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A question about Mr. Bender

Broken_Spoke

Mr. Big Hot Pastrami
Feb 26, 2003
2,410
0
Bozeman, MT
I have noticed that Josh Bender changes the company he rides for fairly frequently. Is there any speculation as to why he does this?
 

KavuRider

Turbo Monkey
Jan 30, 2006
2,565
4
CT
I know he's been with Marzocchi and Smith for quite some time.
I think he just rides for whoever will give him gear/money.

I have heard that he wanted to be on an Ellsworth for a long time, but they wouldn't give him a bike before recently.
 

SquadraCorse

Monkey
Jul 25, 2007
297
0
Ridgefield CT
Watch the vid, grom! Especially pay attention to the part about RESPECT.
Learn some, and you might not embarrass yourself with ignorant comments.
:clapping: Sure thing man. Just because you drop off of anything doesn't make you a good rider. I'll definitely give him credit for his testicular fortitude since it takes some serious nuts (lack of sense?) to drop most of the stuff he has, But my opinion is the majority of stuff he's known for is just sheer stupidity. If you watch his form when he hits lots of those drops I don't think it's anything special. In fact I'd say lots of them might be beyond his ability. But like I said, huge nuts...
 
:clapping: Sure thing man. Just because you drop off of anything doesn't make you a good rider. I'll definitely give him credit for his testicular fortitude since it takes some serious nuts (lack of sense?) to drop most of the stuff he has, But my opinion is the majority of stuff he's known for is just sheer stupidity. If you watch his form when he hits lots of those drops I don't think it's anything special. In fact I'd say lots of them might be beyond his ability. But like I said, huge nuts...

Apparently you havent ridden with the guy or met him. He is really cool to hang out and ride with. hes not the fastest guy out there but is really smooth on trails. He is one of the coolest people I have ever met, being a biker or not. He is all out the sport and being pumped on life. Don't be such a dick and you will get the respect you deserve. Bender stepped up at the last rampage and attempted a line noone thought possible, when he crashed on it and showed everyone it was possible, it advanced the sport.
 
I think he has been on Ellsworth for 3 years now, Rockgarden for a few as well and Marzocchi for at least 5. Alot of pro riders swap teams and bikes. Bender has had a few rides in recent years but think he is pretty settled with a few now that hes been with for a while
 

sittingduck

Turbo Monkey
Jun 22, 2007
1,958
2
Oregon
Broken spoke sorry for the inadvertent thread jack.
Shutting up before this gets out of hand :imstupid:
There's hope for you yet. :clapping:
I guess I could see how you might get a wrong impression about someone that pushes the envelope as hard as he did/does. He gets a lot of attention for crashing, and not so much for normal riding.
 
Dec 11, 2007
43
0
doesnt anyone realize that benders been riding for so many years that when he started hucking it was how people rode? haha like even i remember when i first started bender was my favourite rider in the movies and i would go out and try and out do my friends in how many stairs i could drop to flat. like dont you guys even see similar changes now? look at your latest freeride movies and notice how many full out downhill bikes there were 5 years ago and look at how many slopestyle bikes there are now. things change.... now u gotta do these crazy tricks off smaller drops.... back then it was just hit a huge drop with nice scenary.
 

OrthoPT

Monkey
Nov 17, 2004
721
0
Denver
Bender ...attempted a line noone thought possible, when he crashed on it and showed everyone it was possible...
Umm... not to start a fight here, I just need this one explained to me, but how does crashing a line show that it's possible? Wouldn't that kind of landing tend to point in the other direction?
 

w00dy

In heaven there is no beer
Jun 18, 2004
3,417
51
that's why we drink it here
Bender's a joke. I don't know him personally, and maybe he's a really cool guy, but that doesn't change the fact that he's only famous for hucking himself off of things that he can't land.
 

Broken_Spoke

Mr. Big Hot Pastrami
Feb 26, 2003
2,410
0
Bozeman, MT
You people either cannot read or don't know how to answer a question. If you open a thread anywhere other than the lounge please answer the question at hand and don't be an asshat. SirKnight6 please delete or lock this thread. I had no intention of this turning into a Bender bash.
 

ire

Turbo Monkey
Aug 6, 2007
6,196
4
I've never ridden with him, and don't know him but a good friend of mine hangs out with him every now and then. He has nothing but good things to say about the guy, and he is a good trail rider. He has a bad rap because the only time he gets play is when he is attempting something huge (and he crashes a lot on these attempts). He did help push the sport, by showing what is possible. If you're ever in Ashland, OR go to Ashland Bicycle, they have a pic of him on an old Specialized with a Manitou Ti fork dropping a 30ft drop
 

