Fatchance is back
 

Good Evening

It appears that Fatchance a well known name in the MTB world is back with its popular models of the past but with a completely redesigned geometry and made to adapt to 27.5/650/27Plus/29 wheels with the Yo Eddy , Wicked Fat Chance (Steel) and Wicked Fat Chance (Titanium) . The price tag of the frame is quite expensive but at least you get a true made in America and artisanal product that will last you decades .

Best regards and stay safe

Georges

Chris has been back doing this for a little while a couple years I believe, it is neat to see that he is back. It is a little pricey but not super terrible considering he is quite skilled and decently well known in the bike world and sought after.

I had the opportunity to buy an original Fat Chance but I knew I wasn't going to ride it much and just wanted it to look at and don't need more of that.

I remember seeing Chance bikes at NAHBS the last time it was in Sac

A no name open mold Chinese will also last decades so no advantage there. But if you want to reconnect with fond memories and can now more easily afford luxury items looks like a interesting option.

The market and use case for steel hard tail mountain bikes is very limited.

Yep. I would consider these kind of like a boutique Ritchey. It's going to be mostly folks who have been around since the original days, with a bunch of money to spend, and very particular preferences.

A lot of people are nostalgic of their past and vintage Fat Chance bikes fetch a premium. Steel is not popular as it was but it does hold a popularity, and some people wants craftsmanship because they can afford it and because the bike is build with premium materials which last decades. As for the chinese mold, I wouldn't be sure because I don't think quality control is on par with a high end custom made frame and if it is inspected to guarantee high quality build standards but that is my opinion.

It is of course about preference and Ritchey is well liked .

Ritchey is indeed well liked. I have very lustful feelings towards my friend's P-29er...
https://scontent-ord5-2.xx.fbcdn.net...kQ&oe=64CDAB70

However, this bike would never be more than a side chick in my stable. My true love is for carbon fiber. It's been that way for 20+ years.

Well I think this is due your riding experience whereas I prefer steel and aluminium by a wide margin but to each their own.

To each, their own - absolutely. My preference is definitely due to my riding experience. I've ridden and raced on steel, aluminum, titanium, and carbon fiber. I found that I prefer carbon fiber.

Oh, my, they're beautiful.

I still have some Team Fat Chance cable carriers, I think, from some NORBA event in the early 90s. Maybe when I retire I can get a new frame to match!

I don’t think being steel is a limiting factor in market they are playing for, here. If I’m going to drop good money on a HT frame, it will absolutely be quality steel.

But that geo (on the 29er bersion) is quite Old School and not very appealing to me as the trail bike they are trying to market it as. But good for riding that will have a lot of flatter, less technical parts with lots of seated pedaling.

But there are people who prefer this, and tend to be long term riders for whom Fat Chance holds a lot of cred.

I wish him luck.

23hun for a steel hrdtl is ridiculous I don't care whotf welded it.
I could have bought one for 16hun Cdn. built by Dekerf (look him up) who I once worked with but instead bought the Taiwanese built edition for 7hun no difference in ride quaility or build.
These clowns trying to cash in on name recognition before they die with the aging boomers crack me up!
Yeah the angles are kinda' dated but think about it. These things are only gonna' be ridden around groomed park trails by seniors or weirdos with more money than brains.

I think it's nice that Fat Chance is back, but I disagree with any contention that a "handmade" "artisanal" frame will last longer than another. You can go to a yard sale and find a $10 Huffy from the mid-80s that will last forever. You can also find any number of bicycles from anywhere which will last forever. Look at the Nottingham Raleighs and TI subsidiary bikes, I have one which I regularly ride and it's 67 years old. Assembly-line made but it'll well outlast me if I take care of it.
All metal bike frames are brazed or welded by hand, granted there may be initial tack welds done by a machine, but the bulk of the joints are finished by a human with grey matter between their ears. As for made in USA, that's a dubious argument in a massive global market. My Miyata 610 is a garden variety bike-boom light touring bike, made in Japan, and is one of the finest riding machines out there. Look at Specialized, with nearly 100% of their production in either Taiwan or Japan since the early 80s; my past three Stumpjumpers have been amazing bikes, all Taiwanese production. No need to get started listing incredible Italian, French, Spanish, Dutch marques, each with their own "artisans" but also each with their own mass produced bikes. If you want to talk rugged longevity, look no further than China and India, both countries still producing bicycles based upon a design from the early 1900s; bikes which last multiple generations and are used far heavier than our weekend warrior whoop-dee-doos.
I would rather meet Joe Breeze than care about what country produced my Breezer Lightning.
The US has innovators and craftsmen, just like any other country, but it also has its own nationalist protectionism which created the lore in the Post-WWII era that US made goods were superior. That hasn't been the case for a really long time, and one can make the argument that it has never actually been, especially when comparing the origin of bicycle frames.
I'm looking forward to my next assembly-line-produced 1951 Rudge arriving, restoring it to good working order, then riding it regularly for the next half century, if I can keep up.

Can confirm, but I only wish my Huffys were found for $10 at a yard sale!

For $2.3K, aren’t we into custom steel frame territory?

Yes, we are

That's the starting price on the Steve Rex website for example. With no options and no fork. And I think it's been a few years since that was published because it feels familiar from the last time I looked.

Ventana hardtails are listed around a thousand, and I just don't know how they do it. They are made about ten miles from where I sit. Their website hasn't updated since 2017 and I don't know what's going on... there was some local industrial upheaval around 2019 due to my own employer mostly moving out of state, but no idea what since. They are still in business, and they make bikes for other brands that are not too expensive for their style (Fandango, Squid)

With Waterford closing, right now MUSA and custom are becoming almost the same thing. I think now of Friday, Calfee, Co-Motion