Steve Peat & Josh Bender Inducted into the Mountain Bike Hall of Fame

Sep 6, 2018
by Richard Cunningham  
2018 Hall of Fame voting
Steve Peat
2018 Hall of Fame voting
Josh Bender
2018 Hall of Fame voting
Ken Chlouber
Kennett Brothers HOF 2018
Paul, Simon and Jonathan Kennett

Mountain Bike Hall of Fame Announces 2018 Inductees

This month, on September 21 and 22, the Mountain Bike Hall of Fame will induct six new members, including two pivotal figures in the Pinkbike community, at a dinner awards ceremony that will take place at the HOF headquarters in the Marin Museum of Bicycling.

Steve Peat has been one of the most inspirational downhill downhill racer of the past two decades. His affable manners off track and absolutely driven riding style on course are well known, but I doubt that many of us can count the younger riders that he has mentored, either directly, or with a few chosen words at the right moment.

Josh Bender's go big or go home style is almost as famous as the swagger he threw down during his formative years. Bender's successful "first descents" pale in comparison to the number of spectacular failures that have been recorded on film and viewed by untold millions on the inter-web. The real Josh Bender is quiet and introspective - and he hasn't lost the skills.

Steve Peat and Josh Bender will be inducted beside Leadville Trail 100 founder Ken Chlouber, along with brothers Paul, Simon and Jonathan Kennett, who brought the sport to New Zealand. It should be a great party.


From the Mountain Bike Hall of Fame:




An amazing group of Inductees… come ride with them in Fairfax!

You certainly won’t want to miss our fabulous Induction Weekend at the Mountain Bike Hall of Fame in beautiful Fairfax, California, September 21st and 22nd! It’s a weekend filled with fun, sun, and hanging out with the new Inductees! Get to know them over a 3-event weekend of great food, beer, legendary rides and the incredible Marin Museum of Bicycling / Mountain Bike Hall of Fame collections. Be part of history – be here!

2018 Induction Weekend Tickets on sale now!
HOF logo


Posted In:
Industry News Steve Peat Josh Bender


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87 Comments
  • 97 0
 The Mountain Bike Hall of Fame has been inducted into the Steve Peat and Josh Bender league of legends. Congrats MBHOF, you deserve it.
  • 3 0
 It's also the act of recognizing that person by their peers (aka the public that actually "matters" to them). There's a fair amount of ceremony and feel-goodery but it's done with good intentions. Like Thanksgiving dinner in the US; you wear a nice sweater and are thankful for *whatever*, but it's really about eating turkey!
  • 3 0
 @plyawn: I dislike the giblets.
  • 2 1
 @endlessblockades: I bet you’d nibble peatys giblets
  • 1 0
 @Wincobankchef: You lost your wager, then.
  • 26 4
 I don’t really understand what a hall of fame is. Is it a North American thing? Do they just get their picture on a wall or something? Who decides who gets in? Who decides who decides?
  • 9 7
 The public. Unless you have been living in a box or under a rock, you must have seen the constant 'vote for me' posts for it. And the place itself is a museum type affair from what I gather. With pictures and and information about the inductees. As with any musuem, it exists in one place and you have to travel there to see it
  • 39 0
 @clarky78: thank you for the explanation. I mostly live between rocks, so had not seen any such posts!
  • 18 1
 @clarky78: Just dont expect to travel to the MBHOF and actually ride a MTB. Why? Marin, California, thats why.
  • 7 1
 @clarky78: the public... but only if the public is willing to pay a membership with the Marin Bicycling Museum... if you don't pay you cant vote... welcome to america...
  • 7 1
 @Boardlife69: Wait... they relocated the mtb hall of fame from colorado to marin? From a hub of mtb culture to a hotbed of mtb hatred?
  • 3 0
 @BryceBorlick: marin county is the birthplace of the first mtbikes I believe
  • 4 0
 @TheLongMan: It's debatable like just about everything other than the fact that Marin trails are run by the floppy hat pedestrian mafia that hates bikes.
  • 1 0
 @Boardlife69: There's plenty of good riding if you know where to go, but yeah...I wouldn't travel for it.
  • 2 0
 @endlessblockades: I saw an oil painting from 1890 that showed a cyclist spooking a group of horses pulling a stagecoach over a rocky Alpine pass. I believe that may have been the birth of MTBing and our never ending war with horse owners. Marin is the birthplace of DIY frame building, not mountain biking.
  • 2 0
 @Boardlife69: Marin is the birthplace of marketing...
  • 1 0
 @Boardlife69: It's definitely debatable who road a bike on dirt first. I believe they are leaning on the birthplace of mountain biking based on the fact that this is where it was actually turned into a sport and production of off road specific bicycles began to be mass produced. They hosted the first DH races a short distance from the museum as well.
  • 1 0
 Who the fucks actually in the mountain biking hall of fame because they must be good if these two have only just broken into it.
  • 3 0
 @Jsmoke: Repost from the "when did you start riding" article a while back:

