Just had a ‘hike a bike’ session up the Lofu Tau trail, very sunburnt but one of those days were the hard work is quickly rewarded.

That makes otherwise rational normal people* do utterly irrational crazy shit?

Beer
Drugs
Envy
Women
Politics
Mountain Biking
Mid life crisis etc…..

Its not just religion

I ride in a little more heat and humidity than the UK and I have found the venting to be fine, a lot better than the Recon it replaced.
Been using mine since the beginning of June and the only negative I have found is the visor bolts, they appear to come loose easily and I have already lost one and getting a replacement from Bell is nigh on impossible, however being British I have just bodged up a solution with some M5 bolts.
I have also been running it with goggles on some trails and its a revelation although its a difficult look to pull off on singletrack/XC type trails, I have found that when worn with my Radars it does pinch a little at the side, nothing too serious.

As has already been asked who is stocking Bell Supers?

Got mine in Japan.

Bell Super user here, only been using it for a month but very happy, well ventilated and the straps work well but as noted above, it does feel a little large.

Glad I’m not the only one disappointed by the WHO facility at the end, not one picture of Keith Moon on the walls…

IGMC

Did my first 21k this year, its very doable and I received a lot of good advice from this site, go for it.

Thought it was harmless entertainment, bit strange watching a non-gory zombie flick though.

He is not going to be able to stay in the airport forever (have you seen the prices of food and drink at airports) and with the Winter Olympics due in Russia soon my guess is he will be asked to leave soon to ensure no screw ups over security co-operation, a way will be found for him to leave.
I genuinely think he will be safer if he just gives himself up, once in custody not even the NSA would try to do anything stupid and he will probably get a good pick of defence lawyers and all the free publicity he wants.
Edit: For the film, I’m thinking Sean Penn, this is too much of a political hot potato for Tom Hanks.

Not ridden there myself but maybe one of these contacts can help?
Taiwan Bike Shop List[/url]

Isn’t MOAB on everyone’s list, its definitely on mine when I get the cash/divorce?
Did a few days at Fujimi MTB park in Japan in May, although not what you are looking for riding wise it was a was good fun, ride all day, hit the hot springs, knock back some sake then crash in a little traditional cottage, highly recommended.
Heard that Nepals a real eye opener and something I hope to do in the next couple of years, makes change from Europe or the states,….http://www.spiceroads.com/tours/pokhara.

Did some local Lantau trails though had to get out at 7am to avoid the heat, very hot and struggling to handle the steep climbs with my new 1×10 setup I headed back early, pity cuss its been damper than an Otters pocket for the last couple of months and I wanted to enjoy nice dry trails.

On a brighter not though the Bell Super does an incredible job of keeping my head cool.

Possibly the only thing I regret when leaving the UK was parting with my 159 Sportswagon.
Compared with my previous car, a mk5 Golf TDi, it was a paragon of reliability and although the 1.9 diesel wasn’t the quickest it suited me to a tee.
I never really was into sporty or quirky cars (always thought of them as a white goods thing) so it was always nice when strangers would come up to me in the Sainsbury car park and say ‘nice car’, check its service history, ensure you stick to the service schedule and go for it.

Possibly the only thing I regret when leaving the UK was parting with my 159 Sportswagon.
Compared with my previous car, a mk5 Golf TDi, it was a paragon of reliability and although the 1.9 diesel wasn’t the quickest it suited me to a tee.
I never really was into sporty or quirky cars (always thought of them as a white goods thing) so it was always nice when strangers would come up to me in the Sainsbury car park and say ‘nice car’, check its service history, ensure you stick to the service schedule and go for it.

Backpacking through South West China to the Vietnam border 5 years ago.
St Patricks week shenanigans in the US with a couple of buddies covering NY, Philadelphia and Atlantic City, 18 years ago, ouch!.
Been to japan many times but one trip 7 years ago with my Japanese ex, Tokyo (for crimbo), Kyoto (for New Year), Hakone (for the hot springs) and Kobe (for a beef treat in a traditional restaurant) all in one hit, perfect.

SB66c with standard XT build (except I have dropped down to 1×10 with a 30t Widgit chainring), 160 34 Floats, DT Swiss Wheelset and 150mm Lev, not weighed it but guessing it comes in around 28lb.
Struggling to get around using 1×10 having previously ‘enjoyed’ 2×10 but persevering until X01 comes out.

With 95% humidity, a temperature in the 30s and the possibility of no shops for 3-4 hours riding (especially of riding around TMS) then better to be safe than sorry, I drop down to 2l in winter.

Good point about the sunscreen, essential in summer!

