while back.

The other slightly different option is the Granite bell. The bell part of the bell pulls down to move into tinkle mode and clips back up to before a normal bell. I guess this is sort of the other way round from the timber where the bell stays put and the clapper moves.
Don't know whether it will be more or less long lived as mine is quite new but happy so far.
Also good to see the Timber has been improved and cheers for the info above.

Band On Vs Bolt On.

The ‘tinkle’ is the same on both models. The band-on is easier to move from bike to bike and fits over bar tape or around road bike stems. but the elastic band will over stretch if removed too often. The biggest advantage of the bolt-on model is that it anchors to the bar much more firmly. So if you pound the ‘on’ switch, it’ll stay where you bolt it, whereas the band on can swivel around the slim part of the bar. It’s fine on the bulge part of the handlebar near the stem clamp though.

The standard bolt-on has now been discontinued and so you have the choice of the Standard bell (band-on £27.99) or the YEW! (Bolt-on £32.99).

Vocal Chords do a good walker awareness alarm, various awareness signals available that don't degrade over time or through excessive use. Alarm options available include "excuse me", "on your left/right", "keep your f-in dog under control" as well as a variaty of custom options. Don't work with headphone users or mobile phone zombies though

bikedibley
Full Member
Email me a photo and purchase receipt. Sales@cyclorise.com – I’ll sling you a discount on a replacement.

Thanks - email and PM sent
Let me know if you need anything else - much appreciated
Mr M

I really like to be able to swap between bikes but I can imagine the bolt-on option giving a more reliable tinkle

The band of the bolt-on ones is flexible enough to slip on and off once the bolt's undone. 2 minute (max) job to swap over, I'd guess

I need a new one and want bolt on again, that new name grates though 😂

@ wind_bag

The problem with vocal cords is, walkers who haven’t seen you only hear “BLAHHHHHHH” and don’t step to the left…or right. They just step.

The point of Timber! is to have the bell sounding in a couple of situations vocal chords (or a loud freehub or conventional bell) doesn’t usually help with.

1. You see walkers crowding a trail. Switch it on and people hear a friendly instinctively ‘bicycle’ sound approaching. It’s not startling and people thank you for it. You usually don’t even have to slow down.

2. You don’t see walkers. But you’re shredding/shralping/blazing a Singletrack that you know is shared by others. Switch the bell on and they’ll hear you before you see them. But they’re smiling with their dog under control. Pure harmony.

Vocal chords don’t usually work seamlessly

My early timber bell has worn out too, and rather than get another one that will eventually do the same, I just got a Granite cricket bell. The tinkle sound when 'on' permanently is quieter than the timber, but I tend to just use the ping instead and it's handy to have 2 options. Also more compact on the bars too.

Just and update to say I am returning the TB Yew

@mrmoofo is that the replacement? how come?

My timber bell snapped the lever so you can't switch it on or off. I do need a replacement bell as I'm starting to commute along canal paths.

I will wait until I have contacted @bikedibley before commenting. Tis only fair

Mine got jammed/seized recently due to lack of use and wouldn't turn on (been doing very little gravel rides) it did eventually free itself after fiddling with it a while.

My biggest problem with my Timber Bell is that it always seems to really wind up people that I ride with. I have no idea why, it doesn't bother me and is imo its not much different to a wind chime.

imo its not much different to a wind chime

Maybe it's that? I'll go with it's very much that.

A timber bell would drive me crackers ringing all the time

I am a bit obsessive about silent bikes tho.

Maybe it’s that?

But wind chimes promote a sense of inner peace and calmness.

Om Shanti

✌️

A timber bell would drive me crackers ringing all the time

They don't ring all the time, they have a switch so you can turn them off or yes, it would drive most people nuts.

Meanwhile... the switch mechanism on the earlier bells wears, so it no longer locks properly on bumpy stuff. I used a sharp blade to disassemble and jammed some zip-tie cut-offs in so it worked again. Later versions have improved mechanism apparently.

The latest V4 version has a slightly higher pitch than the earlier ones. Apparently the brass bell was sourced from a different foundry. I prefer the earlier sound, it's a little friendlier and just a nicer tone, though it's probably only really obvious if you use them back to back. Anyway, more usefully, if you can get hold of a repair kit for the Yewl bell, which includes the clapper, lever section and, basically everything except the brass bell itself, you can use it with the earlier bell as a full repair. The only mod you have to do is to cut two small notches in the bell top using a mini hacksaw blade and hey presto, a later bell mechanism with the earlier, softer tone.

