Guidance?

ChiefBroom

Member
My wife's b'day present to me in '94 (when I clocked 41) was a new Yo Eddy! I picked it after riding at least a dozen bikes. It was the last I tried, and it blew everything else away. I was wearing an ear-to-ear grin within 50 yard. We lived in Littleton, Co at the time, and I had great trails and lots of fine days to ride them waiting outside my backdoor (literally). I tempted myself to buy a Ti in '96 or '97, but that never materialized. We moved back to the KC area in '04, and I hadn't ridden since until a couple weeks ago. Dusting off my Fat and thinking about what I might to to/for/with it led to finding this site.

The trails here aren't great (understatement). Ticks and run amock poison ivy are chief the off-road thrills. And now I'm about to turn 54. The Yo Eddy! is getting to be (maybe always was) quicker than my reflexes. I still love it, but it might be nice to have something else a little more suited to rides on asphalt. I've put feelers out for a Ti, which I always wanted. Some recent posts here make me wonder whether a Buck Shaver or Wicked Lite might be a better choice. I weigh 150. I'm fit, like things that are spirited and responsive, am occasionally still aggressive (or try to be), but am not a competetor.

I'd welcome any thoughts. The only Fat I've ever ridden is mine. The MTB I had before it was an '88 Fisher, which didn't suck. I've toyed with the idea of getting a road frame, but I don't like skinny tires very much. I'd love to stable another Fat.
 

colker

Well-known member
to ride on asphalt? i like a road bike! nothing like the smooth roll of 23 tires on 700c wheels. try it and you will be hooked.
 

ChiefBroom

Member
to ride on asphalt? i like a road bike! nothing like the smooth roll of 23 tires on 700c wheels. try it and you will be hooked.

I had a Gitane road bike once. A long time ago. Liked it, but was a pain to get to a place where I could get up an maintain revs. Once I had trails, I quit roads. There are a lot of paved "trails/paths" around here -- winding along creeksides and parkways. Not really appropriate for a road bike. And even when I'm out on streets I try to bomb around on stuff.

Just the same, I'll probably go try one. Don't know where to start.

Thanks for thre reply.
 

ThylacineCycles

New member
I had a Gitane road bike once. A long time ago. Liked it, but was a pain to get to a place where I could get up an maintain revs. Once I had trails, I quit roads. There are a lot of paved "trails/paths" around here -- winding along creeksides and parkways. Not really appropriate for a road bike. And even when I'm out on streets I try to bomb around on stuff.

Just the same, I'll probably go try one. Don't know where to start.

Thanks for thre reply.

You need a flat bar 'cross bike.

If you like the Fat look, why not get a custom flat bar 'cross bike in the same style? Round tubes, untapered stays.......Grello paint......hehe........
 

ChiefBroom

Member
You need a flat bar 'cross bike.

If you like the Fat look, why not get a custom flat bar 'cross bike in the same style? Round tubes, untapered stays.......Grello paint......hehe........

Thanks for the reply. I wandered about something in between. I just don't know much about bikes, so don't know what to look for or where to start. I picked my Yo based solely on the ride, and then didn't pay any attention to what else there was or was going on with bikes. Mostly rode solo or with one or two other guys. I'm kinda like in a time capsule, and I'm not sure I want to come out of it.

Who makes a good custom flat bar 'cross bike? One that an Old Guy who loves a Yo Eddy! could bond with.
 

colker

Well-known member
Thanks for the reply. I wandered about something in between. I just don't know much about bikes, so don't know what to look for or where to start. I picked my Yo based solely on the ride, and then didn't pay any attention to what else there was or was going on with bikes. Mostly rode solo or with one or two other guys. I'm kinda like in a time capsule, and I'm not sure I want to come out of it.

Who makes a good custom flat bar 'cross bike? One that an Old Guy who loves a Yo Eddy! could bond with.

check rivbike... check their 650b bikes: the bleriot and saluki. it's exactly what you describe.
 

ChiefBroom

Member
check rivbike... check their 650b bikes: the bleriot and saluki. it's exactly what you describe.

