Does anyone know what happened to Tati Cycles?

[Benneke]

Until last year, an anonymous individual or group of people operating under the name "Tati Cycles" provided me with daily entertainment on twitter/instagram/etc for years, making fun of the bike industry and cycling culture while also posting pictures of sweet retro bikes. A few months ago, they stopped posting abruptly and deleted their web presence. I'm sure many of you are familiar with Tati. Does anyone know what happened? Why did they disappear?

[holliscx]

Find your answer across the hall

[Bruce K]

Or you could just answer his question .....

BK

[unterhausen]

I can't find the thread over there. As I recall, it was mostly speculation, but the person was moving

[oldpotatoe]

Or you could just answer his question .....

BK

10-4..save some time and heart ache:)

[sandyrs]

Per the VSalon post, he's now doing this:

https://www.yelp.com/biz/tamago-coffee-and-bikes-chicago

I wish I still had friends in Chicago so I could visit.

[livingminimal]

I asked Tati about it...

He said the entire Tati persona, and the "shop" were the result of a bet. Someone bet he could not keep up the social media presence and whatnot for five years. That ended I think last year. He said he's still going to do 1$ fits and build wheels in a cold workshop, but the online presence of Tati and many aspects of that that were connected to the shop, were predicated on a wager with a friend.

Just reporting what he told me directly.

[Benneke]

I asked Tati about it...

He said the entire Tati persona, and the "shop" were the result of a bet. Someone bet he could not keep up the social media presence and whatnot for five years. That ended I think last year. He said he's still going to do 1$ fits and build wheels in a cold workshop, but the online presence of Tati and many aspects of that that were connected to the shop, were predicated on a wager with a friend.

Just reporting what he told me directly.

That is crazy... he must have spent thousands of hours on social media, and he did it all because of a bet? He's definitely an interesting character. He said something about making a quarterly print newsletter, does anyone know how to subscribe? I want to keep up with his adventures, they were always entertaining.

[Benneke]

Per the VSalon post, he's now doing this:

https://www.yelp.com/biz/tamago-coffee-and-bikes-chicago

I wish I still had friends in Chicago so I could visit.

Has anyone been to this new shop? I'll be visiting the north side of Chicago in a few weeks, is it worth the trip?

[coffeecake]

James Acklin (I believe) is attempting to preserve some of the Tativille writing. Find it here: http://tativille.jamesacklin.com.

There's some good stuff in there.

[bcroslin]

It lives on (sorta) through the Wayback Machine (http://web.archive.org/web/*/www.TatiCycles.com)

[oldpotatoe]

That is crazy... he must have spent thousands of hours on social media, and he did it all because of a bet? He's definitely an interesting character. He said something about making a quarterly print newsletter, does anyone know how to subscribe? I want to keep up with his adventures, they were always entertaining.

Sounds like a Seinfeld episode.:D

[fiamme red]

He's probably out riding his bike. ;)

https://40.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m2ytxraHwv1r6ixulo1_500.jpg

[alexsteinker]

Im not so much as interested in his online persona, but the Pommes Frites Frames he was selling looked like a decent frame for the price. I wish i knew what happened to those/who made them.

[davidA]

J is back in HydePark, on the south side of Chicago.
His shop is now called Tomago, it's amazing, small with coffee and other goodies!
Still the best bike guru in town.

[Velocipede]

J is back in HydePark, on the south side of Chicago.
His shop is now called Tomago, it's amazing, small with coffee and other goodies!
Still the best bike guru in town.

Tamago is the shop. It means Egg in Japanese.
He's moved a couple times since being back on the South Side. His hours are still a bit chaotic. I've been by when it says Open on the sign and it's dark and no one around. J is a busy guy and does have a cool concept but I know a couple people who've gotten frustrated with it. He does have great media presence and writings and of course builds some of the best wheels around.