A 93 Yo and a 93 Ti have the same geometry as standard. So unless one or the other has custom geo the only differences will be as mentioned above, due to the custom spec steel or Ti tubing used in fabrication. This determines the ride characteristics and ease of maintenance etc. Steel FATs need to be turned upside down, drained and left to dry out after EVERY wet ride and frame saver or similar sprayed inside the seat tube.This is not unique to FATs btw, Yetis FROs and other high end thin walled steel frames of this era all have the same potential rust out issue. I always did this and my steel frames have no rust issues near the BB or seat tube and are still a joy to ride. Ti frames obviously will never have this issue and are perfect if you ride in wet all year conditions or beside the sea. Any surface marks are also easily brushed out so it always looks pristine.
FATs are all amazing to ride, famous for their legendary ‘telepathic handling’ but each model has its own unique traits due to tubing specs, eg ‘ tubing wall thickness and outer diameter’ and you pay more for less when it comes to the lightest Ti frames, with that lovely natural Ti flex.
I have owned 23 FATs and love the feel/ handling of their best steel frames, especially my 89 Team Comp. (I have owned 6 diff Yo variants and my preference is the 93/94 Yos but they are stiffer than a Team Comp. The latter can be ridden ALL day in comfort a Yo less so. I have a Wicked Lite, the lightest steel frame they ever made and that also comes alive when ridden. Ti frames top all this of course in outright light weight handling but you can pay a big premium for the finest dent free examples, as they are VERY rare especially in larger sizes but importantly made to be stiff to ride. This spec design stiffness is in contrast to most other brand Ti frames of the 90s which are noodly by comparison if you climb hard, are fit and ride them properly.BB flex and rear traction breakaway under load was an issue with most of them. They mostly used cheaper plain guage Ti tubing to keep manufacturing costs down. FAT Tis were ALWAYS built without compromise, with cost of manufacture eg hand lathing butting into Ti tubing a big factor. An expensive time consuming laborious process!! These Ti frames are ethereal things of beauty.Perfect first pass almost invisible welds, bullet stays, external lathed double butting !!!
If I had the funds and wanted one ULTIMATE bike for life ( to ride into old age ) I would hunt down a FAT CHANCE Titanium. The 91-93 Ti frames have the reinforcing gussets ,rather Zaskar like welding. The 94-95 are far too rare to spend time hunting down. The 96/97 onwards frames ride the nicest. By that I mean they are more forgiving with natural Ti flex with internal double butted Ti tubing used. This is all to FAT CITY CYCLES custom spec from Ancotec. The 1 1/8th head tube also gives you more suspension fork options. As has been said, “why buy 100 Yugos ? when you can have one Porsche”
Iconic Classic cars are massively sought after these days and priced accordingly, as people of a certain age and even the next generation want that pure ‘analogue experience’ .Its not all about the ultimate 10/10th performance. Some things are just a pleasure to own and enjoy even occasionally as a Sunday family outing treat.
Budget dictates of course but life is about experiences. Its cliche but you only live once and Kids grow up too fast…
Mine has the rear canti bridge so no need for the brake booster. Bullet stays, just love em and they really improve the ride ‘feel’.
