Fat Chance Rebirth in Progress

As mentioned in various bicycle media and alluded to by me a few months back, Chris Chance relaunching Fat Chance bikes. And that is a cool story. I've said it before, if any old school mountain bike company was worthy of relaunch, Fat Chance would be it. Even years after its demise, a rabid cult following still exists. Now to see if actually possible.

Interesting to note that Chris Chance is doing this via a Kickstarter campaign to raise funds. $116,000 requested to get Fat Chance afloat once again. With 18 days currently left, they've scored over $95,000 towards the goal. Amazing that amount accumulated with just 131 people signed on. Don't quote me on the numbers, they can change daily.

Some big bucks required to secure the first batch of new Yo Eddy frames. $2500 or $5000+ to be on the list, depending on the package. Seems crazy expensive for a steel frame, until you consider its not just about the frame, you're helping to bring back some cool mountain bike history and launch it into the modern age. For the not so well off, cheaper packages available for t-shirts and other goodies.

The modern Yo Eddy frame to feature 27.5 or 29er wheels, your choice. Trail oriented geometry, tapered head tube, 12x142 rear axle, and dropper post compatible. All in glorious steel and hopefully old school graphics. Exactly how spec'd it on their survey awhile back, along with a bunch of other folks I'm sure. Frames to be USA built and delivered this summer. Being the old school Fat fan, pushes all my correct buttons. Yes please.

Will I be scoring a frame myself? Fat chance, Bunky. Highly unlikely and not quite in the family budget. Maybe after the initial run and stock production goes into full swing, lowering the price. That be the dream anyway. I'll probably pony up for the $50 t-shirt and sticker pack anyway, to at least be part of it all.

I wish 'em all good luck and hope to see this be a successful venture.

Fat Chance is Back - Hello and Good Bye

The bicycle interwebs are a buzzin' with news that Fat Chance is back in action, Chris Chance at the helm.  How cool is that?  Fat Chance still fresh enough - and missed enough - that a launch of new bikes could be successful.  I'd hope so anyway.

Details are sketchy, with mention of Yo Eddy staging a comeback.  The new website features a polling option on what people want see in the returning model.  Vote early, vote often, operators are standing by.  Also appears to be proof the return currently in the early stages.

Me?  I'd vote for the steel hardtail with modern geometry to run a 140mm suspension fork and dropper post, 27.5 wheels, old school colors and graphics.  Bit of old school and new school combo.  Yes please.  Curious to see what develops in the next few months.  My guess is the niche batch of frames to start, manufactured by a higher end US builder.  Time will tell.

Ironically, after 20+ years of ownership, I just sold my Yo Eddy.  Bike was boxed and ready to ship to the new owner, while I read of the Fat Chance relaunch on Facebook.  Mixed feelings about that chain of events.  A deal is a deal however, PayPal account already sporting the transfer of dough.

Freshly washed before the official boxing ceremony.

To add the irony, my Yo Eddy then spotted on the new Fat Chance site, plucked from a Facebook post.  Super cool to see it there...

Bike sold to recoup funds used to supply son Ian with his new rig.  And that's okay.  I'd rather spent time riding with him, then hold on to some old bikes - even my Fat - as its been collecting dust for a few years.  I sold the bike via the FatCogs forum and hope the new owner in Maine is happy with it.  In any case, I also have my '86 Fat Chance that I've owned since new, so still officially in the cult.

As the old school Fat City fan, cool to see Chris Chance involved in the industry once again.  Who knows, maybe this was fate and I'll replace my vintage Yo Eddy with the new modern Yo Eddy.

That story would bring it all full circle with a cosmic spin of knobby tires...

Fat Chance Yo Eddy - Sweet Restore

Came across this super nice restored '93 Yo Eddy while cruising eBay, complete with NOS SunTour XC Pro build.  Sweet.  Bike shown at the recent NAHBS event to give folks a chance (Ha! Get it?) to gawk at some trick old school iron.

