'89 Wicked ridden often, original owner

BigBadConrad

New member
I just discovered this forum a few months ago and this is my first post. Very interesesting and informative forum and members!

I ordered this bike from a shop in NJ with my first paycheck when I got my first job out of college in 1989. Lived in PA at the time and had seen Fats at a couple of NORBA races I did in '88 and loved the look of them. I was in Boston a year later and stopped by the Fat Chance facility and was thrilled to get a spontaneous tour from one of the crew (I wish I could remember his name). I've lived in AZ since '90, it's still my only mtb., and I ride it hard in the desert on some fairly nasty trails on a regular basis. In fact, I will be riding it in the McDowell Mountains in 8 hours! It has been very good to me over the years and we've shredded some great trails in Moab, Durango and other choice spots over the years. Some original specs: Ritchey Force stem, True Temper bars, Deore XT brakes/shifters/levers, Chris King headset, Hi-E hubs, Mavic Oxygen rims, Cooks cranks. Over the years, I've added Control Tech bar ends, High Zoot carbon bar, Selle Flite seat, a lightweight seatpost (forget the brand) & Ultimate Machine clamp, Ritchey clipless pedals, and in '95 an Answer Manitou fork (just 2" travel). I still have all the original parts, too. I just put the original rigid fork back on last week and the picture of the bike in the stand in the garage was taken today. I may eventually get a modern dual suspension bike to give my 47-year-old back a break on the rockier trails, but I will always keep, ride and love my Wicked!
 

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I-ROBOT

Active member
Cool splatter bike! Those were fun paint jobs - especially since no two could ever be alike.

Here are some of the names from your hangtag - from the top

Udo '89 - Udo came over from Germany and worked in the machine shop for a year or two. I forget his last name but he had long hair that he wore pulled back. He was pretty tall - about 6'-4" or so and spoke English remarkably well.

Alison - Alison Kuby worked in finishing as a brazer and alignment tech. She finished a lot of the forks and left to go to art school in Chicago. I met up with her out there in '92 when I went to the AWS Welding Show (my nametag is my site avatar)

WB - Wendy BigRearEnd:mad: er I mean Wendyll Behrend She worked in sales and marketing and married Chris Chance.

The stamp is yours truly - I probably welded your frame and definitely welded the seat tab, pizootie tab, bridge tubes, brake cable strap, brake mounts, and dropouts since I did virtually all of those in '89. I welded most of the Wickeds and all of the Team Comps that year. I have a welding engineering degree and became a Certified Inspector in 1981 after graduating. I work for a power plant engineering company in central Mass now.

JS - ? might be Josh who was an engineering student at Northeastern and worked in the machine shop and designed tooling and fixtures.

Mike with the long scribble and cartoon face - Mike Pappaconstantine who worked in finishing and was a Team Fat pro class rider. Mike was the creator of Yo Eddy and drew awesome stick figure cartoons.

db nadolny - Debbie Nadolny worked in shipping. She stayed on until the bitter end in '94 and we were good friends

HARRY - Harry Wallace worked in assembly and shipping. Loved all things dark and occultish. Big and strong and crazy - not necessarily in that order. Claimed to have been 13 pounds at birth and was rumored to be fond of mushrooms. Led "toxic tours" through nasty sections of town.

R. Jackson - Reggie Jackson worked in tacking and assembly and maintained the serial number book - later moved to sales. Headed off to California after having a "disagreement" with management.

James - James also worked in tacking and assembly. I forget his last name. I'm not sure where he was from originally but he came to Fat City from a bike shop up in Southwest Harbor, Maine. He learned how to weld and he tacked many frames together over the next few years.

JILL - ? I don't remember anyone named Jill:confused:

BOB (with the X) - Bob Fulk worked in finishing and was also a Team Fat pro class racer.

Angela Welch - ? don't remember her either - We had a lot of kids come and go and its been a long time and the shop used to get kinda smoky and... well you know

Hope this gives you some insight.
Thanks for being a customer and I hope your Wicked has a lot of miles left in her.

Scott Bengtson
 

BigBadConrad

New member
thanks!

Scott: Wow, thank you for all of the interesting insights. You all did a fine job on my bike! I was always glad about my decision to get a Fat rather than a Stumpy or other mass-produced bike, and seeing your post reinforced that. You don't get that kind of a story with a mass-produced bike! There is something special about Fats and the whole scene of which you were a part, and it's cool to see that spirit living on with those of us who still love, own, remember, restore and/or ride them. Thanks again.
 

I-ROBOT

Active member
One name I didn't see on the hang tag was anyone that was a painter. It's possible that the splatter paint was done by Hoss Rogers who is now a jewelry maker in Tempe. You can go to www.hossrogers.com and get his address. Might be worth a visit.
Scott
 
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