The Return of the Slim Chance

[eBAUMANN]

So this is happening... (http://fatchance.bike/product/slim-chance-2-0/)

$2295 (really $2395 after shipping) for frame/fork/headset
Made by Stinner

Basically a shot across the bow at Cielo.

Im undecided...

Part of me loves it and another part of me wishes Chris would just set up his own shop instead of contracting work from other builders.
I like Fat City/Fat Chance as a COMPANY, innovating, not so much as a BRAND, capitalizing on nostalgia...

http://fatchance.bike/wp-content/uploads/Slim-Header-White-Logo-1300x498.png

[likebikes]

I think it would look better with a non-os headtube.

[eBAUMANN]

I think it would look better with a non-os headtube.

Agreed.

Sounds like they plan on offering a 1-1/8 steerer segmented road fork for it as well...I hope to god that means a 36mm head tube and not a reducer baseplate...that would look horrendous.
Though they are using 1-1/4 forks and i7 headsets...so maybe it would look ok...maybe.

[ColonelJLloyd]

To that end, are tapered spacers available that ease the transition from OS headtube to the stem?

[bicycletricycle]

ya, big head tube with reducer headset is a nightmare.

I'm totally okay with nostalgia, I hate that ibis makes (or at least only makes) carbon bikes.

without a segmented fork I find this completely uninteresting.

Cielo has nicer details.

[thirdgenbird]

I was disappointed to see the carbon fork. A segmented steel fork with the appropriate head tube would rock. I think this would also help differentiate the product

[pbarry]

The new co has a better chance of surviving by contracting the manufacturing, trust me. You would not like old FC as a 'company' if you had worked for them. Think of Serotta, only in a bad part of town, without the marketing, and worse delivery and credit issues..

[Cicli]

no disc?

I'm out.

Seriously, it looks good.

[buddybikes]

Chris should get his torch out and make a few lugged silver brazed frames, good friend had one absolutely beautiful 2 tone green gold. He could get some decent cash and show off.

[Cameron]

Basically a shot across the bow at Cielo.


How so? Genuine question -- is there some back story I don't know about here? I certainly see the similarities but nothing seems too overt?

[cadence90]

All these "re-issues" are beginning to seem very tedious, impure, and Shinola to me.

[velomonkey]

Wait . . . . let me get this straight - yesterday Speedvagan intros a 5k complete bike in a purple color that was originally on Slim Chance 20 years ago . . . . the next day Slim Chance announces "hey, we're back" but they do so only in white, yellow, red or blue?????

Cripes, Chris Chance clearly needs to listen to other people cause that dude has got no sense.

[EDS]

I like the geometry of these better then the Cielo bikes, though I am in between sizes.

[pbarry]

Chris should get his torch out and make a few lugged silver brazed frames, good friend had one absolutely beautiful 2 tone green gold. He could get some decent cash and show off.

Like Ben tried to do?

[pbarry]

Wait . . . . let me get this straight - yesterday Speedvagan intros a 5k complete bike in a purple color that was originally on Slim Chance 20 years ago . . . . the next day Slim Chance announces "hey, we're back" but they do so only in white, yellow, red or blue?????

Cripes, Chris Chance clearly needs to listen to other people cause that dude has got no sense.

You got it right despite the sarcasm. Well done. :beer:

[eBAUMANN]

How so? Genuine question -- is there some back story I don't know about here? I certainly see the similarities but nothing seems too overt?

High quality production steel race frames made in America.
For a couple hundo less than cielo.

[greengage]

Made by Stinner?!
B+ for creativity, solid C+ for effort. I agree, the whole effort would be better as a Chris-made deal. Even if it was more expensive. Is Volvo still Volvo if made by Zhejiang Geely?
I guess it's still pretty rad, as Stinner is fairly amazing, but it's not Chance...

[velomonkey]

Made by Stinner?!
B+ for creativity, solid C+ for effort. I agree, the whole effort would be better as a Chris-made deal. Even if it was more expensive. Is Volvo still Volvo if made by Zhejiang Geely?
I guess it's still pretty rad, as Stinner is fairly amazing, but it's not Chance...


This ^^^^^^ Plus not releasing it in purple. ***. I swear I will go to my grave saying "purple, purple." The whole internet blew up over SV releasing a 5k bike in the exact same purple paint Chance used way back when.

yea, so, um, you're gonna give me a Stinner with Chance decals . . . pass.

