New York vs Mass Yo Eddy

Kenny Chestnuts

New member
Hi, I had some ?'s for those more knowledgable in Yo Eddy frames than myself. I won an auction on ebay for a 1995 Yo Eddy w/1" head tube, made in New York. Are Mass Fats superior as seems to often be implied or is it just a nostagia thing? Also I need to locate a fork for this frame, are there any new rigid fork options? I assume that this frame would require a suspension geometry corrected rigid fork. Does Marzocchi still offer a 1" crown to bolt on to there other forks? Any or some info appreciated, I look forward to building this frame rigid or otherwise. Thanks Kenny.
 

fatf**knchance

New member
Look back in the forum for a topic with same title. It is still on a more recent page. Welcome to fatcogs

Massachusetts Vs. New York Fats
 
Last edited:

I-ROBOT

Active member
Hi Kenny,
I was the chief welder at Fat City Somerville from 1986 until the merger and move. I chose not to move nor did any of the other production workers except Chris himself. I cannot speak for the motivation, desire, or ability of the folks in New York but I cannot imagine that they would have been that excited to have to build another line of bikes other than what they had been working on. I always regarded Serotta as a top-notch competitor and their bikes seemed to have a high level of craftsmanship. I don't know how many of them worked on Fat Chance bikes. Believe it or not, I have never seen an NY frame in person. I moved to a totally different line of work and lost touch with most of the folks I worked with in Somerville. I have a welding engineering degree and I have been a certified inspector since 1981. I did not know of another certified inspector who worked as a frame welder anywhere. There may have been but I know that our welding was the very best for what we did. The attitude was something that probably couldn't be replaced. I hope you get a lot of enjoyment from riding your Yo. If at least half of the ability and desire went into building it that existed in Somerville, then you still have a damn fine bike. It's a shame things turned out the way they did but I guess things happen for a reason.
Best of Luck
Scott Bengtson
 

fat-tony

Moderator
Staff member
Hi Kenny,
I was the chief welder at Fat City Somerville from 1986 until the merger and move. I chose not to move nor did any of the other production workers except Chris himself. I cannot speak for the motivation, desire, or ability of the folks in New York but I cannot imagine that they would have been that excited to have to build another line of bikes other than what they had been working on. I always regarded Serotta as a top-notch competitor and their bikes seemed to have a high level of craftsmanship. I don't know how many of them worked on Fat Chance bikes. Believe it or not, I have never seen an NY frame in person. I moved to a totally different line of work and lost touch with most of the folks I worked with in Somerville. I have a welding engineering degree and I have been a certified inspector since 1981. I did not know of another certified inspector who worked as a frame welder anywhere. There may have been but I know that our welding was the very best for what we did. The attitude was something that probably couldn't be replaced. I hope you get a lot of enjoyment from riding your Yo. If at least half of the ability and desire went into building it that existed in Somerville, then you still have a damn fine bike. It's a shame things turned out the way they did but I guess things happen for a reason.
Best of Luck
Scott Bengtson

Scott: I appreciate you taking the time to post on this site. It is a pleassure to read your insight! We all love these frames, what you all did, and all things FAT.

Peace.
 

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I-ROBOT

Active member
Hi Tony,
That is one sweet-lookin' Yo you've got there. I wish I had mine back. I built a special ultralight Yo for myself in '93. I used straight gauge .028 wall for the stays and had some Columbus tube that I threw in as well. I also used the machined 17-4 PH Stainless Steel dropouts and massaged those quite a bit. This was another trial frame since it was the first frame to be completely welded with 309L MO stainless filler wire instead of the ER80S-D2 that I normally used on the CrMo frames. It came out really nice and I was very happy with the results. For everybody's info, we never used 4130 filler wire on our steel frame welds. The only time 4130 filler should EVER be used to weld CrMo is when the entire part is post-weld heat-treated. It is not necessary to heat-treat thin-wall tube fabrications even for mountain-bike (abusive) conditions if the correct filler wire is used. Most other fabricators used ER70S-2 or ER70S-6 (cheaper, easier to get) which are not as strong as the ER80 grade and do not have anywhere near the fracture toughness and fatigue resistance which are much more important characteristics than ultimate tensile strength. We actaully built a fatigue tester to test various welding materials, gusset designs, and other design elements and we obtained much useful information. To me, that was one of the really fun parts of the job. Getting paid to break stuff is the best!! It was especially important in developing the titanium frame.
Looking forward to getting back out on the trails this year
Best wishes
Scott Bengtson
 

DonH

Member
Scott,
Thanks for the info on welding and construction of the frames. Its fascinating to hear of this stuff. Im sure everyone here appreciates your posts.
Don
 

headtube

New member
Hi, I had some ?'s for those more knowledgable in Yo Eddy frames than myself. I won an auction on ebay for a 1995 Yo Eddy w/1" head tube, made in New York. Are Mass Fats superior as seems to often be implied or is it just a nostagia thing? Also I need to locate a fork for this frame, are there any new rigid fork options? I assume that this frame would require a suspension geometry corrected rigid fork. Does Marzocchi still offer a 1" crown to bolt on to there other forks? Any or some info appreciated, I look forward to building this frame rigid or otherwise. Thanks Kenny.

Hi Ken,

As far as your 1" fork question goes... yes, you can still order 1" steerers from Marzocchi but they are going fast. If you pick up an older Z2 Bomber (63-65mm travel) with the clamped in legs and steerer you'll have the right travel for that frame.

I too bought a 95 Yo Eddy from NY and the truth is I wasn't impressed. I searched high and low for that frame and paid $300.00 for it, built it up and rode it a while. It's now in the U.K. I sold the complete bike for $1150.00 to a Brit. I've had the opportunity to ride many frames in my lifetime and the Fat just didn't do anything for me.