Apparently, this dude - Martin Kozaczek - is restoring mountain bikes from the golden era for resale.  And if this Fat Chance is any example of his work, impressive stuff.  Additional pics of this Fat on his blog.

Current bidding action on this restore is over $4000, higher then I would have predicted.  Yowza.  Call now, operators are standing by.

Team Fat Chance Yo Eddy - Peek from Beyond

Feast your eyes on this specimen of all things old school cool.  Yes, bike geek alert in full alarm.  Team Fat Chance Yo Eddy in all its steel frame and fork glory, courtesy of Fat City Cycles.  Please bow your heads.  Fat City Cycles.  R.I.P.

Suspension?  Nada.  Toe clips?  Check.  Top mount shifters?  Check.  Turbo saddle?  Check.  Fat ass tires?  Check.  Stare in awe at the green and black fade paint.  Marvel at the correct stance of the thing.  It just plain looks right.  One of the coolest mountain bikes ever made.  You know it.  I know it.  We all know it.  Well, at least now you know...

Okay, I'm biased.  I own one, now retired after many years of use.  I still enjoy just seeing it hang in the garage.  I occasionally buzz it around, still amazed how good it feels.  Some frames appear to contain magic in their tubes.  This is one of those bikes.  Trust me.

I pulled this image off the 'net.  Not sure of the original source, so apologize for not giving credit for the excellent photo of how things were.  We now return to our regular programing, already in progress.

IF Deluxe Redux - Yo Eddy Reborn?

While cruising the Independent Fabrications blog a few weeks back - yeah, my blogging action in slow motion lately (sorta like how I race) - came across a cool post that mentioned Chris Chance being spotted at the last NAHBS.  Considering Mr. Chance seemed to drop off the face of the bicycling planet after Fat City Cycles closed its hallowed doors, pretty cool to read he was spotted at a bike show.

Even cooler - after a Chris Chance conversation - IF decided to put out a bike celebrating a bit of yesteryear, combined with new school.  Steel hardtail and fork, 29er wheels and disk brakes.  To me, it says modern Yo Eddy, complete with vivid old school paint colors.  Very cool bike, as depicted by the photo I borrowed from the IF site.

If you know the Fat City story, also a bit of coming around full circle.  Independent Fabrications was started by Fat City Cycle employees during the closing era of Fat City.  Old history for crusty old mountain bikers and Fat fans, like me.  Another time and another era.

In any case, if you have a spare $6000 burning a hole in your pocket, one of these could be yours with a nice build kit.  That's currently way out of my bike budget, for now and probably forever, so I'll just enjoy from a safe distance and be glad it even exists.

Yo Eddy Slingshot - What?

What to do with a damaged beyond repair Yo Eddy fork? Make a slingshot out of it, of course. Well, that's what Rody Walter of Groovy Cycleworks does. Pretty cool, eh? It's also for sale, if you're interested.

Besides one off slingshots, Groovy Cycleworks also puts out some, uh, groovy bikes. One man shop specializing in ridable art. Really cool, old school stuff. Besides that, he'll also restore and provide replacement parts for your vintage Fat Chance. Plus, a Groovy Blog to ponder. The full range of creative fun and frolicking.

Always great to see folks like this exist in the bicycle world. Different contrast that will always add something to the culture of it all.

Personal Rides: Team Fat Chance Yo Eddy

I've been fortunate over the years to own some cool bikes. Some of 'em have become cult or collector material for people in the know and it's great that people enjoy hearing about 'em now - for a peek back into the "good old days" of mountain biking.  I'm not a collector, just been riding mountain bikes long enough to own this stuff since it was new.  Yeah - I'm getting old. There's also some road bikes mixed in there, as I ride on the road as well.  It's all two wheeled good stuff to me.

I've been riding mountain bikes since 1984 - not exactly bombing Mount Tam with Charlie Kelly or Tom Ritchey - but certainly the Stone Age of mountain biking.  Especially for the East Coast, where I grew up and got involved with all this knobby tire, pedal powered fun.