[greengage]

Made by Stinner?!
B+ for creativity, solid C+ for effort. I agree, the whole effort would be better as a Chris-made deal. Even if it was more expensive. Is Volvo still Volvo if made by Zhejiang Geely?
I guess it's still pretty rad, as Stinner is fairly amazing, but it's not Chance...



I will add that I'm in a slightly outraged mood in general, so I may feel better about more well designed, well constructed, MUSA, steel bikes on the market in the morning....

But still.

[bbobway]

The white frame on the white background is pretty stealthy, almost invisible on my screen!

[cadence90]

...as Stinner is fairly amazing...
Really? :confused:

This ^^^^^^ Plus not releasing it in purple. ***. I swear I will go to my grave saying "purple, purple." The whole internet blew up over SV releasing a 5k bike in the exact same purple paint Chance used way back when.

yea, so, um, you're gonna give me a Stinner with Chance decals . . . pass.

"Pick two...."

http://www.theyard.org.uk/bike/DSC_8615.jpg

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1683/26324039532_8984cc6b6d_c.jpg

http://fatchance.bike/wp-content/uploads/Slim-Header-White-Logo-1300x498.png

Shinola all the way....

[greengage]

Really? :confused:



"Pick two...."

http://www.theyard.org.uk/bike/DSC_8615.jpg

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1683/26324039532_8984cc6b6d_c.jpg

http://fatchance.bike/wp-content/uploads/Slim-Header-White-Logo-1300x498.png

Shinola all the way....



Well put. Maybe the sum of the parts here is not equal to the two separate.

[Pastashop]

The best part of the bike to me is the pump peg. Everything else is hard to gauge or get excited about (e.g. tire clearance) or unnecessary / undistinguished (e.g. fat head tube, carbon fork).

[Cameron]

High quality production steel race frames made in America.
For a couple hundo less than cielo.

Gotcha - I see what you're saying. Personally I would choose a Cielo over a re-badged Stinner any day...

[Fivethumbs]

Lemond Washoe?

[bikerider888]

I had one of the the original slim's back in the day:

http://fatchance.bike/1991-slim-chance-review/

What a beautiful bike. I wish they would release in the really dark red/purple color I had on that original.

[charliedid]

Lemond Washoe?

Totally

I have completely lost interest in the Fat Chance rebirth. I also don't hold much hope for LeMond in his recent foray back into bikes.

I sure hope they can pull it off though.

[malcolm]

Bike business is tough especially the boutique end of it. There really isn't much that's new especially in Tigged steel. You have to have something to set you apart or make you desirable, cachet, paint something. Clearly in this instance it's the chance name. Leave out the fact that it says slim chance on it and it's just another tigged steel bike. I think it's pretty nice but nothing special and given that, I'd get mine from someone with a more recent history, but if that particular nostalgia moves you then scoop one up it's a nice looking frame.

[R3awak3n]

I am a huge fan of the slim chances but have to say, not feeling this one. Just looks like they took a modern bike and slapped vintage decals on ti, the decals don't hold up either, they looked cool on skinny steel but not on this. Could be the color though, I do like white bikes but the return of something like this should have been more special.

Is it me or the return of fat chance seems very rushed and half assed

[54ny77]

It seems very slim chanced. :bike:

But hey, they're out there trying it.

Why, by the way, is this any different than any number of famous boutique names that have others build their bikes, e.g., Kellogg, et al? For that matter, even Trek or Specialized falls into that our-name-on-logo-but-someone-else-actually-builds-the-bike category.

The critiques here & elsewhere don't follow any consistent pattern or logic.




Is it me or the return of fat chance seems very rushed and half assed

[FlashUNC]

I am a huge fan of the slim chances but have to say, not feeling this one. Just looks like they took a modern bike and slapped vintage decals on ti, the decals don't hold up either, they looked cool on skinny steel but not on this. Could be the color though, I do like white bikes but the return of something like this should have been more special.

Is it me or the return of fat chance seems very rushed and half assed

Between this and the no-clearance mountain bike they showed, I don't think you're wrong.

[adampaiva]

eh, I like it. I do think that he should have waited to announce it until he had one ofthe segmented yo eddy forks to photograph with the bike. That is I think the one thing to differentiate this bike from the rest of the boutique production / custom steel racing frames available out there (aside from name and decals).

