Originally Posted by
sputniky
If your story is true, you weren't hit. How would a bell have made a difference? If you can't hear a noisy mountain bike approaching, why do you assume that you would hear a bell?
"nearly run down" is a loaded term and is only your fear-based perception.
It makes a huge difference. I run with a bell that has a shut off switch. So I can leave it off on one way bike only trails, or on trails that you can see ahead easily. 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.