I've been posting bikes in the chronological order that I acquired 'em - starting with a '84 Miyata Ridge Runner, then a '86 Fat Chance, followed by a '91 Bridgestone MB-Zip.  It's now time to fire up the time machine and set the dial to 1993....

As I mentioned in my MB-Zip post, I had plans to meet some old New Jersey pals in Moab for the 1993 Fat Tire Festival.  My current ride, the Zip, was cool - but in my eyes, not Moab material.  I needed something stiffer and little beefier.  I still had my old Fat, but wanted something newer.  I wanted a Yo Eddy, so the search began.

At the time, a few shops in the Seattle area carried Fat City bikes.  I remember test riding a sweet yellow Yo Eddy at R&E Cycles, but passed since it already had a dented top tube (ouch).  That wouldn't have affected the ride, but no way I'm picking that up.  New dough means farm fresh.  I then noticed a used Yo Eddy for sale in the newspaper classifieds.  Remember, this was the pre-Internet era - no Craigslist or eBay.  How did we survive?

I called the number from the ad and this nice guy drove over to my house to show me the bike.  It was '91 model Yo Eddy frame, barely ridden and built up very trick for the time.  XT derailleurs, shifters and brakes.  Ritchey brake levers, Cook Bros crank, IRD seatpost, Control Tech stem, Chris King headset, Answer Hyperlite handlebar, Flite saddle, SPD pedals, XT rear hub and Bullseye front hub, laced to Mavic rims.  Specialized Ground Control tires and Onza bar ends. Marzocchi suspension fork and the stock Yo fork included.  He wanted $1500 for it, a killer deal since the frame and fork alone fetched $1100 at the time.  After a test ride, the deal was done.  He even took a personal check - it couldn't have been any easier.  I now owned an official Team Yo Eddy.  Yes!

After a few rides on the Yo, I pulled off the Marzocchi fork and sold it to a riding pal for $150.  Even though I came from a dirt motorcycle background, thought suspension wasn't needed on bicycles (silly me). This was the early Marzocchi fork with the lightening holes drilled through the lower legs - don't remember the exact model.  I happily installed the stock Yo Eddy fork in its place.  I also swapped the SPD first generation Shimano pedals for some SunTour XC Pro pedals - complete with clips and toe straps.  Yup, I wasn't quite ready for the new generation stuff at the time.

I rode the bike in this configuration for about a year and thought it was the best mountain bike I ever owned.  Eventually, the suspension revolution caught up to me and I installed a Manitou 3 fork.  63mm of elastomer cushioned travel, complete with a greased rod for damping. Pretty high tech, eh?  I remember dumping muddy water out of it for "maintenance".  Even so, there was no going back to rigid forks.  The stock Yo Eddy fork was filed away for safe keeping.

I rode the Yo a lot - many dirt miles.  During this era, was riding off-road 3 - 5 times a week and raced occasionally.  Various parts came and went due to the use - truckloads of brake pads, chains, cassettes and chainrings.  Rims and entire wheelsets replaced due to mud damage.  A few Manitou fork rebuilds.  When the IRD seatpost cracked, replaced it with a titanium model from Ti Cycles in Seattle. When picking that up, couldn't resist one of their titanium handlebars as well.  Through all of this, the frame itself held up great.  Fat City made some quality frames.

This was my main mountain bike from 1993 - 1999.  That's 6 years of real world use.  Countless trail rides - quick after work spins and longer epics thrown in.  Cruises around the neighborhood, as well as dying in the Sport class of NORBA races.  And I did hit the 1993 Fat Tire Festival as planned, the Yo Eddy worked perfectly for the trip.

Fat City bikes and especially the Yo Eddy, were cool bikes to own and very respected - lots of approving comments from fellow bikers. Yeah, the attention was fun, but the best part was the ride and the quality of the bikes themselves.  They really made great stuff and even though Fat City closed shop over 10 years ago, people still know about them and covet the frames to this day.  There's a reason for that.  If any mountain bike company could stage a comeback (like Ibis), Fat City Cycles could do it, based on its past history.  Chris Chance - are you out there?

