Build a better bike bell and the world will beat a path to your Kickstarter campaign.
Bicycle accessory company Spurcycle raised more than $300,000 on the crowd-funding site during a recent push to launch a simple bike bell that will be made in the United States. The company is currently taking pre-orders that should be filled in January 2014.
The Ringer Bell “produces powerful sound from a trim, precision form” according to the company. It is designed for any bike, mounts to handlebars from 22-32mm, works vertically or horizontally, won’t rust and can be rung loudly or softly.
Spurcycle, who also builds bike grips and waterbottles, will produce the bells in collaboration with Bevin Brothers—a company that’s been making bells for bicycles, the Salvation Army, ice cream trucks and a lot more in Connecticut since 1832. The bell factory was destroyed in a fire in 2012 but a new facility is now up and running to produce more cowbells and work with Spurcycle on this project.
We were impressed with the overwhelming success of their fund raising efforts and asked Spurcycle co-founder Nicholaus Slone why the product was so well received by the public.
“It is our our belief that product is king,” he said. “Well executed product doesn’t require fancy marketing or an extensive sales force, because it is inherently desirable. We have achieved this kind of design with our bell. “
Sloan said the company saw a void in the bike bell market, with no high-end, premium quality bells to match high end bikes.
“Many riders don’t want to mount a cheap plastic bell to the top of a $5,000 bike,” he said.
At $35, the Ringer is not a huge investment but definitely more expensive than many bike bells. The streamlined design adds very little beyond noise-making functionality to a bicycle. The bell is not much bigger than a thimble.
With manufacturing in the United States, we are excited to see a company take on a market traditionally dominated by cheap imports with a high quality product, and with nearly 6,000 backers contributing more than $300,000, we clearly aren’t alone. —Sean McCoy
