Vehicle horn horn. Bicycles often have a classic "bulb horn", operated by squeezing a rubber bulb attached to a metal horn. Squeezing the bulb forces air through a steel reed located in the throat of the horn, making it vibrate, producing a single note. The flaring horn matches the acoustic impedance of the reed to the open air, radiating the sound waves efficiently, making the sound louder. Other types of horns used on bicycles include battery-operated horns (sometimes even car horns on 12-volt circuits are incorporated) and small air horns powered by a small can of compressed gas. Oliver Lucas of Birmingham,
Air horn or plastic horn or trumpet (called the "bell") attached to a small air chamber containing a metal reed or diaphragm in the throat of the horn. Compressed air flows from an inlet line through a narrow opening past the reed or diaphragm, causing it to vibrate, which creates sound waves. The flaring horn serves as an acoustic "transformer" to improve the transfer of sound energy from the diaphragm to the open air, making the sound louder. In most horns it also determines the pitch of the sound. When vibrated by the diaphragm, the column of air in the horn vibrates