In WW1 (around 1910) the italian army had Bianchi develop full suspension bicycles for the Alpini (mountain troops).
These bikes where dedicated downhill mountain bikes and could also be folded so they could be easily carried on a backpack or shuttled on mules up the mountain.
I guess Eagle was not ready back than...
bsamuseum.wordpress.com/1911-bianchi-military-folding-bicycle
So no, mountain biking was definitely not invented in marin in the 70ies.
Visiting a museum on the alpine war in northern Italy I saw an old black and white film where they raced them against each other down the mountain just like they did with skis in the winter time which started the whole Ski racing thing in Europe but for some reason the biking thing didn't really pick up the same way.

Bottomline: Bianchi mass produced produced tens of thousands if not hundreds of thousands of specific mountain bikes way before any of the founders of mountain biking where even born.

Also I live right across the street from the museum in Fairfax and it's a cool little show about the start of marketing mountain biking. More interesting for visiting cyclists than the local trails...
  • 2 0
 @michibretz:
Why did you even move to Fairfax? You diss the museum, local trails and in general have a very non-Fairax vibe about you. Marin isn’t perfect but the museum is legit and the people involved are passionate about cycling history.
  • 2 0
 @Jsmoke: Bianchi made the first suspension bike for the military in 1913. It was made for the northern rifle regement (Alps). Are you telling me that the Italians did NOT race each other on those things over 100 years ago??? I am 100% certain that they did (old photos) and with a few bottles of wine on the line. They raced their hearts out for the wine, women and the glory. Agreed, Marin was the first to market MTB.
EDIT: didnt see the excellent post from @michibretz
  • 1 0
 @EricHarger: I love fairfax and I love living here.
Doesn’t mean I have to pretend the riding is better than it is or have to agree with mountainbikeing being invented here.
And I also said the museum is cool...
  • 21 3
 Finally, Josh gets his due! Absolutely does he belong in there - and for all you nay-sayers - try riding his Karpeil down and off that stuff and see if you could stick it! It's not the bike the guys have today all fine tuned and engineered to the hilt. He pretty much slapped on whatever suspension he thought was needed and dealt with it. Congrats Josh!
  • 14 48
flag JHFreerider (Sep 6, 2018 at 5:15) (Below Threshold)
 I am confused...Bender could never "stick" anything as you put it. Haven't you watched any of the New World Disorder videos? What a dishonor to the other mountain bikers that are in the hall of fame to have Bender inducted. No skill, just a no-fear suicidal behavior on a mountain bike. No I haven't dropped off a 60 foot cliff, but the stuff that I do ride I successfully pull off more often than not, same as most other riders (excluding Bender). If anyone doubts me still, watch him do the cliff huck over the Marzocchi truck and crash hard, then Wade Simmons hucks the SAME cliff in the same spot with only 7" of travel and doesn't even bottom out his suspension he lands so smoothly. That is the difference between skill vs. no-skill.
  • 28 8
 @JHFreerider: you're a f*cken idiot!! You see a few vids of bender crashing so he has no skill. I guess Greg Minaar has no skills either because hes one of the few riders I've seen crash and snap a frame. Get a life Bender is a legend and inpired people lile me to get on a bike in the first place so eat a bag of dicks!!!
  • 29 0
 @mhoshal: nice. I thought the comments section was getting a little soft lately. Thanks for holding it down and bringing back the classic keyboard rage we are all accustomed to reading.
  • 6 4
 @JHFreerider: he also didn't spend days making the smoothest run he could possibly make. He seen something that looked cool and hucked it with no take offs or landings built lets see you have the balls to do that on a 60+ pound bike. Bet you don't and never will.
  • 4 3
 @dwmetalfab: no worries I'll always defend a legend like bender!!!
  • 2 0
 Or ride a one hit walmart bike of some cliff?
  • 5 0
 @JHFreerider - it's called Hall of Fame, not Hall of Skill and like it or not, Josh Bender is easily the most famous person among this year's inductees.
  • 3 0
 @JHFreerider: wasn't it about pushing boundaries and raising the bar of what humans can do on mountain bikes? Would rampage be as extreme and amazing as it is today without these people?
  • 4 0
 Least not forget, Rampage probably wouldn't exist without Bender. Dude was a visionary!
  • 2 1
 @mhoshal: What a douche! and he calls himself a freerider??? Nice! We all owe Mr. Bender a huge thank you for progressing the sport in a way that won't be duplicated...EVER!!! That guy probably hated Evel Knievel too!! Virgin, Utah should change the name to Bender. I always think of Bender when I ride in Virgin, ALWAYS! Thanks Josh Bender...Legend!!!!!
  • 2 1
 @JHFreerider: you are one salty dog my dude
  • 1 2
 @jrm36: Thanks! Although I've been informed that I am a bit surly today.
  • 2 0
 @JHFreerider: "No I haven't dropped off a 60 foot cliff, but the stuff that I do ride I successfully pull off more often than not, same as most other riders (excluding Bender)."