As for the arguments that Chance should be producing these himself, was he the welder for all the Fat Chance and Slim Chance frames that everyone loves? Wasn't that basically a small production facility too with other people doing the building ?

[Blown Reek]

Waaaaaah! The tubing is modern! They don't have the certain purple they should have! Chris Chance doesn't even weld them!

If everyone who pooh-poohs this bike had their way, it'd be a Barney-purple monstrosity with a steel fork, 531 tubes, more eyelets and braze-ons than a Ceeway catalog and have clearance for 40c tires. But then again, that's not that bad of an idea 'cause the next natural transition is from the abovementioned bike to a recumbent. Birds of a feather, you know.

[FlashUNC]

Waaaaaah! The tubing is modern! They don't have the certain purple they should have! Chris Chance doesn't even weld them!

If everyone who pooh-poohs this bike had their way, it'd be a Barney-purple monstrosity with a steel fork, 531 tubes, more eyelets and braze-ons than a Ceeway catalog and have clearance for 40c tires. But then again, that's not that bad of an idea 'cause the next natural transition is from the abovementioned bike to a recumbent. Birds of a feather, you know.

http://cdn.quotesgram.com/small/2/57/1314906428-tumblr_ms0ah8XddV1swp729o1_500.gif

[Blown Reek]

http://cdn.quotesgram.com/small/2/57/1314906428-tumblr_ms0ah8XddV1swp729o1_500.gif

Sayeth the neck-bearded, soon-to-be-riding-in-SPD sandals, toe-overlap concerned eroica enthusiast.

[Gsinill]

http://s21.postimg.org/e987m3bzb/IMG_2371.jpg

[FlashUNC]

Sayeth the neck-bearded, soon-to-be-riding-in-SPD sandals, toe-overlap concerned eroica enthusiast.

https://49.media.tumblr.com/d1e56a68b2a0807eadad108a9b17bdbf/tumblr_o4y7gruq2L1tq4of6o1_500.gif

[eBAUMANN]

As for the arguments that Chance should be producing these himself, was he the welder for all the Fat Chance and Slim Chance frames that everyone loves? Wasn't that basically a small production facility too with other people doing the building ?

I dunno if he can weld, but I know he can braze. Not saying I want to buy a brazed modern chance frame but it would be interesting to see happen.

That said, yes, the original "fats" were made in a production style facility with many people having a hand in the creation of each frame.
THAT, to me, is something completely different (and much harder to establish/maintain) than contracting the work out to an outside company.
I agree with pbarry in that this is the best way forward for Mr. Chance as a business, but it does take some of the magic away from it, at least for me.

Fat City - a bicycle building company with a brand
Fat Chance - a brand that hires other bicycle building companies

[FlashUNC]

I dunno if he can weld, but I know he can braze. Not saying I want to buy a brazed modern chance frame but it would be interesting to see happen.

That said, yes, the original "fats" were made in a production style facility with many people having a hand in the creation of each frame.
THAT, to me, is something completely different (and much harder to establish/maintain) than contracting the work out to an outside company.
I agree with pbarry in that this is the best way forward for Mr. Chance as a business, but it does take some of the magic away from it, at least for me.

Fat City - a bicycle building company with a brand
Fat Chance - a brand that hires other bicycle building companies

It was so hard it failed the last time around.

[zap]

Part of me loves it and another part of me wishes Chris would just set up his own shop instead of contracting work from other builders.
I like Fat City/Fat Chance as a COMPANY, innovating, not so much as a BRAND, capitalizing on nostalgia...


Serotta built a number of Fat Chance frames (Cox purchased Chance and moved production to NY as he also owned Serotta) in the early 90's until Ben sold the brand to Chris.

[bfd]

So this is happening... (http://fatchance.bike/product/slim-chance-2-0/)

$2295 (really $2395 after shipping) for frame/fork/headset
Made by Stinner

Basically a shot across the bow at Cielo.

Im undecided...

Part of me loves it and another part of me wishes Chris would just set up his own shop instead of contracting work from other builders.
I like Fat City/Fat Chance as a COMPANY, innovating, not so much as a BRAND, capitalizing on nostalgia...

http://fatchance.bike/wp-content/uploads/Slim-Header-White-Logo-1300x498.png

When I saw this frameset, for some reason it made me think of the Lemond Washoe:

http://i.ebayimg.com/images/i/262363114720-0-1/s-l1000.jpg

Of course, I think Greg has a 250watt motor option for his bike...;)

Good Luck!

