Question about stem

[smithjss70]

I'm not familiar at all with Fats although I do own a Yo. I found this 1" quill stem today in one of my bins and do not recall where or when I came into possession of it. Any clue as to what it is or if it's actually a FC stem. I don't recall Chris making stems but could easily be mistaken. Thanks!

[I-ROBOT]

Hello

It is most likely out-sourced. I don't know who would have manufactured it. Before my arrival in late '86, they made bar / stem combinations that were installed on some '84's and '85's. I never welded any of those myself and I don't recall seeing any in the shop when I started.

We did make stems but mostly for our own use and we always used 2 bar clamps and not a single like in your photo.

At some point, Chris just decided to go with Salsa stems when we were supplying complete bikes. We worked with Seattle Bike Supply for a while to provide component groups to dealers. I'm not sure if that stem was included or a Salsa. That was not my area. There were some saddles made that had FAT CITY printed on the back of them. During the Somerville era, the name of the company was Fat City Cycles and Fat Chance was the model name (along with Wicked, Yo Eddy, Team Comp, etc)

The stem looks like it has decent welds anyway
Regards
Scott

[smithjss70]

Originally Posted by I-ROBOT

Hello

It is most likely out-sourced. I don't know who would have manufactured it. Before my arrival in late '86, they made bar / stem combinations that were installed on some '84's and '85's. I never welded any of those myself and I don't recall seeing any in the shop when I started.

We did make stems but mostly for our own use and we always used 2 bar clamps and not a single like in your photo.

At some point, Chris just decided to go with Salsa stems when we were supplying complete bikes. We worked with Seattle Bike Supply for a while to provide component groups to dealers. I'm not sure if that stem was included or a Salsa. That was not my area. There were some saddles made that had FAT CITY printed on the back of them. During the Somerville era, the name of the company was Fat City Cycles and Fat Chance was the model name (along with Wicked, Yo Eddy, Team Comp, etc)

The stem looks like it has decent welds anyway
Regards
Scott

Many thanks Scott! I expect it may be a cheap stem that someone may have installed a decal on. I just don't recall how I came into possession of it. It must have been in a larger parts swap that I didn't pay a lot of attention to.