Fat Chance Kickstarter

[M-Power]

Re:

Think most of us agree on the shortcomings of these prototypes. Chris has already stated he has plans for longer stays on the 29er to give more clearance. Hope he takes the constructive criticism from all these threads and blows us away with some bike candy over the coming months.

Looking forward to my expensive Fatwear but not the import fees :facepalm:

 

[mechanical_vandal]

Is it a ground breaking frame? No.
Was a small production run steel hardtail ever going to be? Probably not*.
Is it going to have universal appeal? Does any steel hardtail?
Is it being sold at a high enough price that it'll become a status symbol bike, the Leica of the cycling world if you will? Probably.
Does Chris Chance give a shit about my first 3 points? Probably not.
Will he sell enough frames on the back of my 4th point to have made this all worthwhile? Probably.

*The days of small manufacturers being innovators is gone, nowadays progress is driven by and for the brands that have the ability to change toolings and standards on regular basis and all the small companies can do is struggle to keep up.

 

[sinnerman]

Is it a ground breaking frame? No.
Was a small production run steel hardtail ever going to be? Probably not*.
Is it going to have universal appeal? Does any steel hardtail?
Is it being sold at a high enough price that it'll become a status symbol bike, the Leica of the cycling world if you will? Probably.
Does Chris Chance give a shit about my first 3 points? Probably not.
Will he sell enough frames on the back of my 4th point to have made this all worthwhile? Probably.

*The days of small manufacturers being innovators is gone, nowadays progress is driven by and for the brands that have the ability to change toolings and standards on regular basis and all the small companies can do is struggle to keep up.

This was always about the Money, Not innovation.

Your last point isn't entirely accurate.....

Did Shimano Invent the V-Brake....? not a lot has changed...

 

[FMJ]

Shoulda stuck to massages.

And as far as the Brodie ebee goes, unlike Chris, Paul walks the walk.

 

[mechanical_vandal]

Yeah ok, maybe I worded that wrong.

There are of course builders and small (and not so small) brands catering to and innovating for their niches but I think it's quite clear that this isn't the type of market that Chance is aiming for.

He wants a frame that can be bought by lawyers and dentists and built up as money no object projects with the latest 'must have' forks, seatposts and wheel sizes etc.

It seems a shame that he's gone the cookie cutter route - I've just been looking at the Jones website and loving the lack of tapered headtubes and the abundance of qr dropouts - but it doesn't make him a bad person.

You would think though that since his frames aren't doing anything that hundreds of cheaper alternatives don't do then his had better do a bloody good job of doing what they do do - ie having mud clearance/room to fit a front mech - and that he should make sure they look bloody good doing it - ie having forks that don't look bodged on.

 

[sinnerman]

Some new some old....some of us needed head felt... :roll:

 

[yo-Nate-y]

Does make the Deluxe Redux seem a lot cooler in retrospect.

 

[novekili]

It doesn't look like he has much to say.


...True Temper OX.... 142x12 axle...tapered headtube...droppr post... Hey, it's Yo Eddy!!!!

He should have added "It's a mountain bike!!!"


I think with an s-bend seat tube those short chainstays might even work, tho....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vQSvAhDbEUc

 

[brocklanders023]

Re:

So the non special edition production frame will be $1700ish. How does that compare to others?

I don't think much of the new one. It's not elegant like a Yo should be.

 

[novekili]

quite fair, as much as an Indy Fab. If they refine the design, Fat might even restart, but the first batch must be up to the customers' expectations.

They should hasve attemped at a more attractive design IMO