The lever to ring the bell works fine, but the bell makes no sound. All the parts move effortlessly, but tbh, I don't even know where the sound is supposed to come from (I'm not knowledgeable about bikes at all, just a regular gal trying to fix my stuff). Also maybe it's important to mention that the bell worked fine, till one day it suddenly didn't anymore… Anyone got any tips for me?
by TemporaryPangolino
2 Comments
The two rusted rings will fling against the outer top shell (removed in the photo) of the bell to make the sound, so make sure those can move freely all the way towards the outside of the bell casing. If they can’t, perhaps a bit of WD40 or oil will get them moving again.
Sometimes (I have to dig deep because I don’t think I’ve seen a bell like this for over 30 years 😅) the top shell has indents that the rings will fling against; if it does, you can try (un)screwing the top until the rings hit the indents.
In case it didn’t show. My comment was removed because I linked a video from my google photos and it used the URL shortener…
Made in Germany by Reich Safety Bell. (Yes, I’m obsessed with this bell)
I had mine since the 90s and took it apart a few years ago so I could reattach and carbon fibre the arm as well as use m4 (or similar width) x12mm screw to replace the plastic axle the arm rotates on. I spent a year or so looking for more and finally found them on bikeinn in 2019 for my kids’ bikes. Most have cute designs on the top of the bell. I had to look hard for the same one I’ve got that has a stylized drawing of a cyclist.
They make a ding dong doorbell style bell as well as this ringing one.
Thing I love is that you tap the lever slightly for a quiet ding, a slow push and controlled release for a subtle ring and repeated hard push and full release for a loud ring.
As /u/brightvalve writes, those two rusty wheels should move freely and fling out. Here’s a google photos link of the inner workings. There should be slow mo where you see the rings fling outward.
The shell part that you took off should ding if you flick it with your fingernail while holding the inside nut and it should be screwed on so that the little indent lines up with the brown disks. If they don’t line up, the disks won’t strike it so you might need to twist and screw the top up or down. My old beat up bell’s threads got stripped and I put glue in the hole to build up the material so I can re-create the threads. Caution for anyone else who does this instead of buying a new one, glue the gets between the mount and bell can dampen the bell’s sound.
<I can send a URL video of the bell mechanism in action if you’d like>
Edit: Also here is the top with the indent.
https://imgur.com/gallery/LLSUQOp