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Gotlime?

New member
This is my first post. I was bored at work today, did a search for Chris Chance and here I am 3 hours later.

I have a 95 Yo Eddy that is a green/blue fade. I'm not sure what it's called. My best friend has a Yo! with a blue purple fade and my dad has a solid black Yo!

Mine's the only one that's running at his point.

I'll try to get the serial numberrs and post them up ASAP.

Doe s anyone know what the lime green to blue fade was called?

I also have an Electric Lime Green Jeep, hence the screeb=nname. Convenient it owrks with the bike as well!!

Pic of my Jeep:
621944938_C5PD8-L.jpg
 

DC

New member
Nice articulation on the Jeep!
Your bike sounds like an Aqua-fade
Your friend's sounds like a Sapphire fade.
Welcome to Fat Cogs, we look forward to pics!
 

Gotlime?

New member
Things don't move very quickly around here. :lol:

Anyway, My garage is a mess so I still haven't gotten my bike down to get the serial number.

Was there some discontent at FCC right before they clsoed shop in MA? As I recall, my bike's "birth certificate" had some disparaging remarks about Mr Chance. I really hope I can find that thing. I believe my bike was one of the last to come out of Somerville.
 

DC

New member
The move from Somerville did cause considerable discontent including hang tags like yours.

I worked at a FCC dealer during the transition and have the letter Chris and Wendyll sent to dealers regarding the move, expressing that they were "disappointed to have learned how inaccurate some of the information is which was discussed with you and are concerned about the tone of some of our recent hang tags."

and IF was born

Definitely post some pics if you come across your hang tag!

DC
 

rick

New member
new here

Gotlime,

as you are in Mooresville, you need to make the short trip to visit First Flight Bikes in Statesville. They have an unmatched collection on vintage mountain bikes, including quite a few Fats. They will have the information that you need and many of the parts too!

rick
 

Gotlime?

New member
Gotlime,

as you are in Mooresville, you need to make the short trip to visit First Flight Bikes in Statesville. They have an unmatched collection on vintage mountain bikes, including quite a few Fats. They will have the information that you need and many of the parts too!

rick

Rick,

I'm already planning on it. High temp on Saturday is supposed to be 30. I may go then!!
 

I-ROBOT

Active member
Hi Gang!
Happy New Year to all!
Thanks so much again for keeping the spirit of Fat City alive. It constantly amazes me to see the love so many have for the bikes we made. truly remarkable.

I will admit that I had a falling-out with Wendyll shortly after we moved into the Linden St. shop in Somerville but I never wrote anything bad on any hang tags. I had too much respect for Chris to do anything like that. The NY operation did offer me a job and I did think about going but realized having a 2-year old daughter at the time was going to make that impossible. For me, the job had already run its course and it was time to move on which I did. I stayed at Linden St until the day came when the power company shut us off and padlocked the fuse boxes.

Chris gave me a nice severance package which included a warrantied TI frame that I rescued from the scrap pile. He was kind enough to write a letter for me later on when it was stolen and subsequently recovered.

I'm sure there were bad feelings among many of the kids that worked there. I was older than most and had been through job loss before so it was nothing new. I saw the writing on the wall long before they did.

I never knew about any hang tag bashing. I rarely saw much beyond the welding area during the Linden St years and that's the way I wanted it.

Anyway, I'm so glad that so many still enjoy riding and collecting Fats. I have a lot a great memories about working there and they far out-weigh the bad ones.

Happy New Year
Scott Bengtson

The move from Somerville did cause considerable discontent including hang tags like yours.

I worked at a FCC dealer during the transition and have the letter Chris and Wendyll sent to dealers regarding the move, expressing that they were "disappointed to have learned how inaccurate some of the information is which was discussed with you and are concerned about the tone of some of our recent hang tags."

and IF was born

Definitely post some pics if you come across your hang tag!

DC
 

rick

New member
First Flight Bikes

Gotlime,

Let me know if you do go to First Flight on Saturday, I may head over there myself.

rick
 

AB

Active member
Hi Gang!
Happy New Year to all!
Thanks so much again for keeping the spirit of Fat City alive. It constantly amazes me to see the love so many have for the bikes we made. truly remarkable.