OGRipper

back alley ripper
Feb 3, 2004
10,647
1,116
NORCAL is the hizzle
Umm... not to start a fight here, I just need this one explained to me, but how does crashing a line show that it's possible? Wouldn't that kind of landing tend to point in the other direction?
I think the point is that even if he didn't stick all the landings, he survived to try again. Many people think a crash means instant death and are afraid to push themselves. Bender made a career out of being the guniea pig and in doing so, yes, he showed a lot of other riders what was possible.

The Bender hating is always funny to me. Smells like jealously more than anything else.

You people either cannot read or don't know how to answer a question. If you open a thread anywhere other than the lounge please answer the question at hand and don't be an asshat. SirKnight6 please delete or lock this thread. I had no intention of this turning into a Bender bash.
This is almost as funny as the Bender-bashing. If you start a thread anywhere, be prepared to lose control of it.
 

sanjuro

Tube Smuggler
Sep 13, 2004
17,373
0
SF
You people either cannot read or don't know how to answer a question. If you open a thread anywhere other than the lounge please answer the question at hand and don't be an asshat. SirKnight6 please delete or lock this thread. I had no intention of this turning into a Bender bash.
Well, you asked a question about a rider that was relevant 10 years ago that the rest of us can only speculate about. And that speculation is going to a Bender diss.

If really want to know about Bender's sponsorship, contact him directly. If you wanted to hear what other think about Bender...
 

ChrisRobin

Turbo Monkey
Jan 30, 2002
3,346
190
Vancouver
One thing to remember is when he had his Apocalypse and Risse Big Foot, a lot of the people on this site were less than 10 years old.
 
Again, please clarify exactly what that means and how that elevates the sport?
The bender sender from the last rampage. Every pro looked at Josh as being nuts for thinking it possible, but when he stepped up and hit it, he looped out off the lip but easily made it to the lander, after that most of the top 5 guys hit it, it is now made famous by Kyle Strait when he suicide no handered it.

Anyone who has the tenacity to hate on an icon in the sport who has brought a lot of riders to the sport and pushed the limit of out sport is no rider. Its like hating on Tomac, Sam Hill, Gary Fischer, or Missy Giove. The sport has enough trouble fighting to keep trails open and to grow for us to bicker over something like this. If you dont like Bender, keep it to yourself, but I am sure everyone of us has hit a drop or double and been super pumped on it, thats how Bender rides, he loves that feeling of accomplishment of hitting something that noone has, he gets bashed on cause he crashes, I am sure you do and I am sure Bender can outride a lot of people on this forum. He has been doing this stuff for years, which means he didnt kill himself or have a career ending crash, which means he is either tough or a good rider, he is both
 

bdamschen

Turbo Monkey
Nov 28, 2005
3,377
156
Spreckels, CA
I look at it this way: Back then everyone was doing crazy dead sailor hucks to flat, or to cliff, or to loose dirt embankment or whatever. A lot of the landings were harsh, no one really had mt. bike suspension dialed in as well as we do now and you were only cool if you went HUGE. Everyone looked like a goon by today's standards, but Bender stood out because he went the biggest and as a result also crashed the hardest.

Stuff like that makes it hard to judge how good a rider someone is, because a lot of it had to do with who had the balls to hit something and how well they coped with the ridiclously over spring badly dampened landings.

Bender could be an amazing rider, but he was only famous for his ballsy hucks so we would never really know.
 

OrthoPT

Monkey
Nov 17, 2004
721
0
Denver
The bender sender from the last rampage. Every pro looked at Josh as being nuts for thinking it possible, but when he stepped up and hit it, he looped out off the lip but easily made it to the lander, after that most of the top 5 guys hit it, it is now made famous by Kyle Strait when he suicide no handered it.

Anyone who has the tenacity to hate on an icon in the sport who has brought a lot of riders to the sport and pushed the limit of out sport is no rider. Its like hating on Tomac, Sam Hill, Gary Fischer, or Missy Giove. The sport has enough trouble fighting to keep trails open and to grow for us to bicker over something like this. If you dont like Bender, keep it to yourself, but I am sure everyone of us has hit a drop or double and been super pumped on it, thats how Bender rides, he loves that feeling of accomplishment of hitting something that noone has, he gets bashed on cause he crashes, I am sure you do and I am sure Bender can outride a lot of people on this forum. He has been doing this stuff for years, which means he didnt kill himself or have a career ending crash, which means he is either tough or a good rider, he is both
Ahem, try reading what I wrote; nowhere did I ever state what I thought of Bender. I simply asked for clarification on a seemingly contradictory statement that crashing a line somehow proves it is actually rideable.

You assume way too much. I don't need some tool, like you, to start preaching to me about what I should type and/or who's a "rider" and who's not. Strangely enough, I have kept my opinion of Bender to myself. However, I recommend that before you have the brilliant idea of taking someone on in an online forum, try reading what they wrote a second time.
 

bcar

Chimp
Dec 3, 2007
8
0
The bender sender from the last rampage. Every pro looked at Josh as being nuts for thinking it possible, but when he stepped up and hit it, he looped out off the lip but easily made it to the lander, after that most of the top 5 guys hit it, it is now made famous by Kyle Strait when he suicide no handered it.

Anyone who has the tenacity to hate on an icon in the sport who has brought a lot of riders to the sport and pushed the limit of out sport is no rider. Its like hating on Tomac, Sam Hill, Gary Fischer, or Missy Giove. The sport has enough trouble fighting to keep trails open and to grow for us to bicker over something like this. If you dont like Bender, keep it to yourself, but I am sure everyone of us has hit a drop or double and been super pumped on it, thats how Bender rides, he loves that feeling of accomplishment of hitting something that noone has, he gets bashed on cause he crashes, I am sure you do and I am sure Bender can outride a lot of people on this forum. He has been doing this stuff for years, which means he didnt kill himself or have a career ending crash, which means he is either tough or a good rider, he is both
The "Is Bender relevant" arguement is as old as it is stupid. To use someone's opinion on the matter as a litmus test for whether they are a real rider is even dumber. By comparing Bender to Tomac, Sam Hill, Gary Fisher, and Missy Giove you raised the level of stupidity into the stratosphere, so congratulations. Regardless of what you think of him, your statements are idiotic. As soon as Bender:

1. Starts a major bike company.
2. Wins a World Cup DH title.
3. Both.

You may make your arguement, until then, you should probably save yourself from looking even dumber.
 
Ok, I wasnt attempting to call anyone out or to bag on anyone. I was simply trying to point out that Bender was once an icon in the sport and just because he is not anymore, doesnt mean he should be majorly bagged on for the type of riding he liked to do. He obviously isnt on top of the game anymore, but is still a great person for the sport as he is building tons of trails for resorts and such now a days.

I wasnt aware that Cam hit the gap first, so sorry for the misimformation.

You are right, Hill has won and will continue to do so, Tomac won a bunch and started a company....bad comparison. I was just trying to say that Bender expanded the sport, brought riders in, and did tons of product testing and parts breaking over the years to grow the sport that is all. I meant nothing personal to anyone on here and certainly dont feel as though calling me a tool was necessary.
 

ChrisRobin

Turbo Monkey
Jan 30, 2002
3,346
190
Vancouver
A lot, but not everyone. :busted:
Totally agree... but a lot of people here weren't really around back then.

I just seem to remember back when Bender was popular, he was crashing, but wasn't being trash talked as much.

I used to think: "wow, he's either has some serious balls or no sense at all or maybe he's onto something completely else." Either way, he was doing stuff I don't think anyone was doing and I think he was somewhat clearing a path for others. Maybe he didn't have the right technique, equipment, whatever... but he was there doing it or trying to do it. Plus, it gave Karpiel a hell of a name (even though we all know how that turned out) but I'm sure it didn't hurt sales when Bender was around.

Ahhh the good 'ol days... when you didn't care how much your DH bike weighed. All that mattered were big tires and big suspension.
 

OrthoPT

Monkey
Nov 17, 2004
721
0
Denver
I meant nothing personal to anyone on here and certainly dont feel as though calling me a tool was necessary.
Sorry 'bout that; I guess I was tired after working a long hard day and replying to your post right after reading it was a bad call. I think we addressed that in PM's BTW.
 

Zutroy

Turbo Monkey
Dec 9, 2004
2,443
0
Ventura,CA
Bender is an idiot, he had more balls than brains. I was at the DV drop he did back in the day. There was no way ANYONE was going to land the drop. You gotta wonder when the best riders in the world are standing around saying your an Idiot for trying it........

To me he is the Seth Enslow of the sport....a guy more known for his failures than what he pulled off.