Differences between the models/years??

scooderdude

New member
I'm a new member, yet have been a "classic" mtb owner for nearly 18 years.... in the form of a Ritchey TimberComp, owned since new in 1987, my second Ritchey by that time. Even though I have 13 other mountain bikes, I still love to ride that sweet bike, especially when I can keep up with or stay ahead of my buddies on their Blurs and Tracers and the like. But I digress....

I'm trying to learn about Fat Chance bikes. A buddy of mine had a Yo Eddy, last seen back in 1999 or so just before it was stolen off the back of his car while visiting Mammoth for the races. He literally cried.

I simply do not know anything about FC bikes and want to learn. What are the different models? When were they produced? Why would one prefer owning or riding one model over the other? Etc., etc.?

Can anyone help?
 

rick

New member
different types of Fats?

Well, this is a big question to answer. IIRC, this topic was covered at some time in the past in this forum or another. You can also check Fatfans.de and FirstFlightbikes.com for lots of good info. There are also scans of some of the catlogs posted on a great site (?).
Off the cuff, here is a short (probably flawed) short history. I would need to check my info at home to verify some of the dates.

82-91? Fat Chance, the original bike. Horizontal top tube, cables under BB, press-in BB bearings. There were also other early bikes such as the Kicker, but they are not too common. Earliest bikes had a "box crown" fork, available as an option on later bikes. Very cool fork, but the unicrown forks are much more common. These feel a bit dated to me due to the slack angles.

87-91? Wicked Fat Chance, same bike with steeper head tube. Later upgraded to a Wicked Lite in 92?. (same geometry, lighter tubes, top tube cables, "normal BB). There were also variations throughout these years such as the Team Comp, likewise not too common (but very nice).
I feel that steeper angles make these bikes feel more modern.

89-2000 YO Eddy, Sloped top tube, top tube cables, normal BB. Their team "race" bike, changed tubing a bit over the years. Introduced with the very cool Yo Eddy fork (later replaced by the Big One Inch fork).
Probably their most popular bike, justifiably so.

88?-93 Monster Fat Their attempt at hitting a lower price point. The first year was merely a re-badged Wicked (different decals). Later models had the same geometry as a Yo but with a less expensive monostay rear end. Also less expensive (heavier) tubing. Came with a Tange fork instead of a Fat fork. Replaced in later years by a Buck Shaver and a Bro Eddy, very similar to the Monster. A great way to get the Yo geometry for less.

The Ti Fat came out in the early 90s, same geometry as the YO. The early models has externally butted tubes. Made up until the end in 2000. Great bikes.

The 10th Anniversary model was only made in 92, has a Big One Inch fork, special tubing, one paint job. Too beautiful to ride.

A Yo Betty was made available in the 90s too, (girls sizing), available in steel or Ti. Let's hear it for the girls.

They started making road bikes with the Slim Chance in the early 90s, later replaced by the Chris Chance road and Ti bikes. They also made a Chris Cross cross bike in the late 90s.

One of the biggest changes came when Fat City was aquired by a holding company and moved from Somerville MA to South Glen Falls NY in about 94/95? After this time the bikes were made by the people at Serotta.
Some people have very strong opinions about the non-Mass bikes. All nice bikes, but are they true Fats? I'll leave that up to you.

I have really only scratched the surface, they are other folks on this forum that know a lot more about Fats than I do (although I am a big fan). If you want to learn about them, you have come to the right place (thanks to Doug).

let me know if I can help.

rick
 

scant

New member
rick is incredibularly modest :D

also the shockabilly (94?), originally AMP back end. later FAT made fully steel XC FS rig
 

scooderdude

New member
Holy Wicked Yo and Eddy! Great Reader's Digest history lesson. Much appreciated and learned.

One final question (although it was touched upon, but was not completely clear to me):

Was a "normal" BB used first on the Wicked Lite, or was a normal BB also used on the Wicked?
 

rick

New member
all things Fat

Thanks Scant, how could I have forgotten about the Shock-a-Billy..?
And of coruse the tandem, Random Tandem, but they are so uncommon (but very cool, just ask Andreas).

Regarding the BB types, to my knowledge, the regular Wicked always came with a press-in BB. When the Wicked Lite came out they switched to top tube cables and a normal BB.

Scooterdude, welcome to the Fat family, Whatever you choose to buy/ride, you can't go wrong with a Fat (and don't let the 1 inch steer tube scare you away).
 
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