I will admit that I had a falling-out with Wendyll shortly after we moved into the Linden St. shop in Somerville but I never wrote anything bad on any hang tags. I had too much respect for Chris to do anything like that. The NY operation did offer me a job and I did think about going but realized having a 2-year old daughter at the time was going to make that impossible. For me, the job had already run its course and it was time to move on which I did. I stayed at Linden St until the day came when the power company shut us off and padlocked the fuse boxes.

Chris gave me a nice severance package which included a warrantied TI frame that I rescued from the scrap pile. He was kind enough to write a letter for me later on when it was stolen and subsequently recovered.

I'm sure there were bad feelings among many of the kids that worked there. I was older than most and had been through job loss before so it was nothing new. I saw the writing on the wall long before they did.

I never knew about any hang tag bashing. I rarely saw much beyond the welding area during the Linden St years and that's the way I wanted it.

Anyway, I'm so glad that so many still enjoy riding and collecting Fats. I have a lot a great memories about working there and they far out-weigh the bad ones.

Happy New Year
Scott Bengtson

Scott - Thanks very much for all your posts. They provide a look inside FCC most of us would never know. Happy New Year to all.

AB
 

I-ROBOT

Active member
OK, Here's the scoop with me and Wendy (her real name)

Shortly after we moved into the big Linden St shop in Somerville in 1992, work started on a new brochure. I had been working there for 5 years and Chris wanted to do something to celebrate that. Only a couple of other people had worked there for that long.

1992 was an incredibly busy year for me. I was working mega hours keeping production rolling while moving and building stuff for the new shop. My first wife was pregnant with our daughter and she was due in June. We found out that our apartment needed to be de-leaded. The landlord hired a bunch of losers to do the work and our place was a mess for the longest time. She had to move in with my parents for nearly the last month of her pregnancy.

Fat City moved into Linden St around the middle of April and I worked non-stop with everyone else getting the new place running and emptying out the old Olive Square shop. I was also working on the apartment fixing a bunch of crap that those worthless "contractors" has done. We finished getting the apartment ready the day before Liz was born - literally. Needless to say by the time she showed up, I was worn out.

The plan was to have me on the cover of the new brochure. Wendy hired a couple of limp-wristers to do a photo shoot of the new shop and me for the brochure. These guys had no clue and I was not happy with what they were doing. Apparently the photos of me didn't quite meet Wendy's standards so they took shots of Rob, the machinist, wearing a welder's hood. Rob didn't know his butt hole from a hole in the ground when it came to welding and he cheerfully admitted it. They did this without telling me.

The brochure went to print with me thinking I'm on the cover and this is going to be so cool. Imagine the look on my face when the first box shows up from the printer and I see Rob on the cover. Not just Rob, but Rob wearing a welder's hood! I liked Rob and he told me that they made him do it. He didn't want to but he feared losing his job if he didn't. The excuse I got was that "I looked tired in the photos" direct quote.

In the mean time, Chris had hired Lawrie Pinkham to become the production manager. Lawrie had painted for Chris years before and he was also a great mechanic. On his first day, Chris gathered the shop for a meeting and read the scathing letter I wrote him to everyone there. There was such an out-pouring of support for me from everyone that I decided not to quit as I had been planning. But I hated Wendy from that day on. Lawrie sure never thought his first day would be so traumatic!

One of the things a good welder does is to cut off the oxidized end of the weld rod before dipping it back into the molten puddle. I did this religiously and had a pair of wire cutters that exerted enough force to send the clipped end of the weld rod about 30 feet. After discovering this, whenever I noticed Wendy walking past the welding area,I would clip off bits of weld rod in her general direction. I'm not sure if I ever scored a direct hit or not. If I did, she never said anything or caught on to where it was coming from. Childish? Of Course!! but it sure was fun.

So there you have it. Hope you all get a little chuckle. Happy New Year

Scott Bengtson
 
OK, Here's the scoop with me and Wendy (her real name)

Shortly after we moved into the big Linden St shop in Somerville in 1992, work started on a new brochure. I had been working there for 5 years and Chris wanted to do something to celebrate that. Only a couple of other people had worked there for that long.

