I really like the bike bells and wish they'd become more commonplace. When we went to Germany, everyone used them and they were very effective. We were kind of amused, though, hearing the dainty little jingle and knowing that it meant "move it or you're gonna get clobbered!" But again, they worked and pedestrians didn't jump to their left in shock.

Within the last few weeks, several bikes have passed me when I've been out running on the paths and they've used the bells to alert me. I have to agree with some earlier posts, though, that they can be confusing by themselves. The first one I actually thought was birds or squirrels pecking or swatting at something metal. I ended up in the middle of the path (not wanting to twist an ankle getting too close to the edge) looking around for where the sound was coming from when the bike passed me.

On the other hand, a jingle to get someone's attention followed by "I'm on your left" would probably work - and not be as startling.

Deb