Cool Fat, but what type of Fat is it...Fat experts, please help

[RobTu]

Hello everyone

I found this one in a local ad, and rushed out to get it. The seller was great, and had an impressive Fat collection, but even he was unsure as to what kind of Fat this was. I hope he remembers me when he decides to sell another :wink:

After confirming them to be G.P. Wilson dropouts, (with Jeff from firstflight- his site has a 1990 with these same dropouts), the bike was mine. Also has original black wicked fork with white splatter pain...very cool.

The pics were taken on my first ride; it has mostly original parts (all XT groupset, including the headset, except for the shifters), making it quite period correct for a 1989/1990, but it does need a few changes, (the handlebars/shifters/pedals).

Not too much work to do to finish this project. Please give me feedback on ideas,parts, things I missed or got wrong, etc....

Are the decals right for the year? Is the year correct? The serial number: 100910

The G.P. Wilson dropouts were on the team bike around 1989/1990...I didn't think they made use of the G.P. dropouts in 92/93...but I'm not sure.

I've posted this bike on Retrobike, and members Scant and Ameybrook have said it looks like a Fat respray, not a wicked lite, since wicked lites were made later than 89/90, and it doesn't appear to be a wicked either, but perhaps a Team....

I'm now posting here and on fatcogs in hopes that someone might have a better idea as to this bike's history...or maybe even a prior owner pops up??? it could happen

Thanks, and now the pics:

http://i71.photobucket.com/albums/i160/scapegoat_2006/IMG_4294a.jpg

G.P. Wilson dropouts (rear) the front fork has them as well

 

[bonsaii]

Fat Chance or Wicked

I belive is a repainted Fat Chance or an early Wicked, from the external double butted head tube. See pics comparing your frame, the Fat Chance (black) on ebay and my Wicked (black/blue).
When comparing serialnumbers with the Fat Chance on ebay (SN 11018) (the seller announce it to be a 1983), my Wicked (SN 00149) and your frame (SN 10091), I'm led to belive your frame is a 1982-1983 Fat Chance. Does this coincide with the production period of the GPW dropouts?

Are there any system or code in the early FCC serial numbers?

The paint scheme is Camelon Metallica and the paintjob looks very good. I'm not 100% sure, but think the Wicked Lite frame was introduced in 1992 and the Camelon Metallica color in 1996, hence the decals and color scheme respectively. Repaint is probably done by FCC NY(??), or an other fine paint workshop(??), some time after 1996.

Please correct if necessary!

-bns

 

[bonsaii]

Nice Bike!

...and off course: very nice bike! Congrats with the purchase!

 

[RobTu]

Thanks for the responses and compliment, Bonsaii.

Mainlyfats responded to my thread over on mtbr vrc with what seems to be the most probable answer:

One of the zeroes in your serial number is probably a C. With that gusseting, it should be a re-painted and decaled 1990 Team Comp.

So the mystery looks to have been solved- it's a 1990 Team Comp.

Now if I can find the original owner....

Again, thanks for your well thought out answer. See you around the site

 

[rick]

team comp?

I have a 90 Team Comp (with the same drop outs) and it has TC in the serial number, but there are probably no definitive answers when it comes to FC serial numbering.

As you stated, a Lite would be newer and it would also have top tube cable routing and a "normal" botton bracket.

Nice bike !!

rick

 

[RobTu]

I have a 90 Team Comp (with the same drop outs) and it has TC in the serial number, but there are probably no definitive answers when it comes to FC serial numbering.

As you stated, a Lite would be newer and it would also have top tube cable routing and a "normal" botton bracket.

Nice bike !!

rick

Thanks!

What size is your team comp?

Here is a link to the post over on the VRC:
http://forums.mtbr.com/showthread.php?t=519823

Some interesting stuff regarding the G.P. Wilson dropouts.

Unfortunately, I had to trade this bike since it was way too large for me(it was an XL), otherwise it would've never left my possesion.

Related question: Did the Team Comp get later replaced by the wicked Lite? They both have a triple butted frame, no?

Though this bike was traded, the good news is that it was traded to another member here on Fat Cogs, and another Fat now takes its place. The 85 Fat Chance that belonged to Doug Carter, then Al415, now me...it's definitely a project, but it fits and I like it

 

[rick]

Team Comp

What size is your team comp?