1992 was an incredibly busy year for me. I was working mega hours keeping production rolling while moving and building stuff for the new shop. My first wife was pregnant with our daughter and she was due in June. We found out that our apartment needed to be de-leaded. The landlord hired a bunch of losers to do the work and our place was a mess for the longest time. She had to move in with my parents for nearly the last month of her pregnancy.

Fat City moved into Linden St around the middle of April and I worked non-stop with everyone else getting the new place running and emptying out the old Olive Square shop. I was also working on the apartment fixing a bunch of crap that those worthless "contractors" has done. We finished getting the apartment ready the day before Liz was born - literally. Needless to say by the time she showed up, I was worn out.

The plan was to have me on the cover of the new brochure. Wendy hired a couple of limp-wristers to do a photo shoot of the new shop and me for the brochure. These guys had no clue and I was not happy with what they were doing. Apparently the photos of me didn't quite meet Wendy's standards so they took shots of Rob, the machinist, wearing a welder's hood. Rob didn't know his butt hole from a hole in the ground when it came to welding and he cheerfully admitted it. They did this without telling me.

The brochure went to print with me thinking I'm on the cover and this is going to be so cool. Imagine the look on my face when the first box shows up from the printer and I see Rob on the cover. Not just Rob, but Rob wearing a welder's hood! I liked Rob and he told me that they made him do it. He didn't want to but he feared losing his job if he didn't. The excuse I got was that "I looked tired in the photos" direct quote.

In the mean time, Chris had hired Lawrie Pinkham to become the production manager. Lawrie had painted for Chris years before and he was also a great mechanic. On his first day, Chris gathered the shop for a meeting and read the scathing letter I wrote him to everyone there. There was such an out-pouring of support for me from everyone that I decided not to quit as I had been planning. But I hated Wendy from that day on. Lawrie sure never thought his first day would be so traumatic!

One of the things a good welder does is to cut off the oxidized end of the weld rod before dipping it back into the molten puddle. I did this religiously and had a pair of wire cutters that exerted enough force to send the clipped end of the weld rod about 30 feet. After discovering this, whenever I noticed Wendy walking past the welding area,I would clip off bits of weld rod in her general direction. I'm not sure if I ever scored a direct hit or not. If I did, she never said anything or caught on to where it was coming from. Childish? Of Course!! but it sure was fun.

So there you have it. Hope you all get a little chuckle. Happy New Year

Scott Bengtson
Wow Scott, That's Juicy! Happy New Year.
 

yo' djblu

New member
34 Linden Street, Somerville, MA

was that the address??


If so google maps shows only houses. where was the shop.

just wondering.
 

I-ROBOT

Active member
Hey kids

I checked out Google maps today and I am sorry to report that it looks like the Linden St shop has fallen to the wrecking ball much the same as the Olive Square shop did a few years ago.

I drove by Linden St not too long ago but did not venture down it. The street view on Google shows a new looking apartment house where the shop stood. Given the run of construction of subsidized housing in eastern Mass, it would not surprise me. I will check out the neighborhood the next time I am in the area. I live and work in central Mass now and about the only time I get to Boston is when I'm going to the airport to head off on another business trip.

When we moved to Linden St in 1992, we occupied about 1/3 of the building with the remainder occupied by the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority (MWRA - the group responsible for the sky-high water and sewer rates in the Greater Boston area - yeah!). I'm not sure what sort of business was in the building before.

I hope the residents there don't mind living next to the commuter rail too much!

oh well - c'est la vie eh?

Scott Bengtson
 

IF52

New member
Boy I dislike Wendyl, but you have way more reason to than most people I know. I wish I could tell a story somebody told me about how much they were screwed by her.

Or Mossman, I can't remember.
 

yo' djblu

New member
yes that totally sucks.

I was hoping to see the old shop.

But what r u gonna do! At least i got one bike from that shop that was welded correctly ;)
 

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I-ROBOT

Active member
Thanks for the compliment! We had several folks who were pretty good with the TIG torch. Being a certified inspector, I tried to look at everyone's work as much as possible.

I never went to the NY shop but I knew that Serotta always had a good reputation so I figured that the Fat City name was in capable hands. I wouldn't want to critique their work without being able to examine their welds closely and observe how they followed procedures. I guess that's up to the owners to decide who they prefer.

Scott Bengtson
 
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