WHO IS DAVE HEMMING
Dave first appeared in the mag in 1989 and, after becoming the first Brit to win a World Championships medal, was picked to ride for Team MBUK in 1991. He went on to race DH for several years, in-between numerous hare-brained feature missions. These days, he dabbles in everything from enduros to Ironmans, while working for Swiss/Italian brand X-Bionic.
WHY THIS IS A SUPERBIKE?
-A ’90s classic has been reborn
-The original Yo Eddy is pure anodised retro radness
-Its new counterpart is the perfect blend of old and new school, combining classic styling with an up-to-date ride
It’s crazy to see how far things have come since the early ’90s. At that time, racing downhill on a hardtail with a 90mm stem and the seat up your arse was just what people did. While the technology seems primitive now, bike companies more than made up for it when it came to anodising! With its ‘aquafade’ paintjob, metallic blue parts and punk graphics, old-school UK racer Dave Hemming’s original Fat Chance Yo Eddy oozes retro cool.
The Yo Eddy came into being in 1989, as the brainchild of esteemed US frame builder Chris Chance. In those days, everyone was making fast bikes for clean-cut racer types. Chris wanted to do something a bit different, something that summed up what riding was all about to him – having fun and not taking it too seriously. Everything about the Yo Eddy emanated an off-the-wall vibe, from the colours and graphics to the handdrawn magazine adverts. Not only was the craftsmanship and detailing second to none but the handling was bang on the money too.
Team machine
Being a pushy type, by his own admission, Dave approached the brand about a ride for the 1993 season and put together his own sponsorship package, using parts from RockShox, Chris King, Cook Bros Racing, Ringle, Onza and Shimano. The Yo Eddy was his first bike with front suspension, and he says it was noticeably quicker than the rigid bike it replaced, even though the Mag 21 Ti fork only had 60mm of travel. The frame feel also made a big difference. At that time aluminium was the next big thing, but Fat Chance stuck to their guns with steel, and Dave says it was light, responsive and more agile than anything he’d ridden before.
The bike wasn’t without its faults though. “We ran such long stems back then, we understeered everywhere,” he laughs. “And the steep head angles made things even worse on steep tracks. I tested that to the max when I raced it at the Kamikaze, at Mammoth Mountain in California! It was probably our set-ups holding us back as much as the bikes, though. If I could give my former self a bit of advice, I’d say, ‘drop your seat a little and don’t cut your bar down!”
Dave’s set-up can’t have held him back too much, as ’93 was a breakout season for him and he became the first UK rider to win a UCI medal. It wasn’t all serious racing though – he also recalls an article he did for MBUK called ‘7 things you shouldn’t do on your mountain bike’, with everything from golf course antics to flips into swimming pools. “It’s still my favourite piece I ever did with the magazine!”
Fat are back
The mid ’90s may have been the golden era for Dave but Fat Chance’s sales were declining and in 2000 they shut up shop. Chris vanished from the scene. Nothing was heard from him until 2015, when he decided to relaunch the company. The overwhelming feedback from Fat Chance's loyal following was that they’d like a new Yo Eddy that kept the steel construction but rolled on 650b or 29in, rather than 26in, wheels.
When he heard about the new bike, Dave got straight on the phone to Chris. His new Yo Eddy seen here is the MK2.1 29er version. The parts spec may be wildly different – the 1x11 drivetrain and dropper post would certainly never have been envisioned 18 years ago – but in terms of frame design, Fat Chance have stayed true to their roots, just updating the geometry a bit. “It rides exactly how I remember it should, but at the same time it’s pretty different,” says Dave. “Being a 29er it’s much more stable at speed and faster over the rough. I can’t believe how fast it is – I’ve beaten Strava times on it that I set on my 6intravel full-susser!”
Dave rides a big variety of bikes these days, but when he’s not working, racing or coaching, he’s been putting in as many miles as possible aboard his new Yo Eddy. “My riding is all about going out there, getting lost and making an adventure out of it,” he says. It sounds like fun to us, and we reckon it’s exactly how Chris Chance would like his creations to be ridden.
Price $1799 (Yo Eddy 2.1 frame)
WHITE-KNUCKLE RIDE
The idea of pinning it down rocky downhills on a bike with a cut-down Renthal flat bar, X-Lite bar ends and 90mm Ringle stem seems terrifying to us, but that was the norm back then. Disc brakes weren’t a thing either – Dave’s 1993 Yo Eddy used a set of Proshift V-brakes.
FORKED UP
Early Yo Eddys had straight-blade rigid forks, which must have made for a pretty harsh ride. On his bike, Dave had the luxury of suspension, in the form of an early RockShox Mag 21 fork.
SHORT & SNAPPY
Fat Chance frames were known for their short geometry and snappy handling, and this was something Chris was keen to maintain on the new model. A curved seat tube on the 29er accommodates the bigger wheel and keeps the rear end super-short.
TEAM GREEN
The original Fat Chance team bikes were green on one side and blue the other, with blue anodised parts. Dave’s new Yo Eddy doesn’t quite match that level of bling, but he’s talking to Chris about building up a modern-day replica.
MAKER’S MARK
That famous Fat Chance head badge is back and so are the original Yo Eddy colours – Dave's bike sports a ‘lavender’ paintjob and matching Thomson stem.
