Review on Granite Cricket Bike Bell featuring Single-Strike and Cowbell Modes by Randy Holt

Got this from a couple of bad rides on the trails with my gravel bike. I've been using a different bell for a few years, it's loud, high pitched and works great except you have to ring the bell manually. No problem on asphalt or wide dirt roads. But taking your hand off the steering wheel to ring the bell while driving on the trail has always been a challenge, especially since my favorite way to ring the bell is when going into blind corners. This call solves this problem. PROS: - Both manual and ringer modes work great - Easy to switch between modes - You can ring the bell manually even in ringer mode - You can keep both hands on the bar on the trails. - It doesn't take much to get the bell working - even riding on fairly slick trails keeps it moving - ROBUST - I rode a BRUTAL gravel track last weekend - really rough trails, MTB territory and the bell ( and the ratchet) survived with no issues CONS - It's really heavy compared to my old wind chime - the bell mode popper appears to be made of lead (seriously). It's not ridiculously hard, just harder than I expected. It's larger than my old bell, so it takes up more room on the shaft. The plastic bracket will probably not survive a crash. But the bell is heavy enough as it is, and like I said, it's been through some really tough times, so hopefully it will continue to do so. Overall I like it and it's the best of both worlds. Since the reputation isn't as high as my old one, I was concerned that people wouldn't hear it as easily. But so far that's not a problem. People seem to hear it perfectly, and it's actually been a blessing. On my old call, the tone was too similar to a cell phone notification. Half the time I rang the bell and instead of looking around and seeing me walking, people stopped and looked at their phones or ignored it, thinking it was their phone! This new call seems to be catching her attention more. I wish it was louder on track, but it's better than nothing or single-handed riding.