Chris Chance And The New Fat Chance Wicked

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After many years out of the bike industry, legendary founder of Fat City Cycles, Chris Chance, returned with a new, updated version of the Fat Chance Yo Eddy back at the 2015 Sea Otter.

After more ‘creative’ criticism about tyre clearance and chainring clearance, Chris returned last year, showing off the Yo Eddy 2.2 and the new Slim Chance (2.0) road bike frame.

FGF 695 - Enduro Beckoning
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Well, now he’s back again, and this time with a new version of the Fat Chance Wicked (or is it the Wicked Fat Chance? We know that someone will know for sure… Or is it just the ‘Wicked’?)

The Wicked was always the more radical bike in the Fat Chance range. And back then, in the 1990s, that meant steeper head angles, not slacker. With that all going on its head these days and slack being the new radical, the Wicked now comes with a 65° head angle and 74° seat angle, compatible with a 140mm fork.

We like the brazed-on support brace

The bike here takes chunky 27.5in tyres, but there will be a 29in version with room for 27.5+ too. As you’d expect from a ‘modern’ geometry bike, the top tube is lower for better standover (while the headtube is a little taller than the Fat Chance Yo Eddy). Chainstays are a pretty short 425mm and the back end is 148mm Boost.

Short triangles should give a super stiff frame.
Bone fide legend, Chris Chance, in the flesh.
One set of bottle bosses should be rad enough for you.

Chris has a deep history in mountain biking and was inducted into the Mountain Bike Hall of Fame in 1990. And who can forget Dave Hemming riding his blue and green Yo Eddy in the UK in the mid-90s. Having disappeared from the East Coast, where Fat Chance used to be (and various companies he influenced, like Merlin Metalworks and Independent Fabrication), Chris reemerged in Marin County, where he’d set up as a holistic healer, but five years ago made a return to the bike world, first with a Kickstarter campaign for his new bikes and then as a pukka bike company once again. And with rumour of collaborations with WTB’s Steve Potts in the works, we’ve not seen the last of him…

Oversize head tube should give you plenty of options for headsets
Chipps Chippendale

Singletrackworld's Editor At Large

With 22 years as Editor of Singletrack World Magazine, Chipps is the longest-running mountain bike magazine editor in the world. He started in the bike trade in 1990 and became a full time mountain bike journalist at the start of 1994. Over the last 30 years as a bike writer and photographer, he has seen mountain bike culture flourish, strengthen and diversify and bike technology go from rigid steel frames to fully suspended carbon fibre (and sometimes back to rigid steel as well.)

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