{my ‘brooch’ bell courtesy of dringdring}
When Annie, the creator of dringdring bicycle bells in Montreal, Canada, contacted me to see if I might be interested in one of her bells, I couldn’t have been more excited. My most recent bike, Bee, was in need of a bike bell and Annie graciously offered to send me a bell of my choosing. I had such a tough time narrowing my choice down to a single one when dringdring offers so many beautiful and creative designs…
In the end, I went with the ‘brooch’ design that not only fits with my style aesthetically (I would definitely pin a brooch that looked like this to my clothing), but also goes with my bike’s look in keeping with the black and yellow giving Bee her name.
The bell is as beautiful and well-made in person as it appears online. And I love it even more knowing that it was hand-painted using eco-friendly paints, and that Annie’s company supports local organizations that offer jobs to youths from all backgrounds (they paint the base coat on all the bells). The bells are also baked after they are painted, making them water-resistant and ready for year-round cycling.
I’m excited to be sharing all of this with you because Annie has graciously offered to give away a dringdring bell to one lucky reader of Simply Bike. To enter, just visit dringdring and leave a comment (on this post) saying which bell is your favorite. For a second chance to win, leave a separate comment (on this post) telling us what you would paint unto your customized bike bell.
The winner will receive a dringdring bell in the design of their choosing! The giveaway is open until Thursday, Dec. 9th at Midnight. A winner will be randomly chosen and announced on Friday, Dec. 10th.
Good luck!
I love these bells! I have the Electra Cruiser Peacock which already comes with a bell but my other bike would look lovely with the green cupcake one!
If I painted my own bike bell I would most probably embellish it with something Scottish – a lovely sheep, a thistle, or perhaps a tartan pattern… Perhaps one day!
The speed-o-meter US is just cool and would make me laugh every time I saw it.
that speed-o-meter is pretty cute. I think I’d have to get that one!
it I painted me own it would either have a goat or a taco…or maybe a goat eating a taco!
hi! i recently started reading your blog and this is my first comment! i love it – so inspiring, especially in these cold winter months when i’m less inclined to get on my bike. makes me excited about riding with gloves and scarves and winter jackets. :)
i would have to go with the little pink bell with black cats for my green all pro cruiser, in honor of my black cat!
xo, chloe
and if i painted my own? more cat designs! ha. or maybe some pretty plaids in different colors. (just realized another reason i’m drawn to the pink bell – it would match my pink helmet!)
If I were painting one, I’d do fractals.
These bells are lovely! My personal favorite is the Ice Cream Bell. First, I love that the bell’s indentation fits the ice cream scoop so perfectly. Second, after long-distance summer rides, ice cream is the most satisfying treat.
These are insanley cute!
I’m seriously in love with petit gâteau – cupcake . Ahh!
If I were to do a customized bell, I would probably go with swirl of fall leaves throughout the bell. Hues would be orange, a little green, some deep reds, golden yellows, and a dark background. The leaves would be sweetgum, I think. That is a great fall tree!
P.S. Really like your blog, Simply Bike. For some reason, I have the impression you live in Ames, Iowa. If so, I grew up 30 miles from there (now in D.C.). Cheers!
How cute! What a great give-a-way. I don’t have a cute bike, just a work-horse, but he could use some sprucing up too, I suppose.
I was thinking about going with one of the black ones with flowers or polkadots, but then I spotted the orange one with a bike going Weeeeeee! Love.
My favorite is the Lite-Brite, followed by Tropicale. So cute!
And if I were to customize a bell, I’d want a pomeranian on it… in honor of my companion Ludwig. :)
If I were to paint my own I’d write out something like ‘My Bike’ on scrabble tile letters.
I love the unique designs and colors! I think my favorite is the “tropical” bell.
I love the orange daisy!
If I were to customize a bell, I’d put a silhouette of a girl in a dress and heels riding a bike.
If I painted my own bell, it would have an abstract design that focused on lines/shapes and colors.
These are really great.
I’d probably want one that says, “Just Ride.” A good reminder to relax, have fun, and get out there.
The 2 chats rouge/agua is definitely my favorite. Colorful, not pink, and CATS.
I’d go with a unicorn if I were to design my own!
ooh, so many delicious abstract designs… but in the end i think i would have to go with the little green monster! cracks me up!
…if i were to paint my own it would be either something vaguely kaleidoscopic, or a purple elephant.
lovely idea, this. thanks!
My favorite is the “bike alarm” bell, it’s cool because it is similar to the original.
I love the black and white “This bike is MY car.” It is just so simple and so true!
If I were to paint my own it wopuld either be a ladybug, or the picture of a bike with many books on it. Yiu know, very teacher like. Or why not? A biking nun! Then I could be a holy roller!
