Hello all! I know this is an old topic, so hopefully some knowledgeable guy or gal will see this and be able to offer some insight. Here is my issue. I have an '87 Trek 400 Elance that my dad gave me about 6 years ago. I love this bike! Not only for sentimental value, but because it is truly a beautiful bicycle. My dad gave it to me with a Maillard Helicomatic 5-speed freewheel with a 14t small cog. My big ring is a 50t, and that setup is just not enough gear for me on this bike. (Note, this is not my main ride, but I still use it for training rides because of its heavier weight than my CF Trek 5500) I have a Maillard 500 hub with a 6 speed freewheel which has a 13t small cog that I am attempting to swap out with the Helicomatic. I unlaced the hub from the rim without any issues. No broken or stipped spokes, so I was able to reuse them all. The rim is a standard aluminum 36 hole rim. The problem I am running into is with lacing up the 500 hub to the rim. Using a standard lacing pattern, I end up with the drive side spokes seeming to be too long and the non-drive side spokes being too short. In other words, the drive side spokes put no tension on the rim, but the non drive side spokes do. From sight, both hub flanges seem to be the same diameter, so I shouldn't think that spokes need to be different lengths for each side. Please correct me if I am wrong though.
Any thoughts on what I need to do here? Use a different lacing pattern? Different length spokes? To hell with the 500, just put the Helicomatic back on since I have had no issues with it other than the 14t cog?