The only reason I mention this is of course the age old question that you pose... The difference between Mass. and NY? I'll always wonder if the Mass built frame would've met my VERY HIGH expectations regarding the much hearlded ride of Fat Chance Yo Eddys.

But I do hope you enjoy yours.
 

Yo Eddy!

Member
Hi headtube,

You're the topring dude from the MTBR VRC? The dude who rode a few blocks on road with slicks and had to shout it out the ride is so disappointing.

...probably because something had to be proved...

...following on another topic discussing Fat value...


Well, glad you sold it.
 

headtube

New member
I'm glad I sold it too.

Just to let you know. I gave it a fair evaluation over a (5) week period and rode it almost daily during that time. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to know what a frame will ride like using any type of tire. A frame should hold its own regardless of the components that are attached to it. I've had many different frames in my lifetime and the Yo just didn't do it for me.

Before I received my Yo frame, I too was driven by the "cog" that spins the Fat Chance cult and yes, something DID have to be proven... to me. "Was the Yo Eddy the frame that everyone said it was"? After putting in the time... sadly no.

Although it didn't work out for me, I'm glad that you and the many others that own them have great satisfaction.

I should also add that I'm not against trying a Wicked if I ever had the chance to pick one up.

BTW... the best riding steel frame that I've ever put a leg over is the Kona HOT. Magical!
 

77classic

New member
I had a Kona Hot for a year. It was a nice bike, but a friggin' noodle.
Of course, I'm 200 lbs. the YO! is a much better ride for me.
Of course, the kona King Kahuna is my other "awesome" bike.
It would be hard to choose which one to give up, if one had to go.
 

Spikes

New member
Oh, well in all the world it does surprise me that there is only one guy dissapointed with the Yo! After all, there are so many different opinions on frames and bikes. Just one guy that had different expectations and all these hudreds of bikers that love the frame. Not a bad score eh?
 

zsazsu

New member
I'm with Colker... The bike was never ridden in the dirt. That being said, I've put thousands of road miles on each of my FATs. I was so satisfied I got a road bike.
 

corky

New member
que?

SO why are you on this forum Headtube...... not trying to fan the flames but why spend your valuable time on here?
 

headtube

New member
SO why are you on this forum Headtube...... not trying to fan the flames but why spend your valuable time on here?

I was a Fat owner once and although I didn't like to the Yo, it doesn't mean that I wouldn't like the other frames that Fat City produced. Besides, I'm a cycling enthusiast like the rest of you. I know that there are folks here that own more bikes than just Fat's. Is it wrong of me to visit the forum from time to time to get the low down?

77classic... I'm a little surpised you thought the Hot was noodley. As it happens, I too have a King Kahuna, and although the ride is sublime, that is more bendy then my Hot.
 

MikeNZ

New member
Hi Tony,
That is one sweet-lookin' Yo you've got there. I wish I had mine back. I built a special ultralight Yo for myself in '93. I used straight gauge .028 wall for the stays and had some Columbus tube that I threw in as well. I also used the machined 17-4 PH Stainless Steel dropouts and massaged those quite a bit. This was another trial frame since it was the first frame to be completely welded with 309L MO stainless filler wire instead of the ER80S-D2 that I normally used on the CrMo frames. It came out really nice and I was very happy with the results. For everybody's info, we never used 4130 filler wire on our steel frame welds. The only time 4130 filler should EVER be used to weld CrMo is when the entire part is post-weld heat-treated. It is not necessary to heat-treat thin-wall tube fabrications even for mountain-bike (abusive) conditions if the correct filler wire is used. Most other fabricators used ER70S-2 or ER70S-6 (cheaper, easier to get) which are not as strong as the ER80 grade and do not have anywhere near the fracture toughness and fatigue resistance which are much more important characteristics than ultimate tensile strength. We actaully built a fatigue tester to test various welding materials, gusset designs, and other design elements and we obtained much useful information. To me, that was one of the really fun parts of the job. Getting paid to break stuff is the best!! It was especially important in developing the titanium frame.
Looking forward to getting back out on the trails this year
Best wishes
Scott Bengtson


Hi Scott, I lived with and rode with a guy named Thane Hall in Park City, UT. He had a wicked with a box crown fork and it had prestige stickers on it. Any idea where that bike came from? He said he got it from a fat employee. It was definately lighter than my wicked with box crown and you could even tell that the tubing on the fork was a smaller diameter. He snapped that fork so I guess it was an experiment that didnt pay off.

cheers,

Mike
 

corky

New member
No Problemo

I was a Fat owner once and although I didn't like to the Yo, it doesn't mean that I wouldn't like the other frames that Fat City produced. Besides, I'm a cycling enthusiast like the rest of you. I know that there are folks here that own more bikes than just Fat's. Is it wrong of me to visit the forum from time to time to get the low down?

77classic... I'm a little surpised you thought the Hot was noodley. As it happens, I too have a King Kahuna, and although the ride is sublime, that is more bendy then my Hot.


Just wondering if we had our very own troll. Seems strange that someone that doesn't like the bikes would hang out on a forum dedicated to that product...... but hey maybe you could start your own group FAT SNOBS (FAT Sycles never owned but slagged(off))...... err a bit tenuous but maybe you could find your own acronym?

Just having some fun.... no harm meant :):p
 

lucifer

New member
For what it's worth I was never a huge fan of the yo eddy either. I am tall but a relative lightweight, 150lbs now, 130lbs when I was in my peak riding/racing form. And because of this I always thought that the yo was brutally stiff. To me a buck shaver is a much better choice because it offers the same geometry with a more forgiving tube set. The "top of the line" isn't necessarily the best choice for everyone....
 
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