Stolen dream bike found 26 years later? Fat Chance (TC)!
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shamobius
BoTM Winner
Re: Dream Bike Stolen - Found 26 Years Later? Fat Chance (TC)!!!
I of course always wondered what happened to my poor bike! I cringed at the idea of it being stripped down for parts and the frame spray painted, or worse, tossed off a bridge to rust away. Back in the early 90s in sleepy little Victoria there was a well organized group of bike thieves who would come over from Vancouver (big city nearby) in a van, bolt cutter the bike locks, and head back fully loaded with ill gotten gain. The rumour was these bikes were then sent to points east in Canada to be re-sold. I never stopped looking for my bike though for all the years that passed: I have been a compulsive swivel-headed bike spotter ever since wherever I go, checking out each frame I pass. And online I have been especially vigilant, especially in recent years, since I got back in to the vintage bike scene (love rekindled by the restoration of my Manitou).
The only problem when looking online is that there is very little information about the Fat Chance Team Comp, which I guess speaks to their rarity. Lots of Wickeds and Monsters and Yos galore, but very few TCs. One of the places I had checked rather thoroughly (I thought) was the website Fatcogs.com, the online Fat Chance lover's community site. They have a registry page where Fat owners post pictures and serial numbers of their prized Fats. I kept an eye on that registry, and on the site in general. Last week, I was chatting back and forth with M-Power about the Team Comps, and it renewed my interest in them yet again. I was searching Fatcogs.com for "Team Comp", and I found a thread from 2015 created by 'phil40soon' that started with the following paragraph:
"Hey all, I just picked up a beater frame/fork with extras for 20 bucks, listed on a local used site. It's badged Kona with a repaint and obvious replacement sticker. I bought it for the Syncros stem included. When I picked it up I noticed it has a pressed in BB. I didn't immediately think of FC, but it has some other telltale signs, including bullet stays, the seat stay gusset and seat post collar slot. The bullet stay ends seem a little smaller than I've seen before, and the cable routing is either side of the TT which I also haven't seen in person before, so I wasn't convinced although it's obviously nicely made. Also has a sloping crown fork with no eyelets; no eyelets on the stays either. Anyway, the serial number is 08929TC. So now I'm thinking it could be an 89 Team Comp. No pics, but just putting it out there -- could it be, based on that SN? Oh, and also GP Wilson dropouts."
The line about "cable routing on either side of the TT" jumped out at me immediately. I knew that the Team Comps had under the down tube derailleur cable routing, and that there could only be a handful (if that) of TCs with top tube routing. And cables on either side of the top tube? Who does that? I have heard of TCs with cyclocross top tube routing, like the Yo Eddys, but not separate individual braze ons. Also the Syncros stem was another clue for me. Unfortunately I had long since lost my original receipt for the frame (Doh!) so I couldn't confirm the serial number, but it damn well sounded familiar...
I of course always wondered what happened to my poor bike! I cringed at the idea of it being stripped down for parts and the frame spray painted, or worse, tossed off a bridge to rust away. Back in the early 90s in sleepy little Victoria there was a well organized group of bike thieves who would come over from Vancouver (big city nearby) in a van, bolt cutter the bike locks, and head back fully loaded with ill gotten gain. The rumour was these bikes were then sent to points east in Canada to be re-sold. I never stopped looking for my bike though for all the years that passed: I have been a compulsive swivel-headed bike spotter ever since wherever I go, checking out each frame I pass. And online I have been especially vigilant, especially in recent years, since I got back in to the vintage bike scene (love rekindled by the restoration of my Manitou).
The only problem when looking online is that there is very little information about the Fat Chance Team Comp, which I guess speaks to their rarity. Lots of Wickeds and Monsters and Yos galore, but very few TCs. One of the places I had checked rather thoroughly (I thought) was the website Fatcogs.com, the online Fat Chance lover's community site. They have a registry page where Fat owners post pictures and serial numbers of their prized Fats. I kept an eye on that registry, and on the site in general. Last week, I was chatting back and forth with M-Power about the Team Comps, and it renewed my interest in them yet again. I was searching Fatcogs.com for "Team Comp", and I found a thread from 2015 created by 'phil40soon' that started with the following paragraph:
"Hey all, I just picked up a beater frame/fork with extras for 20 bucks, listed on a local used site. It's badged Kona with a repaint and obvious replacement sticker. I bought it for the Syncros stem included. When I picked it up I noticed it has a pressed in BB. I didn't immediately think of FC, but it has some other telltale signs, including bullet stays, the seat stay gusset and seat post collar slot. The bullet stay ends seem a little smaller than I've seen before, and the cable routing is either side of the TT which I also haven't seen in person before, so I wasn't convinced although it's obviously nicely made. Also has a sloping crown fork with no eyelets; no eyelets on the stays either. Anyway, the serial number is 08929TC. So now I'm thinking it could be an 89 Team Comp. No pics, but just putting it out there -- could it be, based on that SN? Oh, and also GP Wilson dropouts."
