Sympathetic restoration is now well underway.
Before taking it apart i took it down to Yorkshire last month for the NE&Yorks area meet. Apart from an adjustment to saddle angle and regular cleaning out of the rear U brake it rode perfectly and never missed a beat. I was supprised at how good these old FATs were, fast, agile, climbed well and very comfortable despite those rigid forks on any terrain.
a few pics....
I then stripped it down. The frame and fork was sent for powder coating. I want to ride this bike so I chose the toughness off powder over wet paint. A good powder coater can get a very nice finish indeed, and as it turned out I was very happy with the finish. I also got the frame back the next day- now that is good service! In the end I went for all black- just as it left Fat City all those years ago.
I now had some catching up to do with the parts. Everything was cleaned, polished and lubed up- all original parts remember apart from the mechs which I am still looking for. As well as mechs I need bearings for the crank- Rody has them and I will order some this week.
I then had to decide what to do with decals. This bike had no decals apart from a small Fat City sticker on the bars. I love the FAT CHANCE logo but did want to keep it looking original. Kingroon suggested going for black decals over black paint which I though might look cool and be sympathetic to the bikes original look. I talked to Gil_M and we decided on satin black decals. They look really nice I think and you have to get up close to see them- so the objective to keep the bike looking as it was has been met.
What do you think??
Will try and get it finished over the next few weeks as I'm itching to ride it again.
Si
