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So... when I was at school and first got into riding in about 1996, the Fat Chance Yo Eddy was about the coolest bike going. Oh how I drooled over the Evolution Imports adverts in MBUK. I've been lurking on Retrobike for ages now, and when a frame came up for sale in my size... well it would have been rude not to.
I had most of the M950 XTR in a drawer, so that was handy. Managed to find a cheap chainset and some bargain King hubs off eBay. The rims came from a friend who'd just bought a bike shop as a going concern and found a shed full of brand new bits and bobs from the late 90s...
The frame is 1800g, which goes to show how much extra heft a steel frame has nowadays to pass the silly CEN tests. A steel El Mariachi 29er I had for a while was 2500g and the difference is night and day - comfy, springy, absolutely flies down the trails. The geometry is fantastic, the only things that feels a bit weird are the front mech and narrow bars. Wide range cassettes are definitely a winner! The forks are amazing for their age; I don't think they've been used a lot, but they are buttery smooth and feel great. Not too flexy either. I don't imagine they are terribly weatherproof, but as this will never be going near a puddle that's fine.
What I find remarkable is the BB is 20 years old and is still perfect. No play, totally smooth and no creaks. They don't make them like this any more - serviceable needle and ball bearings. Just goes to show how terrible modern pressfits are. Got to love a BBM950.
I like good retro, not crappy retro, so the tyres, pedals, saddle and grips are modern. That makes a huge difference.
Absolutely stoked with it!!
[img] https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DB-iDhGWAAADcSE?format=jpg [/img]
Quality build mate!
More pics??
That is a thing of beauty!
I'm drooling.
Always wanted a Yo Eddy, the black one with the yellow graphics. Never had the chance to own one, chose an Attitude (after a Team Tit was knicked at a Cannock MTB race) but if I'd been able to get hold of a Yo Eddy I would have.
Enjoy it, hope you ride it hard and yes more pics if you can.
Yes I'm riding it - just conscious that I don't want to wear out the transmission!! It's already done 2 x 60 mile mtb rides round the Surrey Hills...
Build is:
King hubs
X221 rims
Champion spokes
King headset
Salsa shaft seatpost
Salsa promoto carbon bar
Salsa scandium stem
XTR M950 groupset
Pace RC36 Proclass
More pics here
[url= https://mobile.twitter.com/gee_budd/status/885953817904283648 ]Pics of Yo Eddy[/url]
Just looked at the pics, the greenery and sunny day really set the bike of well in the pics! 😀
Love it mate!! What a lush bike!
That's lovely.
^ was just going to say how lush it was - the only era appropriate adjective for it.
Terrific bit of kit, love the whole build! Thank you for putting it up. Off to pull out my 80s and 90s specials...
It's the right way to a reto build. The tyres etc from " back in the day " were shit.
Enjoy, it's a gorgeous build.
Lovely!
Nice forks too
Dont spose the mate with the shop has a set of u.s.e sub fork and hub?
That looks just right, really nice looking bike.
You going to race it in the retro BBD class?
Just very, very nice!
Haha no USE forks in there - they seem to come up on Retrobike every now and again though so maybe post on there? He does have a million Kore stems though so if you ever need one of those....
BBD?
Funny. A friend and I just did a ride we've been doing since the 90s, and we commented on how much better the experience was on our modern rigid steel bikes...
Brighton Big Dog.
That is a beautiful thing. Had a couple of pairs of RC36's and found them pretty reliable in their day provided they were kept clean, grease injected and serviced occasionally. Still have a pair up in the attic, in fact.
Enjoy, deeply envious.
Really nice! If use those RC36 in mud, the gold stanchions will last about 5 mins, but in the dry they should be good for a long while.
I also do the 'modern grips, tyres, saddle, pedals' thing on a SS bontrager race lite, it rides really well.
Sweet. I haven't seen one of those since I used to race. Good work.
That's a bit lovely. Enjoy.
Gorgeous. Not jealous at all, honest.
Found some 25.4 5 degree bars on eBay... Toseek direct from China! We shall see... they didn't just break when I hauled on them so there is hope... I know they aren't retro, but no one made wide flat bars in the 90s!!
PS if anyone has a 5degree uncut Salsa carbon flat bar...
Love it.
+1 I eventually fulfilled a similar Fat Chance dream in 2008 by having an Independent Fabrication (the company started by the ex Fat City employees) Deluxe made for me. Still ride it every week of the year and it always puts a smile on my face.So... when I was at school and first got into riding in about 1996, the Fat Chance Yo Eddy was about the coolest bike going.
I have a selection of Easton carbon in 25.4. only ten years old though.
Lovely.
Very, very nice OP 🙂