What's up with box crown forks??

Hey- I've got some general questions about the box crowned forks (which I love). I noticed MikeyNYC has them on both a 1988 and 1990 Wicked. What years were they used on the Wickeds - were they an option or did all Wickeds of a certain period come with them? I've got a 1990 Slim with a box crown but some of the other 1990's I've seen have unicrowns.
Also a Question for MikeyNYC: would your "extra" box crown fit on RedRacer's 21" 1990 Wicked? and if so, at what price? Inquiring minds want to know. -Max

PS- are most box crowns made with Reynolds 531 - or did they use different steel for road and mountain ? (My Wicked had a Reynolds 531 sticker but the Slim doesn't)
 

MikeyNYC

Member
Box Crown Forks...

Max (a Fat fan) said:
Hey- I've got some general questions about the box crowned forks (which I love). I noticed MikeyNYC has them on both a 1988 and 1990 Wicked. What years were they used on the Wickeds - were they an option or did all Wickeds of a certain period come with them? I've got a 1990 Slim with a box crown but some of the other 1990's I've seen have unicrowns.
Also a Question for MikeyNYC: would your "extra" box crown fit on RedRacer's 21" 1990 Wicked? and if so, at what price? Inquiring minds want to know. -Max

PS- are most box crowns made with Reynolds 531 - or did they use different steel for road and mountain ? (My Wicked had a Reynolds 531 sticker but the Slim doesn't)

Max,

Here is what I have heard or seen (anyone who wants to correct me, feel free to chime in)The Box Crown Forks were around from the beginning of Fat City in 1982, so I guess it was the first fork that they produced. I once had a Fillet Brazed 1982 Fat Chance which was like # 13 (that now belongs to Rick in North Carolina) and that frame has a Fillet Brazed Box Crown Fork with a sealed crown! (no hole at the bottom of the steerer) I think that the Box Crown fork was available up until like 1992 when they were only available standard on the Tandem which was a custom ordered thing anyway, but at any time before 1992 or so you could always get one as a upcharged option, just look up any of the older catalogs or price lists that are scanned and online...

My first 1987 Wicked came with a Reynolds 531 Box Crown fork but was ordered specially, as did my first ever Fat which was a 1984 Team Comp. The Team Comp that I had came with Reynolds 531 decals on the fork but I bent that thing, so maybe it was actually Prestige? Later (1984-85) models of the Team Comp were made with Prestige tubing and had Box Crown forks with Prestige decals on them, and I saw a 1991 "Team Comp" sold on ebay recently with prestige decals all over the frame and Box Crown fork, so it was defintely made from at least 2 different types of tubing for the mountain forks...plus I have also seen some early and custom Box Crown Forks that were a bit wider and Beefier then most of the ones that I owned and I was told that they were made from Reynolds 531 Jack Taylor Tandem Fork Blades to make a really strong fork.

I don't know much about the Road bikes (Slim Chance) that were made with the box crown forks, but they are pretty rare! I imagine that they went to the Uni-Crown to save weight and labor as the Box Crown Forks are a bit heavier and really labor intensive.

The reason that I never owned a Fat with a Uni-Crown fork was that I always admired the unique design and the way that the box Crown would standout in a sea of other bikes, to me it was just a signifying example of Fat City that I just thought was way cool!

I don't think that my "extra" Box Crown fork will work on RedRacer's Wicked because it seems to be meant for the geometry of a more relaxed frame like the older "Fat Chance" as it has a very deep fork rake, but it is probably for use with a 21" frame and it also is spoken for...I'm either keeping it, or if I do let it go a buddy of mine has first dibs on it!

I hope that I was helpful and look forward to seeing other's thoughts on the Fat City Box Crown Fork!

Also, keep a look out for the upcoming photo debut of my newly renovated 1990 Wicked Fat Chance frame (that I originally scored from Sky - VeloCulture) and another Box Crown Fork (that I actually got for FREE from a guy that simply didn't want it!) which just came back from Vicious Cycles with a KILLER new Paint Job and decal set! ;)

L8R,

Michael-NYC
 
Wow - thanks Michael! - lots of good information. My Slim is a 1990 and the catalog that year shows a unicrown. It's also a different color than is listed for that year (it's grello and dark metallic blue - like some of the Yo Eddys of that year). I'll try to get some photos to add a few bikes to the registry in the not too distant future. Thanks again. -Max
 

rick

New member
box crowns forks

Max,

You certainly picked the right venue for your question, Michael is probably the number one expert when it comes to box crown forks.

I have a few but don't really know too much about them other than the fact that they must have been much more difficult to construct than a standard unicrown fork. Most of my Fats have unicrown (very nice too), but the box crowns are really neat. Besides the 82 that Michael mentioned I have one on my Fat tandem and on another regular Fat as well.

