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Your frame is a 1986 model. Most likely a Fat Chance (we called them "regular" Fats) It would have been the 688th frame produced in 1986. It was probably right around when I started with them (November 1986). Not sure who welded the frame but it could be one of Gary Helfrich's last Fat Chance...

Just to add what I wrote on the other thread, the black "paint" appears to be powder coat which we used on our standard frames up until we moved to Linden Street and had more room for a much better paint shop. Custom paint jobs done at Olive Square were typically shot over the powder coat (black...

You are correct! That would have been the 886th frame built in 1991. Not sure if I welded the entire frame or just the finishing bits. That would have been just before we pulled up stakes at 5 Olive Square and moved down the street to the Linden Street shop. I like the Grello fade like what is...

If anybody is looking for a Helfrich-welded Fat, this is likely one of the last steel frames he welded.

Gotta admit that I'm stumped by the A as well. May have been an employee bike and they added the A to the SN. It's definitely a 1988 Fat with cantilevers. Since regular Fats at that time came with chainstay U-Brake mounts standard, the A may have been for seatstay cantilever mounts (which were...

I'm curious as to what the serial number is. That looks like a Somerville Yo that was finished in Saratoga. There were quite a few frames in progress and/or completed waiting for paint when Somerville closed. Scott

Today is Jacquie Phelan and Charlie Cunningham's 35th wedding anniversary. That's right, they were married on 8-8-88. Jacquie was the Women's National Mountain Bike Champion in the early 80's and Charlie was a talented bike builder. Charlie was seriously injured a few years ago and still faces...

As always, I really appreciate all the kind words you guys have to say. Still makes me smile. Look for a FOR SALE ad later this week. I have decided that it's time to put my 18" custom Wicked up for sale. I will have full details, parts lists and photos. If anyone of you are interested, PM me...

It's likely that some of the early welded FATs of any type had a small handful of buckled downtubes and/or cracked welds at the DT / HT junction. I remember replacing some downtubes under warranty for that reason. Ron Andrews created and built the fatigue tester that we used when we were...

Brochures are rarely ever 100% truthful. The average buyer probably wouldn't have a scale to weigh their frame to the exact gram. I'm sure the Lites were at least close to the TCs in weight but probably not lighter given identical frame sizes. But the difference would have been very small

I guess that being better than a Wicked would be a matter of a rider's opinion. The super light TC might have been too whippy for a heavier rider. As the shop fat guy, that was never a problem for me!! The TCs were aimed at the pro class racer and those who wanted to spend the high end money to...

The Team Comps had Tange Prestige top tubes and down tubes. The down tube was only 1.25" diameter and had really short butt sections at the ends as opposed to the True Temper down tube which was 1.375" diameter, had longer butt sections and was seam welded. I believe the Tange tubes were...

I'd be lucky to get the friggin' thing over my head. Never mind my fat old body!! Scott

Still love the all-black look. I had my Wicked repainted all black after the red, white and blue harlequin had gotten beaten up. Scott

Cool Bike! I'm not too far away from you. Enjoy it Scott

It depends on how old the frame is. We changed the serial number nomenclature either in 1989 or 1990 to include a letter(s) at the end of the SN to indicate the frame size. My Wicked has the SN 87777. It was the 777th frame produced in 1987. There is no size indicator included. I believe this...

This is ultra-rare. Before my time but I had no idea anything like this existed. Would have been welded by Gary. I don't know who it would have been built for. We never made any mixte frames during my tenure. We did create the 15" Fat and then the 14" Wicked for riders of "lesser" stature...

Any geometry differences between the '89 and '91 Wickeds would likely be just in manufacturing tolerances and possible differences in butting of the tubesets from True Temper. I don't know if Chris changed any of the butting specifications over that period of time and it does not seem likely to...

Will be interesting to see if they can get anywhere near their asking price. Yikes Thinking about selling my 1987 18" custom Wicked. hmmmmm

Since that's a FAT with the chainstay U-Brake / Roller cam brake mounts, it is likely from 1988 or 1989 (best guess). If that is the original color, it would have been a custom Imron paint (likely painted over a stock black epoxy powder coat, which was the norm then) Give us the serial number. I...