Ooohhh… what a lovely bells!! I can imagine you were so excited to become one ;o) And how great to read that they are handpainted with ecofriendly paint! Wonderful!
Even more beautiful is the simple, but colourful website of Annie. Good job!
Did I already mention that I lóve to win one of these? No? Well.. I wanna join! ;o)
And to tell you wich one I like the most? That must be the fraises – strawberries one. So simple, but so natural! ;o)
And if I had to choose one by myself, I think I would make me a Burberry one ;o) Just because I like the colours, not because of the name or the company. I’m just a classic girl who likes that sort of painting ;o)
My favorite is the speed-o-meter. It is so clever. :)
I would love to win one–my bike is bell-less and on a campus packed with pedestrians one would certainly come in handy. I’d like the chat-special edition (the black cat with stripes) because I have an adorable black cat of my own.
If I designed a bell it might be a solar system or a planet. Something space-y and beautiful.
If I were painting these (which sounds like lots of fun!) I would make one with a robin on it (that’s my bike’s name).
My favorite is the Art Deco #2 bell. It would make a lovely pop of color on my cream-colored bicycle!
If I were to paint my own bell, I think I would do something really bright and flashy, maybe black with designs on it in rhinestones of various colors.
I love the one you chose!
And I’m sooo excited to be moving to a bike-friendly town soon. I was never comfortable cycling at my old uni but my new one seems perfect for cycling.
bike bells, yes such a necessity when pedaling my way around the city!
i adore the brooch bell as well– the mustard colored petals and organic shape of the flower would be perfect to sit atop my dorothy’s handlebars.
if i were to hand-paint my own bell i’d design a bird (either a goldfinch or a cardinal) to fly across the top. and the base/background would be colored a rich, warm plum.
How cute! I would love to give a “This bike is my car” to one of my bike-commuting friends!
I would love a picture of my funny-looking dachshund staring up at me, on a black background.
I’d have to go with either the brooch or the turtle… tough choices!
And if I painted my own… I’d be tempted to go for a painted warning (“Idiot tourists, this bike basket is not a trash can!”) but would hopefully think of something more creative!
I love the broche bell, too! That is my favorite.
If I were to paint my own bell, I’d for sure want it to match my black and gold Batavus Fryslan . . . maybe a little portrait of my mutt? Or my initials.
I scoped out these bells when you mentioned them last week. I’d have a hard time choosing–they are just so dang cute!
I was ready to pick the turtle because I’m slow and I don’t care who knows it, and because sea turtles especially have a special meaning for me & my husband.
But then I saw the dog, who looks very like my Jasper!
Decisions, decisions….
:)
Oh! If I could paint my own I think I’d try to find a way to do a robot. Or maybe a spaceman in his helmet. That’d work.
Oh, my favorite might be “vélo rigolo orange – orange bicycle fun” because the Orange looks delicious and I can’t resist the “wheee!” That’s exactly the sound I make on my bike!
As for my own design… a bell that looks like a juicy cheesburger!
My favorite is vélo rigolo rouge – red bicycle fun! These bike bells are so beautiful! I can honestly say I’ve never wanted to win a giveaway more! :)
For my own design, I would probably paint a colorful explosion of floral patterns.
I love the MPH one! It’s adorable, and would make me feel much faster than I am! ;)
http://www.dringdring.bigcartel.com/product/speed-o-meter-us
I love those bike bells and I really hope to win. I am even a Canadian and so she wouldn’t have to ship it so far.
My favorite is the Orange Bicycle Fun, it will look so awesome on my black bike this summer (positive thinking).
AND, for my second entry, I would love to paint a black dog on one of the bells, in honor of my two black mutts. There’s a black and white dog, but that’s not enough for me!
If I were to buy one I’d get the pink cupcake. Customize? I’d want a large paisley or art deco inspired design :)
Btw, I couldn’t find where to comment on the dringdring site!
My favorite is the speed-o-meter in km! Maybe the US won’t convert to the metric system in my lifetime, but if I ride my bike with that dringdring bell, I’ll be constantly reminded that the rest of the world has. :P
If I could design my own bell, I’d have to paint a lemon slice. Simple :)
My favorite is Tropical.
BTW, I love your blog although this is my first comment.
If I could paint my own design, it would be a sun.
One of my favorite childhood books was Black Beauty, so of course when I saw the black steed (on red) bell, it brought back memories, and touched a soft spot in my heart. Bikes, after all are like our own personal make believe steeds.
If I had to design my own bell it would have a white background with a flower vase accented in blue and honey and blue flowers w/wheat stems poking out of the vase.
I like the “yellow bicycle fun” bell. Groovy color and I dig the bicycle!
