Fat Chance (made in Taiwan)

schneidw

New member
Makes you wonder if paying $1000+ for the novelty of owning a 10+ yr old Yo Eddy frame makes any sense when you can get a Chinese knock off brand new for $249...

JensonUSA is selling a 4130 steel frame w nearly identical geometry, tubing and weight of the Yo Eddy for $249... Hmmnnn... http://www.jensonusa.com/store/product/FR410A01-Zion+660+Frame.aspx

I wonder how many of us could even tell the difference if we were riding blind to the stickers below us... Just wondering... How do we compete w China anymore?
 

AB

Active member
I think you have to look at the whole manufacturing picture. I could go on for a while about made in China stuff, but suffice to say that I try to avoid buying anything made in China - it's difficult to do these days. It's not a level playing field in my opinion - it's Wall Street.
 

schneidw

New member
I agree.. just throwin' out food for thought and trying to expose the ridiculous prices some of these Fats are selling for as well and coming to grips w the fact that independent steel frame builders have it tough!@

Lucifer, I defer to your expertise on bikes but I thought that the Yo Eddy was 71/73 geometry similar to the Zion knock off... and 4130 is a spec for the steel blend so although quality control my not be close... the content of the tubing eg ration of Cr to Mo must be near identical...

Just being devils advocate because I am trying to land a replacement Yo Eddy for the one I sold and am pissed off that I will never own one unless it falls in my lap locally
 

bushpig

New member
There have always been cheaper mass produced bikes with a similar spec to high end bikes. The difference is in the details.

On finding a replacement Yo, I think it is really doable if you have patience, and better yet if you will repaint it yourself.
 

lucifer

New member
I think most fats are 71/72 but I honestly didn't check the spec sheet before I said that. Also you can be sure that the zion doesn't have quad butted main tubes. Butted non tapering chain and seat stays, custom gussets... etc.
There is also the fact that fats had expensive automotive style paint jobs which were far more labor intensive than the basic powdercoat you see on these frames from china. I am also fairly certain that no one pores over zion frames on a marble surface table to get the alignment just right either.

And to answer your other question we don't compete with china anymore. You are either willing to suck it up and pay more for made in the USA based on your principles or you cheap out and buy chinese crap.

I do have a solution for you though.
Buy a buckshaver. For some reason the word hasn't gotten around yet as to how fantastic they are. They sell for much less than yo's, have identical geometry, and actually ride nicer for most people. Plenty of people on this board have picked them up for $200-400 in near perfect shape.
 
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