The "Stuff you ride". How sweet, you drop curbs and ride plywood/2X4 jumps in your yard. Better yet, your Mom tells you you're the best and brings you a glass of Cool-Aid. You keep doing you sport and the rest of us will hold the fort down.

Can anyone else agree that it is a very positive thing that this internet warrior isn't in charge of the inductions into the "Hall of Fame". I can see it now, "No, they suck at riding a bike, they fell off and crashed hard too many times, they can't be brought in."

By this logic, no one should ever be inducted, we all crash a lot, if you don't, you're not trying hard enough.

Bender was the reason those of us who actually huck, do it. He progressed the sport and showed what the boundaries were in his time. Most of all he showed you can go big and take some spills, but get up and throw some duct-tape on it and keep going big.
  • 9 0
 Ahh this is class!
I thought Peaty was already in there but yeah its amazing to see Josh get in there - the guy massively pushed freeride mountain biking and has been behind the scenes with rampage etc for years

Well done guys Smile
  • 8 0
 Awesome to see the Kennett brothers in there. You might not know who they are, but if you have enjoyed videos of, ridden in or plan to ride in NZ then you have seen their work. Well deserved.
  • 7 0
 Nice work Kennett Brothers. I benefit from your efforts daily.
  • 8 3
 I’d love the designers of Maxxis Minion DHF to be in the Mountain Biking Hall of Fame. It is one of top 20 inventions that made MTB what it is today.
  • 1 0
 I'll up-vote that to the MOON. Good call.
  • 1 0
 There were other tires that really hepled grow mtb before Minions. I remember when front suspension was a game changer too
  • 2 0
 @RollinFoSho: yes there were, it's just that none of them, maybe apart from Highroller, stood the test of time. Currently even some XC tyres resemble it's design (like side knobs of XR2). Also extremely few are as all round as minion in terms of riding types (trail>DH) types of terrain and conditions (wet, dry). On top of that it rolls better than vast majority of gravity tyres. To me, and I bet to most riders out there, it is the king of all tyres, an absolute benchmark. You just can't go wrong with it anywhere where spikes are not necessary.
  • 1 0
 @WAKIdesigns: Ya True, Minions rock!
  • 1 0
 I just think back to the 90’s when mtb tires were evolving and creating the sport, Tioga, Kenda, and Panaracer... were the tires we ran. I remember when 2.1 tires came out and we had to have them. But I have to agree that the Minion DHF was the undiputed champ for a while after that.
  • 1 0
 @RollinFoSho: I’m too young to remember that. My riding “career” is as long as Minions. Started around 1999, 2000
  • 1 0
 @WAKIdesigns: another fun fact. “Plus tires” first hit the scene in the 90’s with the Nokian Gazzolloddi. It was a funny time, a lot of people thought they were silly and regected them for being ridiculously large. But they were a game changing front tire at the time. Most people think that the Maxxis Minion DHF was invented and all companies copy them but even Maxxis was copying and learning from other companies before that. I remember coming up with the dropper post idea around 1996 and friends sort of laughed at the idea!
  • 1 0
 @RollinFoSho: if there were some things before doesn't bother me much. There were smart phone befor Apple released IPhone 1. It's just that they sucked arse. For me Gazza 3.0 had little to do with plus tyres, nobby nic plus weighs like 900g, gazza weighed double. And it doesn't make any sense to make tyres bigger than 2.6 with aggressive pattern, it just doesn't help in anything. Meanwhile short knobbed 2.8-3.0 make sense of super gloop XC through snow and swamps. I had Gazza 2.6 and it was sht. I know because around 2004 I borrowed a bike from a friend and he had highrollers. I was like, woooow tyres can be that good! Then in 2008 I tried the Minion DHF, and oh ym ghawd. Everyone wanted them because Sam Hill was using them front and rear.