Thanks very much. I just spend some time poking around the site. You're right, it looks like it nails me and what I like. Have you ever seen or ridden one of their bikes?
 

colker

Well-known member
Thanks very much. I just spend some time poking around the site. You're right, it looks like it nails me and what I like. Have you ever seen or ridden one of their bikes?

i have not but a friend of a friend in cali has a bleriot and loves it. build it w/ a mustache bars and have a blast! if i were in your shoes i would also have an 80s italian lugged steel road bike. man... those things are addictive: smooth, fast, comfortable, precise. it's geometry is far more developed than any mtb has ever been. stable but sharp. eats corners and 100 miles seem like going to the corner shop. those italian bikes were cut and shaped in the dolomite mountains on giro ditalia backroads of the 50s. climbing and descending impossibly steep mountain passes.
 

ChiefBroom

Member
if i were in your shoes i would also have an 80s italian lugged steel road bike. man... those things are addictive: smooth, fast, comfortable, precise. it's geometry is far more developed than any mtb has ever been. stable but sharp. eats corners and 100 miles seem like going to the corner shop. those italian bikes were cut and shaped in the dolomite mountains on giro ditalia backroads of the 50s. climbing and descending impossibly steep mountain passes.

Thanks again. I just dropped you an email. One of my wife's brothers has some Cinelli frames. Just last week he carried a '63 into a shop to see what he might get for it -- thinking maybe something like $2,500. The guy told him he thought he could get $6,500. Too bad he's enough taller than me that I don't fit his frames.

Just to keep this on topic, the same brother-in-law Joneses for my Fat whenever he visits.
 

colker

Well-known member
Thanks again. I just dropped you an email. One of my wife's brothers has some Cinelli frames. Just last week he carried a '63 into a shop to see what he might get for it -- thinking maybe something like $2,500. The guy told him he thought he could get $6,500. Too bad he's enough taller than me that I don't fit his frames.

Just to keep this on topic, the same brother-in-law Joneses for my Fat whenever he visits.

those old cinellis are worth a lot of cash... by then some of the roadies would run handmade SILK tubular tires. now that's smooth.
the early 80s slx tubing frames are sadi to be cadillacs in terms of comfort and smoothness. the chris chance road bike, to stay on fatcogs topic, is made w/ those and tsx tubing.
 

bruce t

New member
Hey, if you still have your Yo, put some roadie tires on it and ride it!

I outfitted my old Wicked with some Continental 2.1 "kinda roadie" tires, and it's a joy to ride. Still has the great sharp handling, I can ride it on trails/urban trails, I put a headlight on it so I can ride at night, etc. Mine does have a rigid fork on it....

I dunno. I still have an old eighties Saronni road bike, with skinny tires, and it's a little lighter than the Wicked, but for around town riding, I'm just as likely to ride the Wicked.

I even thought of putting some "adult" bars on it (the Albatross bars from Rivendell), but I get along with the flat bars just fine.

But the same ride quality and quick handling that make Fats fun to ride on the trails, also make them fun to ride on the road. If you want a new bike, go for it, but I'd try the Yo with some big city tires before I dropped the cash. ('course, I'm kind of a luddite anyway, I don't like new bikes, with too many gears and too-complicated shift mechanisms).

Cheers, bt
 

ChiefBroom

Member
Hey, if you still have your Yo, put some roadie tires on it and ride it!

snip

Thanks. Yeah, that's kind of where I started. I thought I might leave the Yo as it is, and look for a Buck Shaver or Wicked to set up for bombing around on streets and paved trails. Then one thought led to another. It might be nice to have a road bike. I need to go get on one.
 

colker

Well-known member
another guy to talk to is Pacenti... Kirk Pacenti. Pacenti designs.. you will have to google. he is devoted to fat city, worked w/ keith bontrager, has the most beautifull set of lugs which are used by waterford and lots of other builders. besides, he is a down to earth, nice guy.
 

lucifer

New member
FWIW a buck shaver will handle almost exactly like an equivalent sized yo. The geometry is the same. Only the tube set is different.
 

ChiefBroom

Member
FWIW a buck shaver will handle almost exactly like an equivalent sized yo. The geometry is the same. Only the tube set is different.

I'd picked up from Fat City promo materials that because of the smaller tube diameter, the Buck Shaver might yield a slightly more comfortable ride. Don't know how noticeable it would be, if at all.
 
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