Classic & Vintage - Mavic M40's to Mavic 501 Hubs

Picked up this awesome wheelset yesterday for a price I could not pass on:D

Mavic M40 rims laced to Mavic 501 hubs with stainless wheelsmith spokes, and a new pair of Conti (Gatorskins). I also got a couple freewheels, and a like new Campy 980 front derailleur in the deal.

Here is my baby wearing her new shoes. CLICK ON THUMBNAILS>>>>>

http://img98.imageshack.us/img98/3085/img3170dj.th.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/98/img3170dj.jpg/)

http://img263.imageshack.us/img263/4783/img3171qc.th.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/263/img3171qc.jpg/)

http://img696.imageshack.us/img696/351/img3172xg.th.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/696/img3172xg.jpg/)

http://img143.imageshack.us/img143/4352/img3173m.th.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/143/img3173m.jpg/)

Mavic hubs spin like nothing else. All of my daily rider wheels are built around their 571/2 hubs, and I have another pair hidden in the back of the safe.

So I guess I did very well, and they do spin like nothing I've ever encountered. Also getting those freewheels, and Campy derailleur were just the icing on the cake.

Great looking wheel set.

I had a set of these, well, similar but with the 500 hub, no sticker. I sold these in one of my periodic ebay frenzies about a year ago and recently was feeling really remorseful about them because I sure could use them now on one of my bikes. Rats. But lo and behold, I was rooting around in an obscure corner of my garage yesterday and I find this wheelset staring me in the face, I guess I didn't sell them.

Yippee, Christmas in July.

Enjoy, very cool wheelset. I really like the QR nut on these for some reason.

Very nice!
I would consider them a "Grail" wheelset ;)
Your Bertin just gets nicer and nicer!

Cheers,
Chris

Very nice!
I would consider them a "Grail" wheelset ;)
Your Bertin just gets nicer and nicer!

Cheers,
Chris


This wheelset is nicer than anything I have ever owned, and the ride feels like your on ice.

I just absolutly love:love: this bike, and I have you-know-who to thank. This is one bike that will be with me forever.

I'm not sure where to go with this build next, any ideas..... other then a long long ride?

I'm not sure where to go with this build next, any ideas.....

Yeah, don't weigh it down or complicate it with more gear. It's probably close to the zenith of how well its gonna ride. IMHO adding things like fenders or rack or more accessories will only detract from riding it. Personally I think if you wanna upgrade anything on that bike look at some better tires, and possibly replacing the derailleurs; there's no way that long cage RD is necessary with the Road double and cassette you've got on there. I'm a huge Suntour Cyclone lover (maybe yours is a V-GT but its all basically the same) but with all that other nice stuff on there I'd go with something a little more modern like Dura Ace 7400 or Campy Record or even some Mavic or Sachs derailleurs.

I've been sweating a set of those Mavic hubs for a long time myself. I consider that wheelset a holy grail as well.

Yeah, don't weigh it down or complicate it with more gear. It's probably close to the zenith of how well its gonna ride. IMHO adding things like fenders or rack or more accessories will only detract from riding it. Personally I think if you wanna upgrade anything on that bike look at some better tires, and possibly replacing the derailleurs; there's no way that long cage RD is necessary with the Road double and cassette you've got on there. I'm a huge Suntour Cyclone lover (maybe yours is a V-GT but its all basically the same) but with all that other nice stuff on there I'd go with something a little more modern like Dura Ace 7400 or Campy Record or even some Mavic or Sachs derailleurs.

I've been sweating a set of those Mavic hubs for a long time myself. I consider that wheelset a holy grail as well.


I pretty much agree with everything you said. I will not be adding any more gear such as fenders, rack or anything else....... as a matter of fact, I'm going to remove the bar bag today, and possibly add a bar mounted water bottle, as there are no cage braze-ons.

My next step is derailleurs, but I was not sure what to go with. The front derailleur is the issue as it is a bottom-pull and does not have a cable stop on the frame, so a derailleur like the Suntour (Sprit) or (Compe-V is needed) due the them having a built in cable stop. I have a nice Campy 980 front, but it will not work.

