briantrek1984

I have a Maillard Helicomatic 6-speed freewheel (original) on my 1984 Trek 560. The cogs go from 13-24 (not sure what the inner 4 cogs are - haven't removed the freewheel yet and counted them), but I would like to 'tighten' this range to something like 12-19 as i ride most flat areas. Any ideas on a good cog range that would reduce the number of cogs I need to buy. There are several individual cogs on ebay. Anyone had any experience with this change? Thanks!

ramzilla

I had a Helicomatic hub on a 82 Trek 400. I got so frustrated with it I eventually wound up buying a new set of wheels. Got a set of 27" with threads for freewheel. Good luck on yours.

oddjob2

I am sure someone on BF has a corncob they would be glad to swap.

The Golden Boy 

Hi Brian,

I hope you don't mind me stealing your quote from your other thread- but I think it's relevant here.

While there's all kinds of glorious old bike stuff, lots of new stuff has come about that works with and in place of some of the old stuff. In some cases the old stuff will just work better. In some cases new stuff is leagues better. While there's a certain coolness about riding a Helicomatic- it's an engineering dead-end that still had some serious kinks in the design and application.

If the gearing was meeting your needs, and you were happy with the hub, I'd say just ride it until it dies. If a Helicomatic freewheel pops up for you in your preferred gearing- ride it.

Because the Helicomatic has a bad reputation, I would hesitate in putting money into it and would suggest finding a different set of wheels with a "normal" freewheel threading. If that's a 27" wheel, I think you've got a world of stuff to look at.

For the wheelset that came with my Trek 720- I kept the Maillard 700 front hub, but changed out the Helicomatic for a Maillard 600 sealed bearing hub. That's been a really nice wheelset.

Now, go post some pix of this 560!

Both here and the 'show your Trek' thread!!

Best!

John E

Why not keep your 13-15-17-19-21-24 (I am guessing) cluster and changing the one or both chainrings to give you a half-step gear pattern, with a 3-tooth drop in front? Something like 50-47/13-24 would work brilliantly.

briantrek1984

Good advice on simply looking for a good solid freewheel and already sewn wheel ready to ride (maybe a tire would help too!). Everything I've read explains why the Helicomatic was doomed (see Sheldon Brown)... sounds like it was 'a solution looking for a problem'. Not really being a purest, I've put new Speedplay pedals on my Trek and really love them! Also I hope to post pics of my bike with two days. Thanks... brian

dddd

It was a very real solution to a couple of problems having to do with axle strength and the ability to change out the freewheel without the need for use of heavy torque/force for removal.

It was however plagued by poorly-considered spacing between the spokes and the cogs, between the cogs themselves (and somewhat between the smallest cog and the frame, but which the end-user could alter).

There was also the issue with their using smaller bearing balls, together with not-so-good bearing quality, and not-so-good quality elsewhere, so the bearings usually didn't last long.

Lastly, their proprietary freewheel and bearing system was soon eclipsed by the better-designed Shimano freehub system, versions of which are still top-of-the-heap today!

And, of course, the fact that Maillard itself died out, so any further development or parts supply options disappeared overnight.

More than anyone else outside of perhaps Peugeot, Trek really bought into the Helicomatic system, but by the mid-1980's, even the Trek dealers had had enough and were not wanting to push these parts on their customers any longer.

LarryBSky

I have a 13 -21 from my Peugeot PSN. I am in hilly North NJ and could use the 13-24. If yours is in good condition we can swap.

The Golden Boy 

How awesome is that?!!

Lascauxcaveman 

I've seen my share of Helicomatics (I have three or four right now) but that's the first Helicorncob I've seen yet.

Good show, @LarryBSky!

Chombi1 

IIRC, my 84 Peugeot PSV also originally came with a 13/21 Helicorncob.....

gaucho777 

+1 Hope this works out for all involved.

briantrek1984

I will post some pics of my 13-24 tonight Larry... the cogs are 13-15-17-19-21-24.

briantrek1984

I was amazed with the ease of taking off the freewheel and putting it back on, which with higher risk of spoke breakage I've read about this make a lifesaver on the road. Handy that my Helicomatic wrench also has a spoke wrench slot!

scozim 

Yep, so did mine

briantrek1984

Here are three pics of my 13-24 Helicomatic... very smooth spinning, I haven't done a cleaning as i wasn't sure what i could soak the entire cassette in that would not compromise the internal lubrication (anyone know what would be best BTW?)... These are black anodized... let me know if you would still like to setup a swap... Brian

bikemig 

The tool makes a fine beer opener as well which can be a big help when you get mad over that spoke breaking . . . .

LarryBSky

Brian, the swap is a go. I will pm you with the shipping details. I will send mine out to you. You can check it out and either return it or send me yours. Larry

briantrek1984

briancampbellmcad hotmail

elcraft

I believe Yellowjersey.org still supports Helicomatic (or at least has some NOS parts available). See: Maillard Helicomatic System from Yellow Jersey

Road Fan

Take a look, but I think YJ ran our of French stuff a while back.

Phil_gretz

Wow. I'm impressed at the sharing of Helicomatic freewheels. It's nice, I guess. : /

The Golden Boy 

I'd had a couple of Helicomatics for a good long time before I took one off- I guess I was afraid of it- and, like you, I was amazed how easy it was to take the freewheel off and put it back on.

The Golden Boy 

Think about it this way, how many people do you personally know in real life that have had a Helicomatic failure? Not people you've read, not the internet reputation- a person you ride with or hang out with.

There's a few people here that have ridden their Helicomatics more miles than I've ridden in my lifetime.

bertinjim 

The Helico system is under rated, I believe. I use it on one of my bikes and the freewhel is a breeze to remove and lube. The rear hub grenaded one bearing which I caught during a routine service and then replaced all of them with Grade 25s and have had no further problems. You may want to replace all the rear hub bearings as a preventative, Brian. Great that you and Larry worked out the freewheel exchange.