Helicomatic blues...sigh
 

Just got my $10 Trek 560 find back together enough for a test ride. The middle 2-3 gears jump VERY badly. Could this be an adjustment thing? I'm thinking the cogs are done, because the PH-10 wheel I swapped in exhibited none of the problems. The weird part is none of the teeth are any more worn than the others. I can pedal normally, but any kind of load makes it pop and slip. Sheesh! Guess I can rob the one off the P8, it's already missing the pedals and seat anyway, lol.,,,,BD

My Gitane did that after I put a new chain on it. I replaced it with a chain off of another bike that had maybe 500 miles on it and it is now skip-free.

Too bad, I just sold a nice Helicomatic freewheel on the 'Bay a few weeks back.

Hmm. I did put a new chain on it. The original was pretty bad off rusty/gunky. Maybe a soak and lube is in order. The only Helicomatic I have that survived a new chain was the PH10. That could be the reason for the good behaviour when the other wheel was installed. I will soak the Trek chain and see what happens. Not sure, since the links lined up nearly pin to pin when I matched them up. Worth a try before I go new wheel searching. Not many matrix rims on the shelves these days;),,,,BD

I ditched the helicomatic stuff as soon as I put together my Trek 520. I had my LBS build a set of Open Pros with 105 hubs from Harris Cyclery. It's 126 mm spaced and is a 7 speed. The best part of an old Trek is the frame. Some of the components are junk and should be replaced.

The $10 KMC chain I got at the local LBS works great on My P8's Helico cog, when the Helico cog decides to work, that is. I nearly got stranded mid commute last week when the helico started to slip. Backpedaling a little somehow made it drop back in and I snailed it into work, but I diddn't stand up or try any aggressive gears the rest of the way in. I somewhat expected trouble, my cog was a freebe at the lbs, and it diddn't work when I got it. I'm hopefull that a good cleaning and new oil will convince it to work, at least untill I can get the wheel laced around a more conventional hub.

My helicomatic is doing the same thing. Its still on the original bike with the original chain, it just skips gears when I shift and twice the chain has sliped off the last gear completely while I was pedaling hard. I adjusted the stops on the derailer and that fixed the problem, but why would it have started in the first place? Its probably just time for a new one...

p.s. Steel IS real

Back in my LBS days, we had a brand new Gitane that did that. It was a lower model with an Allvit derailleur. We changed everything and it still skipped. I did eventually figure it out, but 30+ years prevents me from remembering exactly what I did.

*sigh*

Well, I soaked, dried, and tri flowed the chain. Installed it, and now it only skips in one gear, maybe two if I really get on it, lol. The chain is a Sedis, but I'm not sure if it's original or not. The RD is an NOS Cyclone M-II. The cage is the same length. Next try is the original BL RD, what could it hurt besides my pride? After that, my P8 is going to lose the cogs. Unfortunate as it's a great bike, but I want this bike to work.,,,,BD

Well it looks nice at least......

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n...EK560clean.jpg

Could this be gummed up pawls? I'll get it taken off, and soak it awhile.,,,,BD