As far as the wheelset goes, I did not realize it was as nice of a wheelset as it seems to be.

Yeah, those are definitely amazing hubs. No servicing required and they spin/last forever. My set is laced to campagnolo omega V rims with butted spokes.

Nice indeed! I also have a pair of NOS 501's laced to MA2 rims. Another good thing about the 501 rear is that they are very easily converted from 126mm to 130mm. Attached is my Bertin C37 circa 70's.

My next step is derailleurs, but I was not sure what to go with. The front derailleur is the issue as it is a bottom-pull and does not have a cable stop on the frame, so a derailleur like the Suntour (Sprit) or (Compe-V is needed) due the them having a built in cable stop. I have a nice Campy 980 front, but it will not work.


There's plenty of derailleurs above that level with built-in cable stops you can find. Suntour Cyclone is one, more modern I know that 80's Shimano Deore (but not 90's XT) have cable stops, Suntour Mountech...come to think of it alot of pretty good 80's shimano FD's have cable stops.

My vote is for more Mavic or Sachs New Success. :thumb:
search the C&V forum for "Tout Mavic"...there's some cool stuff in there.

Be careful w/some of the old Suntours - the same models were sometimes made in both configurations, so if you are buying off ebay, examine the pics closely.

My suggestion for shifting is to use a 7 speed freewheel and go with dura ace 7400, or ultegra 6400. The indexing on both of those groups is amazing and makes for a very sporty ride.

Everyone seems to rave about those Mavic hubs and the way they spin, including me. Why should they spin any better that any other cartridge bearing hubs? Aren't the bearings standard off the shelf parts that they all use? Does Mavic use better bearings than the Japanese manufacturers? Does Phil Wood use better bearings than all of them? I'm not trolling, believe me. I've wondered about this for years.

Everyone seems to rave about those Mavic hubs and the way they spin, including me. Why should they spin any better that any other cartridge bearing hubs? Aren't the bearings standard off the shelf parts that they all use? Does Mavic use better bearings than the Japanese manufacturers? Does Phil Wood use better bearings than all of them? I'm not trolling, believe me. I've wondered about this for years.

It is the mojo. The only other possibility is that their alignment of the two bearings is more accurate? I think because they look so cool, they seem to spin better (mine do..), and, like Ellington rule for music (if it sounds good, it is good), if it spins smoother it is smoother.

Just one of those mystic mysteries of existence and perception...

Well, These are the first hubs with cartridge bearings I've owned so that could be why they seem soooooooooooooo smooth to me, but I doubt it LOL.

All joking aside, I love the wheels and think ther are very very well made, and these M40 rims are incredible as well. over the winter I was going to have a pair of new rims laced to my Sunshine hubs, but I'm glad I found these, as they are much better, and cost way less.

I just finished installing the Campy front derailleur that I got in the deal and it works very well. I mounted a cable guide/stop just below it cause the frame does not have a braze-on, It used a derailleur with a built in stop. I just slapped it together for now but I am going to take the stop of and remove the guide cause it ended up at the front of the seat tube. Here are a couple pics. Do they make some kind of stop that would work better? I am going to cut the guide in front of the seat tube off latter, and it may look ok then.

http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p286/deerslayer1961/IMG_3178.jpg

http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p286/deerslayer1961/IMG_3179.jpg

http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p286/deerslayer1961/IMG_3180.jpg

I don't want to rain on a parade here, but looking at the pics and reconciling that with the Mavic 501, it really doesn't quite compute. Two different eras. Not a huge deal, but the vintage Campy stuff is a good 10 years (at least) before the Mavic 501. But even beyond some abstract notions of period correctness, there is a stylistic difference, the the 501 are a little more curvy/modern than the campy SR/NR look.

Not a big deal, but just something to consider building that perfect bike.

I just went out and checked out my wheelset. They aren't MA40 rims, rather they are Open 4 CD.