  • 1 0
 @WAKIdesigns: Sure, I’m not trying to argue about Minions. All I’m trying to say is that we should give credit to those who hepled create Mountain Biking in the first place. It was such a completely new sport. People were making new products that had never been made before such as wider tires with knobs, even just that was a new concept.
  • 7 1
 About fu....ng time Josh gets the honour!
  • 3 0
 About time Peaty was inducted. There are some people that have been inducted that NOBODY outside USA knows of. At least Peaty and Bender are world wide known within MTB.
  • 1 0
 Cheers to you Peaty! Well deserved and long overdue! I've loved watching your career unfold since as long as I can remember. I'd honestly rather meet you in person over anyone else in the sport (even Greg). I have Won't Back Down in my shop DVD right now, and I've probably watched it about 25-30 times. You're an inspiration and a LEGEND!
  • 2 0
 Two living legends that pushes Downhill und Freeride in new dimensions. Well-deserved acknowledgment for their "riding-life". Keep on pushing!
  • 3 1
 Peaty and Bender, totally deserving no brainer inductees. Now can we work on getting Tippie, Simmons, Schley and Zink in there?
  • 1 0
 My bad. The Fro riders already inducted but not Zink yet.
  • 2 0
 Bender single handedly took the sport to the next level. Say what you want, but he is the Evel Knevel of the sport. Sacrifice his body for the glory!
  • 1 0
 They have always been in the unofficial hall of fame for many riders, congratulations both on the recognition that is well deserved.
  • 1 0
 DAMN right, Peaty deserves his place as one of the most inspirational riders of his generation and for being a generally nice guy. #LEGEND
  • 3 0
 Yeah Bender, well deserved!!!
  • 3 0
 Congrats Bender! You deserve it!
  • 3 0
 Tracy Moseley isn't in there yet. That needs sorting out next year!!!
  • 3 2
 Such a great news to see Peaty & Bender made it into the mountain bike hall of fame,totally deserved well earned.
  • 2 0
 Bender’s cliff drop equals balls of steel
  • 1 0
 where does all the money that the MBHOF make go? back into grassroots? to support injured riders?
  • 1 0
 It's a small non-profit, I think currently run by Joe and Connie Breeze. It's not a big money-maker, but does serve as a hob of sorts for the local riding community and they host cool events from time to time.
  • 2 1
 @pvccpv: "All the money"? HA! I'd be surprised if they even cover the rent. It seems like a labor of love.
  • 2 1
 ^what endlessblockades said. Marin is some of the most expensive real estate in the world. The fact that they are able to keep the lights on is amazing, and I'm not even being sarcastic
  • 1 0
 @pvccpv: oops my reply was meant for @hunty101 of course.
  • 1 0
 @pvccpv: well that's cool then, at least it has a point to it then.
  • 1 0
 @endlessblockades: well when they ask big bucks to even vote for a rider to be "inducted" then it raises an eyebrow, I don't need a hall of fame to remind me of the legends that have pioneered the sport and pushed boundaries so other than holding local events I don't get the point, and I can be sure that the rent is well covered Wink
  • 1 0
 @hunty101: The guys n gals who run it have an archive going back to the very first MTB zines and a lot of historical ephemera and bikes. I feel likes it's done more as a service to the tribe then as a business. It's a museum. Nobody is getting rich over there! Buncha old bike hippies.
  • 2 0
 GOOD.
  • 3 2
 Steve Peat for President.
  • 1 0
 Peaty, Bender and Chlouber for the remake of Fist Full of Dollars
  • 1 0
 Congrats from Peru!, LEGENDS!!!
  • 1 0
 downhill downhill racer
  • 2 1
 They weren't already?
  • 1 0
 Nice pictures dudes.
  • 1 0
 Peaty and the Bender!!!
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