Spurcycle’s new Compact Bell aims to bring the beautiful, alerting tone of a brass dome bike bell to more cyclists. With a simplified design and a narrow clamp that will to fit closer to mountain bike grips, brakes, or even bikepacking bags, the more affordable Compact Bell will simply work better for many riders, all while still delivering that beloved Spurcycle ring.
Spurcycle Compact Bell is a lighter, cheaper, better fitting bike bell
Bike bells are a necessity for riding in many places, whether commuting in urban environments, riding mixed-use paths, or just to gently alert fellow road & trail users. But the construction quality, sound, and even usability of many bells leaves much to be desired. Spurcycle’s original bell has kind of been a benchmark in high-quality, loud bike bells. But even that bell (which I personally use on my daily commuter) has some limitations. The US-made original has a tricky stainless strap mount with 20mm wide feet that makes it hard to fit on a crowded cockpit, plus it sits so close to the bar that bartape, lock-on grips, or even the straps of a handlebar bag could get in the way of its dome; plus at $50, it isn’t cheap. (Wolf Tooth & Lindarets before them, created some tidy MTB work arounds.)
Now, enter the new Spurcycle Compact Bell…
What’s new? What makes the new bell compact?
Spurcycle’s new Compact Bell drops the stainless steel strap mount, external clapper & wide footprint, in favor of a simple new reinforced composite nylon clamp mount with internal clapper. Now just 9mm wide vs. the original 20mm width, you can simply fit it closer to other mounts on your bike’s cockpit.
Spurcycle doesn’t really go into detail on it, but the simplified mount also means the dome sits a good few millimeters higher away from the bar, making it more likely to hover nicely overlapping other mounts on your handlebar. With fewer metal components, it also sheds seventeen grams, down to 28g now.
The new Compact Bell is said to only fit 22.2mm round bar sections, the standard for MTB bars. Spurcycle hasn’t indicated intent to make a road bar friendly version as of yet. (Note: the nylon clamp looks like it could possible also fit the larger 23.8mm diameter grip area seen on many dropbars, obviously not oversized, ergo or aero bar sections. It would need to work with a 5mm gap/spacer at the clamping bolt & possibly a longer bolt. If we get ahold of one for testing, we’ll update how it would work.)
But is it the same better bicycle bell, we’ve grown to love?
The new Compact Bell is no longer made in the US, now shifting entirely to Taiwan for production. But Spurcycle assures us that it uses the same 30mm diameter brass alloy bell dome with black DLC finish to deliver that signature Spurcycle sound. And the bell still gets their ‘Guaranteed for Life’ warranty. The composite mount isn’t quite as robust as the previous stainless construction. But that actually might be a benefit as it is more likely to fail without damaging the dome in a crash, allowing for easier replacement & repair to get you ringing again.
Spurcycle Compact Bell – Pricing & availability
The new Compact Bell sells for $39 and comes only in all-black. It is available now direct from Spurcycle worldwide, or through many of your favorite local independent bike shops.
