1990 Monster Fat

wickedwillie

New member
Hello, just thought I'd share the latest addition to my stash of bikes. I don't post too often over here, but do frequent RB and MTBR as Shogun700.

Just picked this up a week ago, a nice 1990 Monster Fat (serial number 017M07) in black. My girl has decided she likes it better than her Ritchey Ascent, so it's a keeper! We had a bad ratio of west coast to east coast builders anyway-2 Ritcheys and a Santana to just one Ted Wojcik, now we'll be balanced at 2 and 2.

Here it is as it arrived to me:

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I'm not sure when they switched from the 'W' Wicked frames to the monostay 'M' frames for the Monster, but I do believe this one is from not long after the switch. Most of the original parts are there:

Build Kit: Shimano XT 732/735 (date codes are mostly '89, but the hubs are '90)
Stem and Seatpost: Sakae 'The Pipe' and TCO
Rims: Ritchey Vantage Comp, black

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Overall condition is very good, by the condition of the decals I'd say it's been roasting away inside a storage unit for several years. Straight, no dents, a couple scratches. I'm going to get some fresh grease where it needs to go and get some XT canti's and levers on there, as well as a nice set of skinwall Michelin Wildgrippers (not the green ones). The stem is out beyond the 'max' line and she needs something with a little more rise, so that will likely go by the wayside as well. If I can find them, decals would be great, but I don't think I'm going to mess with the paint.

Sorry for the crappy pics and lack of detail-as I pick up the correct parts I'll add to the thread and take some better photos as the build comes together.
 

IF52

New member
I think it's actually Boris Karloff as Frankenstein. Or at least it looks like the pretty popular picture I attached.
 

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wickedwillie

New member
I'm in the process of bringing this back to proper form now-I was shocked to find this on my first search for a nice True Temper handlebar:
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It's a perfect match to the cage and the decals!

I also added the Dia-Compe AD-292 brake levers (the 'batwing' shape fits the Monster theme, plus I love them to death) and have sets of Dia-Compe 986 and 985 canti's on the way (black). I have a black M730 crankset on there as well now, plus a NOS set of Michelin Wildgrippers-I'd like to see what the green ones look like on there.... I believe the color is wrong though, too much blue.

Anyone have any suggestions for the stem? I don't mind 'The Pipe' but Ms. K needs the bars up another inch or so, and this stem can't be raised more than 5mm before you see the 'max' line. Obviously a Fat City branded stem would be ideal....sold one of those about a year ago-stupid!

I'll add more pics as the build comes together. I've contacted a couple people about the 'Monster Fat' head and downtube decals, unfortunately they are exceptionally difficult to make, so I'm waiting for a NOS set to magically appear....not gonna hold my breath.
 

colker

Well-known member
Sakae, the tall ones... i have one in my parts bin and would send it your way but i am in another country right now.
You may find it on ebay and they are not supposed to be expensive. Girls don't need extra long saddle to bar reach so the Sakae will produce the vintage "high and short" fit.
They also let you fit thru the front brake cable. Some are black which would look awesome there.
 

wickedwillie

New member
Colker, thanks, I just made an offer on one that looks a little rough but good enough for this build-she is long of leg and not-so-long of torso, so I think the rise and 100mm reach will be perfect, plus the cable routing is strange out of these brake levers and much more suited to through-stem routing.

On a side note, the Dia-Compe 986's arrived today, according to MOMBAT, these were available in 1990, although the instructions that came in this box are copyrighted 1991. I'm not all that picky about it-the levers are a little older than the bike (but still available in '90). The 985s are too new by a couple years, but they are cheap, available, and low-profile, so they are perfect for the rear. Hopefully they will arrive in a couple days.

I'm enjoying this build....never expected to find perfectly matched bars, the brake levers really look at home, and other parts have (so far) been easy to find. When I built her Ritchey it took forever to find a decent m730 RD and 732 black brakeset-I swear they were a dime a dozen on ebay until I needed them!

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I-ROBOT

Active member
That frame is one of the first batch of Monsters that had the monostay. That is the first version of the monostay that had the monotube pinched down to accept the seatstays which were just welded across the end of the monotube and then what was sticking out were welded together.
I didn't like the looks of that set-up and Chris didn't really like it either. Proper alignment was difficult also. The second generation design is much cleaner and looks like some thought actually went into it. It was also much easier to align and finish so it looked decent.
The good thing about your frame is that it has a Fat City-built unicrown fork instead of the aftermarket Tanges that came with the later Monsters/Buck Shavers. By then, most riders were opting for a suspension fork, so the rigid forks didn't really matter. Most dealers were just buying the frames at that point.
Nice find!!
If I remember correctly, Bob Fulk drew the original Monster head tube badge. He is basically Boris Karloff and Herman Munster blended together. If you look closely, he is smiling just a bit and Boris's Frankie never smiled. However, Fred Gywnne's Herman always had a big smile and hearty laugh so I think either persona could be correct here. Guess you will have to ask Bob what he was drawing on for inspiration!
Regards
Scott
 

wickedwillie

New member
Scott, thanks so much for the info-I thought maybe it was an early monostay but had no way to be sure. I'll have to check out pics of some others to see the construction differences you mention. Cool about the fork, I had no idea.
 