HI!!!!!
I am so excited to comment on this post!
I LOVE the tortue – turtle bell!! I had 2 turtles when I was little and one jumped off from my balcony and her hand was almost split in half! I cried for the WHOLE night… and hoping she won’t die! And she didn’t and lived for many more years!
If I would paint my own bell, I would want SPONGEBOB on it!
I just love that crazy thing!
By the way, Spongebob is already 21 years old….
If I were to paint a bell for myself I would paint “Life Is Good” in yello with a blue base.
My favorite is the “This bike is my car” – I plan on going car-free next year, so it would be the perfect motivator/statement.
If I could design my own, it would have a Red Savina pepper engulfed in flames. I would gift it to my husband, whose bike is named after this extremely hot pepper (it even has matching decals and headbadge, courtesy of moi).
I would have to go with the speedometer bell. I am NOT into going fast (as fun as it can be sometimes) but instead, it would remind me to actually slow down and enjoy the view.
If I were able to paint, I would paint a collage of my 2 favorite things other than bicycles. My wife and my music. Perhaps I would customize my bell with a painting of my wife, dancing to my music.
I like the turtle one:)
Cheers!
Melissa
I would paint a honeybee on a dringdring:>
Melissa
They’re all so cute, but my favorite is the abstract flower.
Wow, those bells are looking good. My favourite is the ‘magic orange’. I’m tempted to order one, although that would be the third bell on my bike. :)
Nico
It’s really hard to choose, but I’ve been admiring the cupcake bells for some time.
If I were to paint my own, I would probably choose a celtic knotwork design since I often ride my bike to Irish dance class!
I love the black one with flowers on it!
If I were going to paint my own, I think I’d paint my family crest for ‘Cahill’. It’s a whale blowing water and amuses me no end. Most pictures I see of the crest he’s always pretty cross looking so I would put a big smile on him and have the waves go all around the bell :)
Ohhh, I love these bells!
The SPEED-O-METER (can) is my favorite… its hilarious :)
….would love to have one of those on my bike while taking my panda-bike riding shots!!!
…if I were going to paint my own I would like a POLKA-DOT one… navy blue with white dots… white with red dots… black with white dots…
I love the MPH speedometer. People often ask me how I manage biking through the streets of downtown Atlanta. My response? I don’t ride my bike, I drive it! And since traffic in Atlanta is quite harrowing, I often go faster than the cars anyway.
If I could paint my own bell, it would be an Atlanta Thrashers (NHL) themed bell. Go Blueland!
Very cool! I think my favorite is the one you chose – the brooch.
Oh, and if I were painting my own, I’d think I’d make the face of the bell into a fish tank, complete with tiny castle and happy goldfish.
I would get the Fleur Abstraite. And if I were to paint my own I’d do a daisy against a green background to match my green and white bike!
I can’t decide on my favourite one, either the speedometer or the bike alarm
If I was going to paint anything on a bell, I think I’d camoflouge it in with the rest of the bike
My favorite one is big red ladybug, however, I really love the turtles too. Both are lovely and vibrant in color without being too fussy. A way to keep your bicycle classy, yet adorable. :-)
If I were to design a pattern, I believe I would choose to have a poodle. I own a cute little “Schnoodle” (schnauzer/poodle mix), or should I say she owns me!, and she can be found from time to time in my rear bicycle child trailer along for the ride. :-)
I really love the turtles, but I think the monster would give me a bigger laugh each time I saw it.
I would like to see teddy bears on the bells.
And if were to paint my own, it would have an imagine of one of my lovely greyhounds on it.
The bells are too cute!! I like the same bell that you chose because it would coordinate with my bicycle. If I were to have a customized created I would have the cow jumping over the moon.
I love the bells. They are adorable. Am I supposed to leave a comment here if I want to enter the contest? I hope so. I visited the DringDring website and I loved the bells shown there too!
I would like to see a tiger as a bicycle bell. I think it would be a nice bright orange color and the stripes would be tres’ chic.
Thank you for this. I have a dinky boring bell. I’d love to have the orange bicycle fun bell, it’s so cute and so ME!
Those are adorable, if I were to paint my own I’d draw a corgi on it. I love my dogs!
I looove the orange bicycle fun bell. Weeeeee!
The 2 cats one is really cute! That’d be my pick.
I like the cowboy with the lasso because it reminds me of my 4 year old son.
If I painted my own, I would put my 3 kids names on it along with a golden sun to remind me how happy they make me feel to be their dad.
i LOVE the green cupcake!!!
If I were to paint my own I would paint a little piggy with a twirly tail as the ringer. so cute!
Pingback: and the winner is… « Simply Bike