If you really want one they can be found, but they don't pop up very often.

rick
 

MikeyNYC

Member
Max (a Fat fan) said:
Wow - thanks Michael! - lots of good information. My Slim is a 1990 and the catalog that year shows a unicrown. It's also a different color than is listed for that year (it's grello and dark metallic blue - like some of the Yo Eddys of that year). I'll try to get some photos to add a few bikes to the registry in the not too distant future. Thanks again. -Max

Max,

Does your Slim Chance have a "normal" serial #? The Box Crown road fork and the Grello/Blue fade paint job is either a custom deal all around, or perhaps it was a team bike?
Does anyone know more about the Slim Chances?

Michael-NYC
 

MikeyNYC

Member
rick said:
Max,

You certainly picked the right venue for your question, Michael is probably the number one expert when it comes to box crown forks.

I have a few but don't really know too much about them other than the fact that they must have been much more difficult to construct than a standard unicrown fork. Most of my Fats have unicrown (very nice too), but the box crowns are really neat. Besides the 82 that Michael mentioned I have one on my Fat tandem and on another regular Fat as well.

If you really want one they can be found, but they don't pop up very often.

rick

Hey Rick,

How's it going?

I'm not necessarily the "expert" on Box Crown forks, but I'm probably the most obsessed individual when it comes to them...Don't ask me why but that's just the way it is.

I never really inquired as to how they were made, but I would imagine that they were heavily labor intensive to produce. I know that there are a few former Fat City employees who visit this site so perhaps someone could fill us in on what the real deal with those forks are?

Michael-NYC
 
MikeyNYC said:
Max,

Does your Slim Chance have a "normal" serial #? The Box Crown road fork and the Grello/Blue fade paint job is either a custom deal all around, or perhaps it was a team bike?
Does anyone know more about the Slim Chances?

Michael-NYC


Michael - yea, I think it's a regular serial # (it's 049S05). It's got a sticker that reads "D&D Cycles Frame Services" on the non-drive side chain stay. I don't know for sure but have heard that D&D had an east coast location and that Fat used their painting services (true?, false? - I don't know). I was also thinking it was a possible team bike as I heard those were team colors that year. I have been assuming that the paint is original, but now I'm not so sure...:confused: Come to think of it, the pink and gray downtube decal looks a bit odd on grello.

What I really need to do is post some pics which won't happen till my girlfreind gets back in town in a couple of weeks with that digital camera of hers. Till then, thanks for your input.
-Max
 

rick

New member
my Slim has a unicrown fork, (wish that it had the box crown or road Yo fork). I do recall seeing team bikes at some races in grello in about 1990. They also had Mavic gruppos, what parts are on your Slim?


p.s. hey Michael, how's it going?
 

bushpig

New member
I think the Yo-style forks look really sweet on the Slim Chances. I saw one in berry the other day riding across the George Washington Bridge. Nice bike!
 

MikeyNYC

Member
rick said:
my Slim has a unicrown fork, (wish that it had the box crown or road Yo fork). I do recall seeing team bikes at some races in grello in about 1990. They also had Mavic gruppos, what parts are on your Slim?


p.s. hey Michael, how's it going?


Hey Rick (The King of All Fat Chance Owners!),

All is well, you will soon see what I've been working on over the past few months...I'll give you 1 hint, it has a Box Crown fork. ;)

Drop me a line when you can.

Michael-NYC
 

Bssc

New member
Slim forks were originally to be the box crow but the pricing would have made the frame prohibitive at the time of release. Team and Mavic neutral support bike were all box crown and all sported SSC. IIRC there were 12 neutral bikes and 10 team bikes built up another 6 frames and forks were also butt/ tubes put on hold. I am not quite certain how many forks were produced before the switch but it may be lees than 2 dozen or so. Along with the fork switch I am of the belief some of the tubes were switched too. The team and support bike rode quite differently then the consumer bikes with the same geometries. ( it may have just been different cutting of where the butts were in the tubes) The originals, team and neutral bike rode like true pro stage racing frames of the time stiff BB with good climbing and good acceleration feel. The consumer bikes had a much softer BB so much so the front der would rub on the chain rings while climbing and accelerating.
 

Yo Eddy!

Member
Bssc said:
Slim forks were originally to be the box crow but the pricing would have made the frame prohibitive at the time of release. Team and Mavic neutral support bike were all box crown and all sported SSC. IIRC there were 12 neutral bikes and 10 team bikes built up another 6 frames and forks were also butt/ tubes put on hold. I am not quite certain how many forks were produced before the switch but it may be lees than 2 dozen or so. Along with the fork switch I am of the belief some of the tubes were switched too. The team and support bike rode quite differently then the consumer bikes with the same geometries. ( it may have just been different cutting of where the butts were in the tubes) The originals, team and neutral bike rode like true pro stage racing frames of the time stiff BB with good climbing and good acceleration feel. The consumer bikes had a much softer BB so much so the front der would rub on the chain rings while climbing and accelerating.

Hi,

Do you mean the consumer bikes were softer due to the different preferences of the non-pros ...or did FAT not their utmost on the consumer bikes?
 
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