Hey y’all,

Yesterday I purchased an ‘83 Trek 560 for $50. The frame is in great shape and the paint looks lovely however all the cables/tubes etc need replaced and it for sure needs some love.

I don’t know a lot about vintage Treks but I have read here and there about the helicomatic hub being difficult. Could someone explain what that means and what would be symptomatic of a crappy hub?

It also has some shifting issues but I don’t know enough to say if it can be fixed with some adjustments and new cables or not. It’s a work in progress.

The “issue” stems from the small bearings used in the hubs, 5/32”. It has been said that this increases the rate of wear in the cups and cones on the hub. Regular maintenance can prevent these issues.

The other issue is that you will need a special tool to remove the helicomatic freewheel that is becoming harder/pricier to find.

Don’t let it bother you. Sounds like you got a good deal.

Pics!

From my experience with the Helicomatic, you can rebuild it every month, and the cones will still self destruct in short order, like within a few thousand miles at most, and you'll never find replacements, because no other cones will fit, and you couldn't even get replacements from the dealer when they were new. When you try to adjust the bearings, and they either have play or turn rough, time to start looking for a decent set of wheels (the rims weren't great either).

You don't really need the special tool to remove the freewheel. Since the locking ring is never supposed to be very tight, you can get it off with channel-locks or large pliers. Just don't squeeze them too tightly and use with a little finesse.

although I don't have a lot of miles on my helicomatic, the previous owner did with no issues. my lock ring came off finger tight and went back on the same. I'm sure I'll have a horror story to tell someday, I have none now. Grease and Ride

I have owned a few bikes with the heli hub and never had a problem. As suggested, proper maintenance will be your friend.

The Helicomatic was made by Maillard, not Trek. I had it as OEM equipment on my 84 Trek 610. My problem with it was the shifting was terrible, at least with the Sedis chain it came with. It also lost its ratcheting, and I could not find a new replacement at the time. I also never felt the Maillard hubs were smooth, even after an overhaul.

jlynn-

Helicomatic hubs can be a contentious topic. At the very least, before riding, service the hear hub. Repack with quality grease and completely replace the rear ball bearings with, at least, fresh Grade 25 or Grade 10 bearings. The OEM bearings have a tendency to grenade and the fragments then chew up the races and other balls ruining the hub. Careful with the lock ring, too. If you don't have the special Helico remover tool, lockring pliers should do but the retainer ring is alloy, soft and easily deformable. Go easy with the force.

The Helicomatic Museum...

Really easy! The lock nut is very fragile.

I think a higher quality version of the Helicomatic was made that was used on the Trek 720. I think it was called Malliard 700. I don't have experience with that model, though.

The Maillard 700 is definitely not a Helicomatic.

I've read that there were different levels of Helicomatic. I have 2- I can't tell them apart. My Trek 720 came with a Maillard 700 on the front, my Trek 420 came with a Helicomatic that looks like the other one- but came with front hub just stamped "maillard."

It's not like the Maillard 600 and 700 hubs; those were clearly marked.

Curious what rims you're referring to? My Peugeot's that had Helicomatic always were Mavic Module E rims which I really like and seem to be worth a decent amount still. The 84 Trek mixte I briefly had with a Helicomatic hub had a decent wheelset as well (I believe they were Matrix).

Similar experience here

Matrix rims. My brother had an '84 Trek 560 and I had an '84 500. We bought both bikes new around the same time. Both had Matrix rims with non-stainless spokes and Helicomatic hubs. The rims didn't fail but they were nothing special.
I did the maintainence on both bikes and we were riding about 100 to 150 miles a week. Within 6 months both hubs had badly pitted cones and the dealer tried but could not supply replacement cones (they are a unique to the helicomatic.
So I built new wheels using Specialized sealed bearing hubs and MA40 rims with stainless spokes. I didn't think the Matrix rims were worth reusing with the eyelets already rusting and they were a chore to keep true.
I still have the Specialized hubs having replaced the cartridge bearings a few times and have used them on several bikes.
I really like the Trek bikes but on some of the lower end models they cut some corners on components - in my opinion the wheels - mainly the Helicomatic hubs, were the least durable parts.
Just my opinion. If anyone likes them that's great.

Thinking back on it I think the wheels on the mixte I briefly had had been switched out. They were either Rigida or Araya 700c vs. 27". They eventually went on an early 70's Gitane that was given away.

With your experience I can definitely understand your point of view on these hubs.

Great. You got a bike for $50. Now all you have to do is spend about another $200 for new wheels, freewheel, tubes, tires, rim tape, & chain and, you'll be good to go.

Not until they go bad.

Unless you get a 700 model Maillard, they all pretty much sound like coffee grinders when spinning (even if you try to adjust them as much as you can), because of their crude steel races. Maillard only dressed up the pressed steel cup races and cones to the most minimum amount on the mid and lower model hubs that I serviced back on my brother's and my bikes, back in the 80's. It seems like any polishing of the races came just from wear from the bearings. I suspect that the later, top model Helicomatics might last a lot longer than the basic, early ones, as they might have better bearing races and maybe better quality bearings.

I have a Helicomatic on my '86 Peugeot PH501 Ventoux, and after reading Sheldon's thoughts on these hubs, stripped it, replaced the balls and greased. I picked up a tool on ebay, and was surprised at how light it is (I already knew that it incorported a bottle-opener..), which tells you how much you don't need to tighten.
I didn't find any obvious wear, and the hub feels smooth...

I have the tool if you need to borrow it. I bought it back in the day.

Looking at the vintage Trek site, in '84 the 400 & 500 series used an Atom Sport Helicomatic, and the 720, & 600 series used a Maillard 700 Helicomatic. In '85 a Lux Comp Sealed Helicomatic was used on the 620 & the 720 used a Maillard 700 sealed Helicomatic.
Maybe some of these were of better quality than others, accounting for the differing opinions people have of Helicomatics in general.

I ride an '84 Peugeot PH10 (bought it new in '85) with the Maillard Helicomatic rear end. Still have the tool that came with it. Still ride the original Rigida rims and Maillard hubs, the spokes were replaced about 30 years ago when I relaced the wheels. Anyway, 30 plus years and I've never had a problem with the Helicomatic set up.
Jon