Gents, I dusted off my old Expedition project the other day and found the rear hub flange has crumbled apart. Apparently from garage rot

The hub is a 40 hole Specialized-branded hub laced to a decent Super Champion rim. I think Sansin may have made the hub for Specialized?

Anyway, 40 hole hubs do not appear to be readily abundant. I'm looking at a 40 hole Maillard Atom hub off a Schwinn Voyager to lace to the Super Champion. Is this a suitable enough replacement? I'm not as concerned about "correctness" as I am about a decent hub that spins well and withstands the miles.

Thanks all!

Of no help, but that sucks. Still regret letting go of my 36/40 spoke touring wheelset. Stupid.

That's a big mess. Sounds like a Maillard Atom Bomb to me. Just go ahead and get some new wheels & forget about it. If it's a 27" wheel with a threaded hub just get a set of these .................. WheelMaster 27" Road Wheel Set - Sun Cr18 Rim, 36H, 5/6/7-Speed FW, QR, Silver

Oh yeah, almost forgot...... ditch the Maillard crap & pick up a nice Shimano or Suntour rear threaded freewheel................

Thank you, I think I get your opinion of Maillard Atom hubs from your replies.

Just to clarify, I have plenty of 36h wheels I can use. I'm just trying to stick with the original intent of the Expedition by using the 40h Super Champion rim that came on it. I think this is one of many little details that made the Expedition the touring icon it is.

If the Maillard Atom hub truly is a poor choice, I'll use another wheel and hold out for a better option.

Campagnolo record?

The Maillard hub should be fine, provided it's in decent condition. Many companies offer 40 hole hubs, including Shimano, Phil Wood, etc. and can still be had from e.g. "Tandems East:"

Tandems East Wheelsets, Rims and Hubs

Interesting stuff on this site but alas, these are all new hubs with 140mm cassette spacing. My frame is 126mm and I'd like to stick with a freewheel hub for the time being. Good to know I have options though if I want to spread the frame. Thanks!

The Phil hubs are available for freewheels and can be had with narrower OLD spacing if you ask.

A quick google of "quando hub" should tell you why those are $100 for a pair of new wheels.

Maillard could (and did) make some very nice hubs. I think we (as people 30-40 years down, running into old beat up stuff, running into a lot of the cheaper Maillard hubs and reading horror stories about the Maillard Helicomatic) forget that Maillard was a highly respected company that made highly respected products that were specced on top of the line bikes. As a 40 hole hub, almost by definition, is bound for a touring bike or a tandem, chances are really good that you're dealing with a high quality hub.

For whatever it's worth- I've got a set of the Super Champion 40 spoke wheels laced to Phil hubs- they're the most impeccably spinning hubs I've ever experienced.

And for whatever it's worth, I had a Maillard/Matrix wheelset built for my Trek 400. The front wheel was a Maillard 700 laced to a Matrix rim from my Trek 720; the rear is the Matrix from the 720 and a Maillard 600 sealed bearing hub. It's a nice wheelset.

I recently bought a late 80s Trek 1000 for parts (frame is for sale if anyone wants it over in the For Sale section!!) and came with a Maillard 700 laced to Matrix rims as well. I traded them to a friend for a newer set of wheels...I think he got the better deal, but he had an immediate need for them and I didn't, whereas I wanted a better wheelset for my commuter. He's hooked me up in the past with some sweet stuff, so it balances out...but those were a sweet set of wheels.

If your looking to get the bike rolling the Maillard will work. You can re-use the old spokes. Is it an optimal hub for a touring bike? Probably not. Will get you from A to B? Yes.

Unfortunately that type of failure is very common with the Specialized/Sanshin hubs.