Classic & Vintage - Alfa Rear Hub

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fender1
02-08-07, 10:12 AM
Hi I picked up a bike with a mismatched wheel set. The front hub is 36 hole Mavic 501 (did not know they made components) and the rear with a 7 speed Suntour freewheel is stamped Alfa? Is anyone familiar with this brand?


East Hill
02-09-07, 06:26 AM
Bump.

Anyone?

East Hill

lotek
02-09-07, 07:00 AM
Mavic 501 hubs have very good reputation, but little known.
They were in their day as good as anything out of Tullio's place (atmo).

The Alfa is a suntour freewheel, still available. I think they were lower
end freewheels when compared to the Winner, Ultra etc.

Marty


jemoryl
02-09-07, 08:41 AM
Is it the hub or the freewheel that is stamped "Alfa"? If it is the hub, it is a Spanish made hub, probably from the '70s or '80s. I believe they were made by Zeus and were found on their lower priced bikes. Quality of the hubs seemed ok, but not as nice as Zeus (which approached Campy in quality).

jemoryl
02-09-07, 08:47 AM
Oh, and one other thing: Zeus was well known for using French threads on their bikes (although their components were also available in BSC). Suntour freewheels could also be had with French threads, so be careful....

fender1
02-09-07, 10:39 AM
Thanks for the bump easthill and thanks for the replies!

T-Mar
02-09-07, 11:45 AM
There were two early 1970s Zeus groups with that name - Alfa 72 and Alfa Junior. They were mid range and low end groups. French threads were common on Zeus parts because Spanish manufacturers used the French thread standard on their frames.

As for the SunTour freewheels, I thought they were Alpha, as opposed to Alfa? The name was also used for the components on the early, lower end, first generation AccuShift groups - Alpha 3000 and Alpha 5000. In fact, I thought SunTour typically used the Greek letter for these components, as opposed to the English word?

lotek
02-09-07, 12:55 PM
T-Mar,
you might be correct (high probability) All I could find on Suntour "Alfa" was
this link:
http://www.sjscycles.co.uk/category-Freewheels-5-speed-77.htm

btw, this is a great source for things like Regina freewheels, amoung others.

Marty