Auto manufactuter Škoda has updated the classic bicycle bell for the contemporary urban reality, an age of noise-cancelling headphones and distracted pedestrians. With DuoBell, Škoda in collaboration with scientists from the University of Salford, respond to the growing urban challenge of pedestrians being increasingly unable to hear approaching cyclists and motorists due to active noise cancellation (ANC) devices. Through acoustic research, designers identified a narrow frequency range, between 750 and 780 Hz,described as a ‘blindspot’ that ANC systems struggle to suppress.
DuoBell’s design consists of a fully mechanical, dual-resonator bell that emits sound within the “blind spot” range combined with a second tone and an irregular striking mechanism that disrupts headphone algorithms. This allows the bell to be heard from up to 22 metres away, significantly improving reaction time and safety in dense city environments.
The project was developed in collaboration with creative agencies AMV BBDO and PHD, with production company Unit9 building the working prototype. Škoda has also stated that it plans to make the research insights behind the DuoBell publicly available, opening up its findings to inform broader design and safety innovation.
“Bicycle bells have remained almost unchanged for over a century, but the world around them has not,” Ben Edwards, an executive creative director at AMV BBDO, said in a statement.The demand for a smarter bike bell reflects two converging trends, the rise in urban cycling and the widespread use of noise-cancelling headphones. Škoda points to a 24% increase in cyclist–pedestrian collisions in London in 2024, where up to half of pedestrians were estimated to have been wearing headphones. In the United States, a 2018 University of Maryland study found that injuries involving headphone-wearing pedestrians more than tripled over six years. At the same time, rising fuel costs are prompting more people to shift toward bikes and scooters further intensifying shared road use. While widely recognised for vehicles, Škoda’s origins lie in bicycle manufacturing, a legacy it continues today as a partner of the Tour de France. This heritage informs the DuoBell’s design with its form, materials and finishes drawing from the brand’s automotive design language, translating precision and performance into the thoughtful reinvention of an everyday object.
