John Ummel

Sheldon Brown says the Maillard Helicomatic Hub is no good; came on many early Treks. Some of the early Trek brochures say "Atom Lux-Compe Helicomatic" (1984 Trek 610) while others actually state "Maillard 700 Helicomatic" (Trek 660). Are they the same thing?

BikingGrad80

I think the main problem with them nowadays is that you'll have a heck of a time finding a compatable freewheel to put on it.

Bill Kapaun

They are mentioned frequently on the C&V section of these forums. You might search/ask there.

Rev.Chuck

You would probbaly even have a hard time finding the wrench to remove the locking ring for the freewheel, they are all in use as bottle openers now. The helicomatic freewheel was propriatary to the hub using a rifled spline to mate the two.

cooker

The lockring tools are often available on ebay...I bought one about a year ago. Also they and some other replacement parts may be available from sites like Yellowjersey.org but are getting scarcer.

https://www.yellowjersey.org/helico.html

DieselDan

Mallard made normal hubs for freewheels, but the Helicomatic was an attempt to fix the problem of axle breakage by moving the right outboard bearing out further. Great concept, poor execution on Mallard's part. The freehub/cassette resolved the axle breakage problem.

Sheldon Brown

Yes, Atom/Maillard was the same company at the time they were doing the infamous Helicomatic.

Sheldon "Caveat Emptor" Brown

John Ummel

Great. That was the answer I was looking for; won't be bidding on a Trek 610.

HillRider

If the price is low enough, bid anyway. A new rear wheel isn't that expensive, just factor one into your overall cost.