wickedwillie

New member
More parts arrived, and I had some time last night to get it together, must say I'm happy with the way it turned out. The one missing element is the stem-I ended up using a Kalloy, I gave it a quick rattle-can paint job so it looks the part. There were 2 black Sakae stems on ebay when I posted my question a few days ago, they had been on there for quite some time (I saw them when doing an obsessive search for dirt drop stems). I hesitated for a day, and they both sold. Bizarre. Typical!

The rear brake, NOS Dia-Compe 985...I had a hard time setting these up, unfortunately. With cantis I either get it in 10 minutes, or fiddle with it for 2 hours. It seriously makes my blood boil.

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Very nice Tioga Pro-X grips. Dont' know if they are period correct but I really like them. I also found a NOS Shimano XTII/732 shift cable set in one of my drawers, and I managed (for once) to cut them properly the FIRST time! Not a critical part of the build to get correct, but for once I actually hoarded a part that proved usable on one of my own builds.

Ms. K really likes it!

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I had a few more pics of the completed build but they are too dark for some reason, but you get the idea:



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colker

Well-known member
Like it a lot. the all black look reminds me of cowboy movies, Yul Brinner..
what tires are there? I've got new 2.1 continental speed kings on my wicked and contemplating moving to as fat as i can fit there to do some serious mtn biking. it's my only bike right now.
 

TeddVanB

New member
More parts arrived, and I had some time last night to get it together, must say I'm happy with the way it turned out. The one missing element is the stem-I ended up using a Kalloy, I gave it a quick rattle-can paint job so it looks the part. There were 2 black Sakae stems on ebay when I posted my question a few days ago, they had been on there for quite some time (I saw them when doing an obsessive search for dirt drop stems). I hesitated for a day, and they both sold. Bizarre. Typical!

I'm pretty sure I have an '89 or '90 black Sakae roller stem in my parts bin. PM me if you're interested and I can send a pic.
 

wickedwillie

New member
I'm pretty sure I have an '89 or '90 black Sakae roller stem in my parts bin. PM me if you're interested and I can send a pic.


Thanks! I have to take a look at the cable routing, the way the cables exit from these brake levers is odd, and I may not be able to use a roller stem because the bend will be very tight. If it's possible, I'm interested-I'll PM you if I can make it work.
 

chainline

Member
You know, I always liked the look of the mono stays of the 90/91 Monsters more than the 92 wishbone style. Now if I could only find a 91 in lrg in pink I would be happy !
 

Syborg

Member
i love the Herman Munster decal...

if you look closely, you will realize that it is not the head of Frankenstein or Herman Munster, but the head badge decal was modeled on the head by chris chance. Strong similarity is at least visible.

The monster bike is really great by the way. And the green true temper handlebars bar does not fit on the grello Yo from Nader, but better on my monster. I would give to you my Syncros handlebars.

Greetz Helmut
 

wickedwillie

New member
Like it a lot. the all black look reminds me of cowboy movies, Yul Brinner..
what tires are there? I've got new 2.1 continental speed kings on my wicked and contemplating moving to as fat as i can fit there to do some serious mtn biking. it's my only bike right now.

Thanks-I thought the black went well with the entire scary/monster theme. The tires are Michelin Wildgripper Sport-picked them off ebay some time back for a decent price and I like how they look here. I am a huge Continental fan, I have a couple sets for my Ted Wojcik, and they work exceptionally well, wish I could find more.
.
if you look closely, you will realize that it is not the head of Frankenstein or Herman Munster, but the head badge decal was modeled on the head by chris chance. Strong similarity is at least visible.

The monster bike is really great by the way. And the green true temper handlebars bar does not fit on the grello Yo from Nader, but better on my monster. I would give to you my Syncros handlebars.

Greetz Helmut

Thanks to you and nader-but the green bars must stay as I feel very lucky to find them and for Ms. K it is the best part of the bike!

I like your idea of the head badge modeled by Chris Chance-I will get a good picture of both and we can compare!
 

IF52

New member
That's a really interesting theory that the head badge is Chris. I painted a portrait of Chris back in 1994 after he visited out shop. A few days ago I was looking at the painting and came to the same conclusion.

Remember, this painting was done back in 1994 from a photo I had take of him a few days earlier. And no I wasn't trying to make him look like the Monster head badge

And yes, Chris really does have a big 8-head.


ChanceSm.jpg
 

Syborg

Member
Thanks to you and nader-but the green bars must stay as I feel very lucky to find them and for Ms. K it is the best part of the bike!

what a coincidence and luck! I've found on ebay a green True Temper handlebars. Just like yours. This one will fits to my monster. I am happy!
 
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