My team comp is a 19.5"; very nice bike, I like it a lot. IIRC there was a considerable upcharge for the TC when new, compared to a Wicked.

I do not know if you would say the the Lite replaced the Team Comp; not certain if the TC played much of a role in their product line. I cannot recall seeing the TC in the catalogs, only in the price lists.

The chameleon metallica paint on your bike is most commonly seen on Yos; I like the way that it looks on the smaller tubing.

rick

 

[RobTu]

What size is your team comp?

My team comp is a 19.5"; very nice bike, I like it a lot. IIRC there was a considerable upcharge for the TC when new, compared to a Wicked.

I do not know if you would say the the Lite replaced the Team Comp; not certain if the TC played much of a role in their product line. I cannot recall seeing the TC in the catalogs, only in the price lists.

The chameleon metallica paint on your bike is most commonly seen on Yos; I like the way that it looks on the smaller tubing.

rick

Good to know; thanks Rick.

 

[Jassie06]

16.5" Team Comp in our garage since 88.

 

[yo-Nate-y]

Wow, that thing is gorgeous.

I wish it was a little bit taller!

 

[mainlyfats]

This bike now lives with me in Winnipeg.

For a while there the only decals available from Fat Chance ranch were Wicked Lite decals, so everything that went for repaints got them. They aren't right in a couple of areas: the Chris Chance sticker on the chainstay and the FAT CITY CYCLES in a serifed font for starters.

It's being repainted and decaled as I type and will have a full, NOS XT group, RM-17s and with Ritchey bar/stem/seatpost in the not too distant future.

Matt

Hello everyone

I found this one in a local ad, and rushed out to get it. The seller was great, and had an impressive Fat collection, but even he was unsure as to what kind of Fat this was. I hope he remembers me when he decides to sell another :wink:

After confirming them to be G.P. Wilson dropouts, (with Jeff from firstflight- his site has a 1990 with these same dropouts), the bike was mine. Also has original black wicked fork with white splatter pain...very cool.

The pics were taken on my first ride; it has mostly original parts (all XT groupset, including the headset, except for the shifters), making it quite period correct for a 1989/1990, but it does need a few changes, (the handlebars/shifters/pedals).

Not too much work to do to finish this project. Please give me feedback on ideas,parts, things I missed or got wrong, etc....

Are the decals right for the year? Is the year correct? The serial number: 100910

The G.P. Wilson dropouts were on the team bike around 1989/1990...I didn't think they made use of the G.P. dropouts in 92/93...but I'm not sure.

I've posted this bike on Retrobike, and members Scant and Ameybrook have said it looks like a Fat respray, not a wicked lite, since wicked lites were made later than 89/90, and it doesn't appear to be a wicked either, but perhaps a Team....

I'm now posting here and on fatcogs in hopes that someone might have a better idea as to this bike's history...or maybe even a prior owner pops up??? it could happen

Thanks, and now the pics:

G.P. Wilson dropouts (rear) the front fork has them as well

 

[Jassie06]

Wow, that thing is gorgeous.

I wish it was a little bit taller!

If you meant mine, thanks.
As I recall, it was 18 different paint colors to make the fade.
At the time I was told there was only one other like it.....the Boss's.

 

[RobTu]

This bike now lives with me in Winnipeg.

For a while there the only decals available from Fat Chance ranch were Wicked Lite decals, so everything that went for repaints got them. They aren't right in a couple of areas: the Chris Chance sticker on the chainstay and the FAT CITY CYCLES in a serifed font for starters.

It's being repainted and decaled as I type and will have a full, NOS XT group, RM-17s and with Ritchey bar/stem/seatpost in the not too distant future.

Matt

Hi Matt,

That's awesome news; congrats. Alastair had mentioned selling it on once more. Glad he kept it in the Fat Cogs family. It would've been a keeper for me, had I'd grown just a bit taller during my youth.

Any updates?

I need to log on more often here at Fatcogs

 

[AB]

If you meant mine, thanks.
As I recall, it was 18 different paint colors to make the fade.
At the time I was told there was only one other like it.....the Boss's.

An extremely nice FCC bike - just my size. I doubt you'd ever part with it and rightly so.

