Nick Kazmaier of Ohio’s Commodore Cycles loves restoring vintage MTBs, especially a certain brand called Fat Chance. For Nick, it’s also a case of preserving the memories and stories they hold, like those contained within this 1989 Wicked Fat Chance.
Commodore Cycles used to be listed on the Fat Chance website as a recommended restorer, since Nick places special emphasis on retaining as much of the original patina as possible.
Nick still has the first bike his parents bought him in 1987, a Fuji Dynamite BMX. He was a trials rider and transformed his 1993 Specialized Rockhopper into a trials bike. His own collection still contains his favorite trials bike, a GT Team Trials from 1997.
“I also have a Chris Chance Cycles Criterium bike that was built for Micheal Bruhn in the late 70s,” Nick tells us. “That bike is dripping with history and patina. My current mountain bike is a 1993 Wicked Lite Fat Chance.”
This particular Wicked belongs to Ron Tapp, a Canadian who scoured his home country and the US trying to source someone with the necessary skills and empathy to bring new life to his beloved machine.
Nick spent a considerable amount of time discussing with his client what Rod’s own vision for the bike was. He wanted it restored to its former glory but still be trail-ready, so Nick sourced Shimano XT parts that were either NOS or ex-display components.
The Wicked was introduced to the Fat Chance lineup in 1987 and used smaller tubes and a unicrown fork, compared to the race-ready Yo Eddy. Rod’s 1989 Wicked Fat Chance is still ridden on local trails — not hung on a wall — just as Chris Chance would prefer it.
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Special thanks to Nick’s dad, Dave Kazmaier, for the awesome photos.
