1989 Team Comp (Stick Figure)

The Team Comp is possibly Fat’s least known and consequently most under appreciated bike in their lineup, hell their catalogs barely even featured it. It’s like the secret menu at In’n’out, you have to be in the know to even order it. Unlike other manufacturers from the time Fat Chance was not known for major self promotion. They never had a flashy team and maybe even more relevant for the most part their bikes didn’t feature their model names on the frames. The mid level Wicked was the only model (in the 80s) that featured its name in two places (on the down tube), the top of the line Yo Eddy and limited edition 10th Anniversary only had their names on one side of the top tube. By comparison the Team Comp had no Team Comp decals anywhere. Looking from a distance you’d think it was just a Fat Chance or maybe a Kicker. It wasn’t until you got closer that you’d see the tell tell Prestige decal, G.P. Wilson dropouts (not on every TC) and the high end build featuring Cook Brothers, Bullseye, IRD and quite rare for the time Titanium handlebars. So it’s no surprise that when you ask most collectors about it they look at you funny and reply “You mean the Ritchey, right?” It’s just not a bike people know existed, and even fewer have had a chance to own and ride one. This is a shame, as this is an excellent bike!

Initially, pre 1987 the Team Comp or Competition as it was known was basically a Fat Chance, with a box crown fork and fancy parts. But the frame was the same 68/72 design built out of True Temper tubing. Nothing really special besides some nice kit. Fat introduced the Wicked in 1986 to high praise and in 1987 took the basic design of the Wicked (71/72 and 16 7/8″ vs 17 1/8″ stays) and built it with a Tange Prestige main triangle and fork blades keeping the butted True Temper 4130 stays. This was primarily due to Fat’s commitment to running non-tapered stays which were not available in Prestige tubing.

Many TCs came equipped with a box crown fork, though some buyers preferred the unicrown design which was becoming more popular in general. Some TCs, very few in my experience, came with a custom Fat Chance stem which is really a cool piece, but quite rare.

The last distinguishing feature of frame construction on some Team Comps are the forged G.P. Wilson dropouts. Not all that unique on the fork the rear drops are very aesthetically pleasing and set these bikes apart from others. Fat didn’t use them often as the welders reported them hard to work with and required more prep and often rework. Consequently finding a TC equipped with them is a rare find and makes a bike just a bit more special

Given the top of the line status in Fat’s lineup the TC only came with Shimano’s XT 7-spd group running cantilever brakes front and rear. Others Fats could be had with chainstay mounted U-brake or roller cam style brakes. I’ve seen very few TCs with a rear rear roller cam, and only two others with a pair front and rear. This was the trend by the late 80s and most builders including FC trended in that general direction, especially for so called race bikes.

Given the race inspired build FC opted for Cook Bros cranks which were considered by many to be the absolute best cranks on the market at the time.

If I remember correctly this particular frame had a basic build when the previous owner acquired it and he chose to swap in these black and red Bullseye hubs in, but I’m not certain of that. Either way they fit in perfectly with the color scheme and given Bullseye reputation for making high end hubs it’s highly likely someone would have opted for them back then.

Wrapping up the build is a proper IRD seat post and a racy Selle San Marco Concor saddle with matching red logos. I really love these saddles and would run them on many of my bikes if I could find more of them.

Fat Chance was always known for their amazing paintjobs, and truly you can find an outstanding testament to that on just about any of their bikes.  One would think that the top end bikes would be more likely to have a higher proportion of the more exquisite paintjobs, but although that is the case here many TCs had surprisingly plain paintjobs. Again, this was the way and subtle was the name of the game. This particular frame features a red/white fade with one one of the more deep and rich reds I’ve seen on a bike in a long time. That basic fade really would have been nice enough, but on top of the base coat (front triangle, and one on the fork) are featured a variety of stickman figurines in various biking inspired poses. I’ve seen this style of paintjob on one other Fat (a neon yellow Wicked), there are likely others out there as well. Each figure is in fact a very thin transfer decal (unlike the Tomac Wicked featured on this site) rather than hand drawn art. I imagine the source of each decal was in fact hand drawn and then digitized or illustrated, but the final application is decal form with clear on top.

I can’t remember now, but I think there were 10-11 individual designs replicated a couple times each across the entire frame in no apparent order or combination.

It’s hard to say that a Team Comp belongs in every collection. Whether for reasons of preference, practicality of sourcing or a myriad of other reasons I’m not sure I would say that about any bike to be honest. However, if you are a fan of the brand I would place it high atop a must have list and would easily trade several nice Wickeds or a Yo Eddy for one of these. I still hold true that then 10th Anniversary is THE Fat to own, but the TC is in very close contention with the Yo Eddy for 2nd. The bikes are so incredibly nice on the trail, they slot in nicely between a Wicked and a Yo. Not much stiffer than a Wicked, but lighter and seemingly more nimble. I have not had a chance to ride a TC with a unicrown fork. The the box crown equipped bike I had was a bit too small for me, but I clocked 30-40 miles on it before passing it on (at the time of writing this I’m building myself a 20″ TC). But my experience over that relatively brief time was very pleasant. I was very surprised, nearly shocked actually at just how light the front end of this bike is.  I recall approaching a low I had ride over and going to pull up on the front end and nearly fell backwards.

So, if you come across one I do recommend you try it. It’s a bike that won’t go out of style and if you find one with all the little extras, BC fork, G.P. Wilson dropouts, FC stem and a nice paintjob to boot it’ll be a bike you immediately appreciate and unlike a Ritchey or whatever are unlikely to run into another one at a show or on the trails.