Home » Review: Hornit – The world’s loudest horn

Review: Hornit – The world’s loudest horn

Hornit

Some might say that the label ‘loudest’ is probably a brave claim. Before I go any further, let me assure you that it is not. Hornit is a horn for your bike, that has been specially designed to be as loud as possible. In fact, it is about 4 times as loud as a typical car horn.

Now being from Oxford, which is a cycling city, I can tell you that more often than not a regular ding ding of a cycle bell doesn’t really do much. In fact, it raises a few smirks, and people just look at you as if you are the annoying one. Obviously this is when they’re crossing the road in front of Waterstones, and you’re trying to get through. Or you’re trying to go through Broad Street and some click happy tourists get in your way. I can go on, but if you’re from Oxford, and have ever been on a bike, you know exactly what I am talking about. Obviously, once you go past the pedestrians, we do have the little matter of all the buses on Cowley Road, etc. to deal with too.

The makers of Hornit have obviously dealt with all this and more, and have come up with the ideal solution. As a cyclist, you need more presence than that of a car, so you can get noticed. So the simple solution is to be as loud as possible.

Hornit have even produced a video to show you how effective it is:

Now that we have talked about it, let’s look at the actual product.

The Hornit itself looks much like a bike light, and fits on just like a typical bike light as well. The clever bit is that it actually comes with an elastic clip on trigger, which means that not only can you attach the horn wherever you like, the trigger, which is just a small button, can be placed right next to your thumb on the handle bar. From experience, this is one of the more annoying things about cycle rings/horns, and the makers have done well to address this issue.

Once on, the horn is secure, and stays put. It is also rated for IP44, which means it can deal with rain and typical UK weather as well.

Now, is it really as loud as they say it ?

Oh, believe me. It IS! I was a bit worried that it might even be a bit too loud! However, I have checked, and so far I can find nothing that says there are any audible limits.

A typical car horn is about 110db, while this is about 8 times louder. More like a lorry horn even. Of course, do not try this indoors, as the reflected sound will make it a lot louder. However, once outside, it is actually quite good.

It even comes with two modes of horns. An on the road mode, which is 140db, and a ‘park mode’, which is half as loud. Both are quite handy.

Armed with this, I returned to those streets again. This time, the reactions were different. People get out of the way, and cars (and opening car doors) see you. The trigger is a special touch which means you don’t even have to reach out for the horn.

So, my verdict? It is definitely a great product, and worth having if you drive in busy areas. Almost a must for cities like London, Oxford, etc.

The Hornit retails for £34.99, and can be bought directly from their website:

http://www.thehornit.com/

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