The line about "cable routing on either side of the TT" jumped out at me immediately. I knew that the Team Comps had under the down tube derailleur cable routing, and that there could only be a handful (if that) of TCs with top tube routing. And cables on either side of the top tube? Who does that? I have heard of TCs with cyclocross top tube routing, like the Yo Eddys, but not separate individual braze ons. Also the Syncros stem was another clue for me. Unfortunately I had long since lost my original receipt for the frame (Doh!) so I couldn't confirm the serial number, but it damn well sounded familiar...
shamobius
BoTM Winner
Re: Re:
Ha Ha! Right on kingbling, but its okay I've almost caught up on the story (poor form M-Power!
)
Yes, M-Power has the inside track on this story, and has helped me to confirm some of the specifics of these bikes, and to help me keep cool and not bombard poor Phil with a million messages right away!
kingbling":scvrsx4u said:M-Power":scvrsx4u said:We all know shed loads about Yos, which are not that rare by comparison to its older 'better riding' brother, the Team Comp.
We were all young and poor back then. It took a looooong time to save for such a special bike and all the choice parts. Then for it to be so cruelly stolen, rattle can sprayed and badged as a fkin Kona in disguise for 26 years !!! wtf...but like Able...its spirit talked....and its being finally set free to live out the remainder its 'hopefully' long life as a beautiful restored Team Comp.
A true bike Cinderella story
Whoa slow down wheres the spoiler alert !!! where you getting your info from
Ha Ha! Right on kingbling, but its okay I've almost caught up on the story (poor form M-Power!
)Yes, M-Power has the inside track on this story, and has helped me to confirm some of the specifics of these bikes, and to help me keep cool and not bombard poor Phil with a million messages right away!
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This is better than East Enders.....
This is better than East Enders.....
shamobius
BoTM Winner
Re: Dream Bike Stolen - Found 26 Years Later? Fat Chance (TC)!!!
So suffice to say I knew the thread was a couple years old, and the bike had surely been passed along, perhaps even to the revered Fat Chance welder responsible for welding all the TCs, Scott Bengtson (aka I-ROBOT), who reached out to Phil right away when the thread was first started. I replied to the thread, and posted the only pictures I had of my Fat, asking Phil if he thought there was any chance it might be my old bike. We pm'ed a bit back and forth, and got in touch on facebook. He wasn't entirely convinced I was the original owner, fairly enough, as anyone could cook up a story and try to claim an old re-painted frame.
We chatted on facebook for a while. He agreed that it sounded a lot like what I was describing, but he was pretty sure it had come up from Boston (pretty close to Halifax in Canada), as Fat Chances weren't uncommon in that area, compared to out west in BC. He then asked me for more specifics on the build. Then he sent me pics of the frame, with the stem, headset and seatpost and seatpost quick release still attached.
16833556_710628405785853_604354205_o by shamalama88, on Flickr
I knew from looking at those pics that it was indeed my long lost bike. Phil, doing his due diligence still wasn't entirely convinced. He then asked me what wheels originally came with the bike. I described them to him: blue bodied and silver flanged Bullseye hubs laced to silver Mavic Oxygen rims, blue spoke nipples, 36 hole I recalled. He replied with the following:
"I heard back from the guy I bought it from. Unfortunately, he doesn't have contact info from the person he bought it from, so unlikely to trace it back much farther. He did keep some of the parts when he passed it on to me, including Suntour XC RD, Specialized crankset, and... wait for it... Oxygen wheelset with blue Bullseye hubs."
And that was the clincher! We both knew for sure that it had to be my bike, it was as clear as a fingerprint. No way that could be a coincidence...
So suffice to say I knew the thread was a couple years old, and the bike had surely been passed along, perhaps even to the revered Fat Chance welder responsible for welding all the TCs, Scott Bengtson (aka I-ROBOT), who reached out to Phil right away when the thread was first started. I replied to the thread, and posted the only pictures I had of my Fat, asking Phil if he thought there was any chance it might be my old bike. We pm'ed a bit back and forth, and got in touch on facebook. He wasn't entirely convinced I was the original owner, fairly enough, as anyone could cook up a story and try to claim an old re-painted frame.
We chatted on facebook for a while. He agreed that it sounded a lot like what I was describing, but he was pretty sure it had come up from Boston (pretty close to Halifax in Canada), as Fat Chances weren't uncommon in that area, compared to out west in BC. He then asked me for more specifics on the build. Then he sent me pics of the frame, with the stem, headset and seatpost and seatpost quick release still attached.
16833556_710628405785853_604354205_o by shamalama88, on FlickrI knew from looking at those pics that it was indeed my long lost bike. Phil, doing his due diligence still wasn't entirely convinced. He then asked me what wheels originally came with the bike. I described them to him: blue bodied and silver flanged Bullseye hubs laced to silver Mavic Oxygen rims, blue spoke nipples, 36 hole I recalled. He replied with the following:
"I heard back from the guy I bought it from. Unfortunately, he doesn't have contact info from the person he bought it from, so unlikely to trace it back much farther. He did keep some of the parts when he passed it on to me, including Suntour XC RD, Specialized crankset, and... wait for it... Oxygen wheelset with blue Bullseye hubs."
And that was the clincher! We both knew for sure that it had to be my bike, it was as clear as a fingerprint. No way that could be a coincidence...
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