When do you plan to ride and where, there are some bit differences as SEA is a large area?
Most of my riding is in Hong Kong which can differ depending on the season, generally though prepare to be damp either via sweat or rain!
I get by wearing Endura Singletrack shorts and TLD or similar shirts, if you have anything that can unzip at the front even better, try to make sure you wear socks and takes spares, humidity plays havoc with your feet.
One upside of the heat though is you can jump into a river to cool down and be dry again in no time, however, your still going to smell like a dead Posen at the end of the ride.
Also, highly recommend that you take no less than a 3 little bladder, especially if out in summer, oh, and mosquito repellent.

Have SPD’s on my SB66c and use that for all day rides and visits to MTB parks, even did a DH park in it last month.

This certainly adds to the ‘what tyre for’ posts.

Edit: oops, must refresh before adding my witty remark!!!!!

So, anyone know if these bolts are standardized, guessing most of them are made in them same factory?

Bought it from a stall at an MTB Park in Japan late last month, there was a DH contest on with lots of local traders pitched up amongst the pit crews etc, that’s where I saw the Bell super and thought, why not as it only cost around 85GBP.
Incidentally, its good, lots of ventilations (even in HK heat), comfortable and a revelation wearing with goggles, highly recommended.

Live in Hong Kong so UK dealers may not be much use to me (although they may be better than the local guys here), however I noticed that CRC did have some helmet spares so thought I would ask if they are all the same?

Despite being skirted by a Typhoon (Weather: Cyclone T3) I still managed to get out on a group ride, bit slippery mind and when it did rain, it did really rain.

Managed to live in a monogamous relationship with one bike for the last 3 years but that is just down to a lack of storage space.
If pushed I would like to get a HT for some light XC and hill climbing duties but the SB66 does OK covering a lot of bases, this recent generation of 150/160 travel bikes really are very versatile.

He must not know that much if the Chinese are letting him go, so I guess he has served his purpose for their own media (the American spy on you too!) and are happy to get rid of him before he becomes a liability.
For maximum damage to the yanks, I would expect him to pitch up in London before Monday claiming diplomatic immunity, the legal shenanigans involved in deporting him alone should buy him 5-7 years.

Some comedy ones here though I did fracture a couple of ribs on the POV shot.

Blooper reel at TMS

Wow, 51

Have a 150mm version and very pleased with it, over 4 months of use and no problems.

Miranda is the reason I left the country FACT

Running a Widgit chainring (http://www.widgit.com.au/) at the moment with my XT drivetrain that includes a Shadow Plus and it seems to be working OK.
Although its a little above your budget you may be able to pick up a good 2nd bargain, it also means that you do not need to worry (in theory) about chain retention at the front.
Still early days with it but opted for a 30t ring up front (11-36t at back) and not found it too difficult to climb although I must stress I have only been out on a couple of solo runs so far.

Will try that Tom, if not successful I will try using Elecard on my home PC later.

Added one, pity I am limited to 500MB uploads

CaptainF, thought it was near the Botanical Gardens, cant say I spend much time on the island as I stay out on Lantau or Kowloon most of the time.

This one was trying out the panoramic mode on my iphone, these are the two bridges connecting Lantau Island and the New territories to Tsing Yi (Tsing Ma and Tin Kua Bridges) , if you travel to HK and go by bus into town you will cross the bridge on the left.

Did my first uplift holiday in the Fujimi Panarama MTB Park in Japan a few weeks ago….

This is the view from the top (iPhone pic) and this is the pic of our group of middle aged warriors….

Its good to get back to japan, the food, people in fact everything was great, also good to stay in a traditional guest house..

My stab at videoing one of the downhill routes here:

I imagine that bomber will get dropped off at a local Essex garage and it will be ‘cut and shut’ back to its former glory in a week.

Apparently the Spitfires in Burma did not exist and the operations been called off.

Would have liked maybe HBO having a crack at this in series form, I cant imagine its possible to make a film covering all the narratives of the book and I imagine this new film version does not even try.
Pity, but at least Hollywood cant go back in time and trash the original book, right?

Oh, and I thought it was Zee, as in World War Zee (3).

I just have had a couple of digestives but still feel empty inside, what biscuit for ’emptiness’?

After being at the Fujimi MTB Park in Japan the week before this weekend was a little bit of an anti-climax, did go out and test my new Widgit chain ring up some mountain as I just went to 1×10, result = I need to work on my leg muscles….

The reward though was a nice bacon and egg bap at the other side, needed it to give me the energy to ‘hike a bike’ back up, not easy when the temperature hits 30 and theres 90% humidity!

Yes, the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department, luckily there is a lot of good work going on between them and the HKMBA here so trails are gradually being opened up.
Its just a pity that there are a lot of gems out here to ride that are sadly not open to bikes, but due to the increasing popularity of mountain biking here I hope that starts to change.