Thread: Helicomatic Hub
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Old 06-29-10 | 07:41 PM
  #4  
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Absenth
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From: Fishers, In

Bikes: 2010 Surly Long Haul Trucker - Blue Velvet

Originally Posted by Chombi
The verdict on Helicomatics seem to be 50/50 with a good number of people either liking them or hating them.
I think that in the end, if the system works for you personally they are not bad enough to make it imperative to replace them. After hearing other's experiences wit the hubs in this forum, they aren't really the death hubs that many including me thought that they were. Maybe we can really blame it on the Maillar'd inability to maintain consistent quality control on them when they built them in the 80's. In my case, I had the smaller than usual, bearings literally breaking up in them in short time in my two Peugeots that had them. I was also never able to adjust them to eliminate bearing/race rumble as I think that the races and cones were made so cheaply to start with. Some seem to be lucky enough to get good ones and never had any real problems with them. There's also still enough spare parts for Helicomatics to be foun out there as they made jillions of them in the 80's so keeping them alive might be easy enough......with Helis, you pretty much get waht you pay for. JMOs

Chombi
So you're suggesting I, on some regular schedule, pull the hub apart, inspect the bearings, then repack them. If things look ok don't worry about it, and if they don't replace bearings as necessary, or worst case the hubs?

If I understood that correctly, how frequently should I be pulling them apart if I'm commuting to and from work daily regardless of weather?

Thanks Chombi
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