Originally Posted by
hig4s
But I have many times seen hikers ahead going the same direction and flipped on my bell to have them immediately turn and look for the sound, even though before that they had not heard my "noisy" mountain bike. A high pitched ring carriers a lot farther and is more noticeable than the normal sounds a bike makes.
And I have had people that are completely oblivious to a bell that is repeatedly rung mere feet from them. A bell is not a panacea.
In the OP's story, he wasn't hit. How would a bell have made a difference? The OP wasn't "run down," but was obviously startled. If the OP was on a multi use trail he should have had an expectation that he was going to encounter other trail users, including people on bikes.