I know this because the guys at Timber! - mtbbell.com - sold me the parts and pointed me in the direction of their how to video in using the spares kit. From memory the cost was 10USD direct from the US.

The only potential downside is that the kit is bolt-on only, so you now have a bolt-on bell, however it comes with shims for three bar diameters including 35mm and is quick to unbolt and swap onto a different bike if you want to, though not as quick as the version with the o-ring fixing. It's also more secure.

I know, too much information... I don't know if Cyclorise, the UK importer, now has any of the Yewl repair kits in stock - they didn't when I checked a few months back - but it's a good way of repairing and improving the earlier bells. Sorry, all this is two weeks too late, but I didn't see the thread until today.

Just use a conventional bell then to avoid the need to turn it on and off or have it ringing away.

Its probably my mental state but I could not ride with anyone with one of these.  It would drive me insane.  dysphonia?

Just use a conventional bell then to avoid the need to turn it on and off or have it ringing away.

Its probably my mental state but I could not ride with anyone with one of these. It would drive me insane. dysphonia?

I find them great on shared tracks like disused rail trails, when they somehow sound less demanding than a typical conventional bell, but the real plus is that you can use them on descents with blind bends etc without taking your hands / thumbs / fingers off the bars or having to think about doing that. They also have a nice tone compared to most bells.

But yeah, I find other riders' Timber bells annoying if they insist on leaving them switched on for extended periods, which just seems pointless to me, but for the odd 30 seconds or so, it's fine and much more pleasant that the yelps of startled walkers and the pointless 'you should get a bell' guff.

Normal bells, on the other hand, I don't really like. They always sound a little impolite to me, I'd rather just slow down a bit more and say hello. Nothing was as bad as a woman I saw coming up behind people on a canal tow-path and repeatedly saying 'Ring! Ring!' in a weird baby-talk voice. That was horrific.

If I’m on a blind downhill I turn my bell on in case walkers (or e-bikes) are coming up.
Couldn’t ride without one.

It is more subtle and polite than a conventional bell. It informs walkers that you are there and approaching, rather than sounding a convention bell which suggests that your are demanding they get out of your way.

I would rather verbally request whether it's okay to come through than use a conventional bell.

Shared paths with walkers and horse riders requires tact imo, the less the sense of entitlement by all users the happier everyone is.

Whereas I use a conventional bell on shared paths all the time and am often thanked for it. The key is to ping it a distance away not when you are right behind them.  I'd never ride without a conventional bell and as above get regularly thanked by walkers for using it.  I've neverhad anyone complain about it apart from another cyclist!

You can alert the walkers to your presence much earlier than by voice and its polite and most importantly its what walkers expect - and puts you in the right legally and morally

I find with my Timber bells (which I love) the randomness of the bell seems to wake people from their iPhone stupours much better than conventional bell which they utterly tune out!

I started using a Timber bell recently, love it. Great for blind singletracks or busier paths. Works better in many situations than a conventional pinger bell.

I have nothing massively against conventional bells bar the typical Peak District walker's ability to filter them out, but I'd agree that the novelty of the tinkly Timber bell sound seems to cut through better - they probably think it's a run-away reindeer...

If there's a downside that's not been mentioned, it's that on wetter days, the inside of the bell tends to accumulate gritty, wet sludge, which damps down the sound. I just rinse it out with some water and it's back to normal.

Anyway...

In a brief summary, the new housing on the TB Yew is absolutely huge - it is like a great carbuncle sitting on the bar. You only have the choice of band fit - and that just would not work on my bars.
I loved mt Timber bell 3 - but not how easily it broke.
So the Yew has been returned.

So I bought a Granite Cricket bell - looked great , sounded great. Mounted on the bike, the lever activated ring was the quietest ping I had ever heard.
In Cow Bell mode it was a pathetic tinkling sound that no-one on a pathway will hear. TBH, nobody standing by the bike could hear it - let alone a few metres way.
I assume I have a duff one - or is this typical of the Granite?

Typical of the granite. It's way too quiet to be of any use.