In 1999, I bought a new Ellsworth Truth - completely joining the crowd with full suspension.  The Yo Eddy was semi-retired and modified a bit.  I pulled off the Manitou fork and reinstalled the rigid Yo Eddy fork - carefully stored in a drawer, quietly awaiting it's return to glory. Some new Gore-Tex cables and Downhill type platform pedals, so I could cruise around with normal shoes.  I also installed a set of WTB cantilever brakes that I bought for a different bike years ago, but never used - that looked perfect on the Fat.  Since the changes, I've used the bike for rides with my son, Ian - in the woods, when he was younger and just learning how to ride singletrack.  I even pulled my daughter Amy around the woods in a Burley trailer on the Yo.  At the end of the rides, the Burley trailer windows covered with mud.  I occasionally consider converting the Yo to a single speed and may do so in the future.  Otherwise, it remains as is.

A few pictures and more gibberish from me......



1993 Fat Tire Festival in Moab, Utah.  It was a fun week riding with old friends and meeting new ones.  I actually met Bob Roll sitting in a bike shop and saw Tom Ritchey riding down the street - complete with moustache and no helmet.  Moab at the time was the mountain bike mecca, with lots of bike media coverage and hype.  It was a great place to ride, would like to hit there again.  Here, the Yo Eddy rests comfortably against sandstone rock, while I model Oakley Eyeshades, Specialized mountain bike shoes made for clips and straps, and JT Racing padded tights.  Welcome to 1993, I'll be your Tour Guide.

The Yo Eddy as it sits today - this time against old fence.  This is not a restored bike by any means, just a very well used example with scratches and wear to show for it.  As mentioned, platform pedals make it easy for quick cruising.  Original Flite saddle is hammered and looking tired.  It's bikes like this that make the phrase "Steel is real" a true statement.

Turn to the left.  Scratched up Team Fat Chance sticker and well worn bottle cage.  Yo-Eddy top tube sticker survives.

Turn to the right.  More trail damaged stickers, including old school Dirt Rag sticker.  The triple cable routing on top tube still looks cool.  Beefy WTB tire mimics suspension.  Sort of.

XT Derailluer, 7 speed cassette and classic Fat City domed chain and seat stays.

View from the front.  Team Yo Eddy sticker stares ahead, over WTB cantilever brake.

Tiny Yo Eddy sticker guards the rear.  Check out the small gusset where the seatstays join.  Nice detail on the Fat frame.  Plenty of room for fat tires also, up to 2.5" as advertised at the time.

Classic Don't Tread on Me, Made in Massachusetts sticker graces the seat tube.  Unique Fat City bottom bracket with pressed in bearings. Light and easy to adjust chain line - however, have you ever tried removing 'em once wedged in there?  Not fun.  Also notice back side of crank, complete with adapter to run 22 tooth ring - made by Avid (if I remember correctly).  While you're staring, admire the clean TIG welding on the frame - nice.

Cook crank, very trick for the era.  Mine actually have material worn away where my ankles brushed the crank arms.  Yeah - this bike has seen some use.  The sliver, black, silver chainrings look great - if I can say so myself.

One of the coolest rigid forks ever made.  Yo Eddy sticker on each fork top stare you down on every ride.

More fork detail.  I'm guessing these gussets stiffen the fork a bit - why else in this location?  In any case, great details and craftsmanship.

Campagnolo dropouts complete the fork.  Campy, baby!

The Old Fat still cleans up nice.  I actually washed it for the "photo shoot" - if you can call it that.

Homemade Ramones sticker slowly peels away from top tube.  Gabba Gabba Hey.  We accept you, we accept you, one of us.

Fat City Cycles fades away, but not forgotten by all.  Is it better to burn out, then to fade away?

This concludes yet another installment of Personal Rides on my little slice of the Blog-O-Sphere.  Thanks for tuning in, stay tuned for future episodes - complete with more written fluff and poor photography. Just doing my part to fill up the Internet with ancient bike info and a little history.  I hope you enjoyed it.

Until next time, keep the cranks turning.  How's that for corny?