Whats Chris Up To ?

[john hancock]

Does anyone know what Chris Chance is doing these days ?
If I were him I'd bring Fat Chance back to life, he's make a fortune!!

[paul m]

And he`d have to repair a sh*t load of rusty frames under their warrenty,probably go bankrupt ,,,,he`d ow me three frames at least

[colker]

Originally Posted by paul m

And he`d have to repair a sh*t load of rusty frames under their warrenty,probably go bankrupt ,,,,he`d ow me three frames at least

are you sure his steel frames have life warranties regarding rust? he would be crazy to promise such thing. any steel bike is prone to rust and there is no way no matter how good a frame builder can be to insure steel against rust. it's the owner's job to take care of it. leave a steel bike to nature's way nevermind on the humid climate of an island (brit) and rust will take it's place.
Fat chance warranty covered breakage and other related problems. they did honour the warranty in a very nice way.
if you are unlucky w/ rust... buy titanium.

[john hancock]

Chris, if your reading this....come and move to the UK. There are 100's od dedicated fans over here. Rent a little unit and start making those frames again! I'd even be willing to buy in if you need some cash!

[rody]

Guys,

I think we can all agree there are times in our lives that are better remembered fondly than lived again.

Chris has publicly stated that the bicycle biz is behind him, let's appreciate the smiles we have been fortunate enough to gleen from his presence and allow him to move on to new challenges.

cheers,

rody

[I-ROBOT]

Hey kids,

I haven't seen Chris since the day Mass Electric walked into the Somerville shop, yanked all of the fuses out of the electrical boxes and slapped giant padlocks on 'em. I believe that was 10-29-94.

I did speak with him about 4 years (?) later. My TI bike was stolen and subsequently recovered by the Melrose, MA police. I asked him to write a letter for me stating that I was the legal owner of the bike. It was a warranty frame that Fat City replaced and was hanging in the shop for the longest time. When it became clear that the Somerville shop was closing, I asked Chris what he was going to do with it. He said I could have it. There was a small crack in the downtube sleeve near the bottom bracket. I cleaned it up, purged the frame and welded the crack. I put the frame on the alignment table and it was straight as an arrow!! I was so stoked! I finally would get a TI bike. I couldn't afford one even at employee prices.

Chris was nice enough to write the letter for me and I got the bike back. The only thing missing were the original SPD pedals. When the thieves busted into my car, they grabbed the frame and wheels, but left the seat and seatpost. Apparently the kid who bought it went into a bike shop in Melrose trying to buy a seatpost. The guys there knew this kid had no idea of what he had (there were and still are no decals on it) so the called the police. They impounded the bike after a serial number search determined that it had been stolen.

I told the officer about the repair weld and matched the serial number. With the letter from Chris, I was able to get the bike back.

I heard a while back the Chris and Wendyll had split up and that Chris was making high-end lawn furniture (???????) Oh well - I just hope he's happy. I'm about to turn 50 this Wednesday so that would make Chris either 53 or 54. I doubt seriously he would ever return to bike building if indeed he longer participates in it. I'm glad I got out when I did. Although I really miss building cool stuff, I have had quite a varied career in welding and it has taken yet another turn. Time will tell if this is the right thing for me. Hopefully Chris is getting satisfaction out of whatever he is doing now.

Long live Fat City Cycles!!

Scott Bengtson - chief welder 1986 - 1994

[Fat_Bloke]

Scott,

Pleasure to meet you. I am the proud owner of 2 Ti's. One 1993 and one 1994 (# 009). maybe you welded these. I can say one thing, the tube work and welds are stunning. The '94 has butted tubes, but I kinda like my '93 with the external sleeves. The '93 is built as a single speed, and it has the Ti front forks also. Love it.
Gota question though, can you remember the numbers of Ti frames made during the early 90's at Somerville?

Happy Birthday too