 

[I-ROBOT]

I think I can shed a bit of light on this bike. It is most likely a Custom Wicked - hence the C in the serial number and not TC for Team Comp. We did build a small handful of customs along the way. It is possible that since the frame is a 21" that whoever ordered it did not want a box crown fork in that size but did want the GP Wilson dropouts. I don't know what the tubeset would be - other than the downtube which is probably True Temper since it is 1 - 3/8" OD. Early Team Comps had Tange Prestige tubesets and those downtubes were 1-1/4" OD and they also came with box crown forks as standard.

The splatter paint jobs were popular around the late 80's time period as well. Somehow the fork was not repainted when the frame was re-sprayed. The decals are not period correct for 1990. The frame geometry suggests that the frame is a Wicked and not a Fat. Custom geometries were extremely rare and usually limited to Team or Pro riders who had a specific geometry in mind to suit their racing style. Most customs had the Wilson dropouts or added rack mounts, fender mounts or water bottle mounts, etc. but the frame geometries were typically stock Wicked or Fat depending on the customer's choice and they would have been decalled that way unless the customer specified something else on their order.

It would be cool to see any custom order sheets that would have been done by the sales staff but God only knows where all of that information ended up. Oh well.

Scott

 

[RobTu]

I think I can shed a bit of light on this bike. It is most likely a Custom Wicked - hence the C in the serial number and not TC for Team Comp. We did build a small handful of customs along the way. It is possible that since the frame is a 21" that whoever ordered it did not want a box crown fork in that size but did want the GP Wilson dropouts. I don't know what the tubeset would be - other than the downtube which is probably True Temper since it is 1 - 3/8" OD. Early Team Comps had Tange Prestige tubesets and those downtubes were 1-1/4" OD and they also came with box crown forks as standard.

The splatter paint jobs were popular around the late 80's time period as well. Somehow the fork was not repainted when the frame was re-sprayed. The decals are not period correct for 1990. The frame geometry suggests that the frame is a Wicked and not a Fat. Custom geometries were extremely rare and usually limited to Team or Pro riders who had a specific geometry in mind to suit their racing style. Most customs had the Wilson dropouts or added rack mounts, fender mounts or water bottle mounts, etc. but the frame geometries were typically stock Wicked or Fat depending on the customer's choice and they would have been decalled that way unless the customer specified something else on their order.

It would be cool to see any custom order sheets that would have been done by the sales staff but God only knows where all of that information ended up. Oh well.

Scott

Thanks for that!

 

[mainlyfats]

I think I can shed a bit of light on this bike. It is most likely a Custom Wicked - hence the C in the serial number and not TC for Team Comp. We did build a small handful of customs along the way. It is possible that since the frame is a 21" that whoever ordered it did not want a box crown fork in that size but did want the GP Wilson dropouts. I don't know what the tubeset would be - other than the downtube which is probably True Temper since it is 1 - 3/8" OD. Early Team Comps had Tange Prestige tubesets and those downtubes were 1-1/4" OD and they also came with box crown forks as standard.

The splatter paint jobs were popular around the late 80's time period as well. Somehow the fork was not repainted when the frame was re-sprayed. The decals are not period correct for 1990. The frame geometry suggests that the frame is a Wicked and not a Fat. Custom geometries were extremely rare and usually limited to Team or Pro riders who had a specific geometry in mind to suit their racing style. Most customs had the Wilson dropouts or added rack mounts, fender mounts or water bottle mounts, etc. but the frame geometries were typically stock Wicked or Fat depending on the customer's choice and they would have been decalled that way unless the customer specified something else on their order.

It would be cool to see any custom order sheets that would have been done by the sales staff but God only knows where all of that information ended up. Oh well.

Scott

Hey Scott - Zombie thread!

To confirm as per your build book - and to confirm serial number verified on naked frame as 016C01 - a Team Comp born February 28, 1990.

Hope all is well with you!

https://flic.kr/p/tAW6oG

 

[I-ROBOT]

After looking at your flickr folder, it seems to be a genuine TC! I know Chris didn't like making box crown forks for the 21s and would not make them for the ultra-rare 23s given how big those riders typically were.
Nice bike and cool head badge
Relax Stinger he speaketh the truth
Scott

 

[Stingercut]

After looking at your flickr folder, it seems to be a genuine TC! I know Chris didn't like making box crown forks for the 21s and would not make them for the ultra-rare 23s given how big those riders typically were.
Nice bike and cool head badge
Relax Stinger he speaketh the truth
Scott

:beer: