[kidwoo]

Some people think all downhillers have no brains, do you agree?

I do


It seems to me that Josh had a pretty long run of trying things that were definitely big (and props for that). But rather than find features with appropriate landings that increased the chance of success, he kept building bikes with 17" high bottom brackets and tons of travel to compensate for things that really just shouldn't have been attempted without altering the flat as hell landings a lot of these things had.

I mean you look at something like this.

Pause that video at 1:15 That's easily within range (and probably above it) of what JB gets alot of credit for. The only difference is that there was enough thought put into matching a trajectory that even overshooting the thing produced a desireable outcome. There's no reason that drop couldn't be done on a bicycle. But there's a big difference between that and something like the jaw drop.....there's the appropriate landing vs. some crazy modified vehicle. One that's so altered that it's actually really unstable.

I'm not about to trash on a fellow biker for making sacrifices to ride every day, that's just weird.

But I definitely understand where a lot of the flack comes from. He's lined up a lot of things over the years that really were just a bad idea. Not because of the size, but because of his approach to the way he handled the size.

 

[KavuRider]

I do


It seems to me that Josh had a pretty long run of trying things that were definitely big (and props for that). But rather than find features with appropriate landings that increased the chance of success, he kept building bikes with 17" high bottom brackets and tons of travel to compensate for things that really just shouldn't have been attempted without altering the flat as hell landings a lot of these things had.

I mean you look at something like this.

Pause that video at 1:15 That's easily within range (and probably above it) of what JB gets alot of credit for. The only difference is that there was enough thought put into matching a trajectory that even overshooting the thing produced a desireable outcome. There's no reason that drop couldn't be done on a bicycle. But there's a big difference between that and something like the jaw drop.....there's the appropriate landing vs. some crazy modified vehicle. One that's so altered that it's actually really unstable.

I'm not about to trash on a fellow biker for making sacrifices to ride every day, that's just weird.

But I definitely understand where a lot of the flack comes from. He's lined up a lot of things over the years that really were just a bad idea. Not because of the size, but because of his approach to the way he handled the size.

You pretty much nailed it.

The Icon Sender @ the Rampage is a good example of how a jump/drop that big can be properly built and executed.

 

[demo 9]

 

[JCL]

Looking at the old Jaw drop in that vid again I reckon if you packed the landing down somehow? and cleared the landing for a rather fast run-out! someone like Gee or Brendan could probably stick it.

 

[daisycutter]

I do


It seems to me that Josh had a pretty long run of trying things that were definitely big (and props for that). But rather than find features with appropriate landings that increased the chance of success, he kept building bikes with 17" high bottom brackets and tons of travel to compensate for things that really just shouldn't have been attempted without altering the flat as hell landings a lot of these things had.

Shock technology in 2001 was not what it is now. You cannot judge 10 years ago by today’s bikes and technology. Josh has big balls and was a trail blazer for the sport. I always hear about stretching the boundaries of the sport and how great that is. Bender expanded what people thought could be accomplished on a bike. Just by that standard alone he deserves respect. All this hate **** should be reserved for all the bike thieves of the world not one of the tribe.

 

[Tmeyer]

Benders a solid guy. I took a run w/ him last Saturday on Grafton and he's still killing it on a bike. Super easy going and when it really comes down to it, he's still a rider just like us. Stop the hate!

 

[kidwoo]

Shock technology in 2001 was not what it is now. You cannot judge 10 years ago by today’s bikes and technology. Josh has big balls and was a trail blazer for the sport. I always hear about stretching the boundaries of the sport and how great that is. Bender expanded what people thought could be accomplished on a bike. Just by that standard alone he deserves respect. All this hate **** should be reserved for all the bike thieves of the world not one of the tribe.

I don't have any animosity for the guy....jeesh.


What I said also had very little to do with shock performance. Almost nothing actually.