[bicycletricycle]

at least it has a threaded bb shell.

[KonaSS]

Agree with others, I am sure it is a fine bike, but why this over any other bike.

Honestly, if given the choice between this Slim Chance and something like a http://konaworld.com/roadhouse.cfm, I would choose the Kona.

At least it stands out and offers something different.

[doomridesout]

Rock Lobster Ultimondo.
Tapered headtube, painted fork, King HS
$2400. Full custom. Purple if you wanted. Tubes for you.

Also built by a real cool dude, not by Stinner, who want SOOOO hard to be cool dudes. Bonus.

[choke]

Pass. I'd love to own an original but this new one does nothing for me.

Also built by a real cool dude, not by Stinner, who want SOOOO hard to be cool dudes. Bonus.Yeah, I don't get the Stinner love at all. :confused: Or for that matter, the Cielo love.

[Mr_Gimby]

I just hope for their sake Stinner only agreed to this after getting cash up front!

[R3awak3n]

where did Stinner come from?

I had never heard of it and all of a sudden they are everywhere. Ads on instagram and other bike sites, they are EVERYWHERE

[pinoymamba]

Rock Lobster Ultimondo.
Tapered headtube, painted fork, King HS
$2400. Full custom. Purple if you wanted. Tubes for you.

Rock Lobster Ultimondo.


rocklobster :banana:

Rock Lobster Ultimondo.
Also built by a real cool dude, not by Stinner, who want SOOOO hard to be cool dudes. Bonus.

http://gifsec.com/wp-content/uploads/GIF/2014/04/Vladimir-Putin-laugh-gif.gif?gs=a

[pinoymamba]

where did Stinner come from?

I had never heard of it and all of a sudden they are everywhere. Ads on instagram and other bike sites, they are EVERYWHERE

hip/lifestyle cyclists of LA.

and was probably "featured" by the coolest one of them all...

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/246/451752506_bc4213e976_z_d.jpg

[alexstar]

Rock Lobster Ultimondo.
Tapered headtube, painted fork, King HS
$2400. Full custom. Purple if you wanted. Tubes for you.

Also built by a real cool dude, not by Stinner, who want SOOOO hard to be cool dudes. Bonus.

Yeah, I don't know why people are buying welded race bikes from anyone else. Paul is great to deal with and his work is fantastic.

[William]

where did Stinner come from?

I had never heard of it and all of a sudden they are everywhere. Ads on instagram and other bike sites, they are EVERYWHERE

Builder Spotlight from 2013: http://forums.thepaceline.net/showthread.php?t=134144








William

[greengage]

where did Stinner come from?



I had never heard of it and all of a sudden they are everywhere. Ads on instagram and other bike sites, they are EVERYWHERE



They've been around at least 7 or 8 years I think. I remember seeing something about Stinner right after I moved from Santa Barbara. He started doing custom filet and tig work. Looked pretty good.
As for now, I have no idea what is going on with the Stinner machine and models and such. I have no beef, but the Stinner version of Chance seems to lack a little of the soul that the original Chance stuff had. I know custom shops building for others goes on all the time, but here it needs the je ne sais quoi of the original.
On a separate note, the new Spooky looks to be courting Frank the Welder. Modernized Spooky with the old Soul. Yes and yes.

[velomonkey]

Custom Stinner $2500 vs Slim Chance Stock version at $2300

Fun. With. Numbers.

[denapista]

https://hoaxteadresearch.files.wordpress.com/2015/05/lynch-mob-2.jpg

[purpurite]

Custom Stinner $2500 vs Slim Chance Stock version at $2300



Fun. With. Numbers.



The Fat includes a fork and a Chris King headset, too, so yeah.

[buddybikes]

Here's a picture of his stars in lug work, he also silver badged as well as on FF as seen here:

http://fcdn.mtbr.com/attachments/vintage-retro-classic/559267d1280516124-1981-chris-chance-criterium-img_0430.jpg

[metrotuned]

@eBAUMANN you can do way better, less is more, quality > quantity

@bfd you hit it on the head, just another rebranded boutique build ... not just greg lemond, but also john tomac

@pinoymamba, what does Ryan Lochte have to do with this thread?

Gotta do better than slapping a match painted plastic fork and stem on a stock boutique build to command that $.