Unknown Hubs
03-11-13 | 07:37 AM
#26
Rancho66
Joined: Apr 2008
Posts: 107
Likes: 31
From: Wisconsin
Looks like this thread ended without a definite country of manufacture & quality level of the "New Star" hubs. The pictured hubs are French made and were supplied to Pelissier (and others?). Quality is close to or equal to Normandy hubs of that era.
I just cleaned up a set of high flange New Star hubs that are inscribed "Made in France" and have Pelissier Quick Release axles. Came on a ~1970 Dawes and are laced to aluminum Nisi-Evian rims. The hubs are one piece all aluminum and are a very close match in looks and quality to the Normandy hub. English threading on the rear hub, but has a SunTour freewheel installed instead of the original unknown freewheel.
I know this is an old thread, so no resurrection comments. I figure someone else will do a search and might appreciate more information and pictures on New Star hubs as there is little information (or interest) on the internet.
Enjoy the day!
I just cleaned up a set of high flange New Star hubs that are inscribed "Made in France" and have Pelissier Quick Release axles. Came on a ~1970 Dawes and are laced to aluminum Nisi-Evian rims. The hubs are one piece all aluminum and are a very close match in looks and quality to the Normandy hub. English threading on the rear hub, but has a SunTour freewheel installed instead of the original unknown freewheel.
I know this is an old thread, so no resurrection comments. I figure someone else will do a search and might appreciate more information and pictures on New Star hubs as there is little information (or interest) on the internet.
Enjoy the day!
03-11-13 | 12:14 PM
#27
Ride, Wrench, Swap, Race
Joined: Jan 2010
Posts: 9,808
Likes: 1,781
From: Northern California
Bikes: Cheltenham-Pedersen racer, Boulder F/S Paris-Roubaix, Varsity racer, '52 Christophe, '62 Continental, '92 Merckx, '75 Limongi, '76 Presto, '72 Gitane SC, '71 Schwinn SS, etc.
New Star hubs came as original equipment on my Steyr Clubman, a mostly English-spec'd, French-equipped, Austrian-built bike from 1972. They say "Made in France" on both hubs.
The flanges on my 5-piece New Star hubs (and the freewheel threads) are alloy.
All 4 flanges are hat-shaped, surrounding the steel cups just like the OP's original photos (but different than Rancho's 1-piece versions above).
The driveside rear flange itself is threaded for the freewheel.
My rear hub is BSA/English threaded. The original Regina Freewheel is stamped F.I. on the back where a thread designation often appears.
Quoting Peter_B from bikeforums: "The older ones are marked with scratched letters "FI" for the Italian words for "fit Ingles" or English. The later ones have a single groove. No marks is Italian thread."
This freewheel threads freely by hand all the way onto an English Sansin hub, so freewheel is verified English-threaded for sure.
TejanoTrackie was right on about the freewheel threads btw. English freewheels usually thread freely onto French hubs, but French freewheels usually only go on several turns and won't go quite all the way without force.
One oddity with my rear hub is that the drive-side cone has no wrench flats! A defect, I'm sure.
I torqued it up against the locknut/spacer stack using big pliers, as the locknuts were found to be loose.
I also noticed that this well-used hub had a perfectly-straight axle, so it was surely made of very high-grade steel. All the bearings were in good shape so were also well-hardened. Adjustment was easy on these.
The solid rear axle is 26tpi, and the diameter is just 6-7 thousandths smaller than either 3/8" or 9.5mm.
The solid front axle is also 26tpi, diameter is again 6-7 thou smaller than 8mm, but only 3 thou smaller than 5/16".
So, consistency between the front and rear axle diameter's "hole clearance" suggests that both axles here are metric sizes (9.5 and 8mm respectively).
I can't speculate as to the threading pitch of the OP's Q.R. axles. They could be 26tpi or 1mm pitch (25.4tpi)
These hubs feel heavy because of their chromed-steel, 3-piece center sections.
Also, the aluminum flanges do not appear to have a machined finish, just as-stamped, so these were low-cost units.
The dust caps are integral with the flanges, so not removeable.
The flanges on my 5-piece New Star hubs (and the freewheel threads) are alloy.
All 4 flanges are hat-shaped, surrounding the steel cups just like the OP's original photos (but different than Rancho's 1-piece versions above).
The driveside rear flange itself is threaded for the freewheel.
My rear hub is BSA/English threaded. The original Regina Freewheel is stamped F.I. on the back where a thread designation often appears.
Quoting Peter_B from bikeforums: "The older ones are marked with scratched letters "FI" for the Italian words for "fit Ingles" or English. The later ones have a single groove. No marks is Italian thread."
This freewheel threads freely by hand all the way onto an English Sansin hub, so freewheel is verified English-threaded for sure.
TejanoTrackie was right on about the freewheel threads btw. English freewheels usually thread freely onto French hubs, but French freewheels usually only go on several turns and won't go quite all the way without force.
One oddity with my rear hub is that the drive-side cone has no wrench flats! A defect, I'm sure.
I torqued it up against the locknut/spacer stack using big pliers, as the locknuts were found to be loose.
I also noticed that this well-used hub had a perfectly-straight axle, so it was surely made of very high-grade steel. All the bearings were in good shape so were also well-hardened. Adjustment was easy on these.
The solid rear axle is 26tpi, and the diameter is just 6-7 thousandths smaller than either 3/8" or 9.5mm.
The solid front axle is also 26tpi, diameter is again 6-7 thou smaller than 8mm, but only 3 thou smaller than 5/16".
So, consistency between the front and rear axle diameter's "hole clearance" suggests that both axles here are metric sizes (9.5 and 8mm respectively).
I can't speculate as to the threading pitch of the OP's Q.R. axles. They could be 26tpi or 1mm pitch (25.4tpi)
These hubs feel heavy because of their chromed-steel, 3-piece center sections.
Also, the aluminum flanges do not appear to have a machined finish, just as-stamped, so these were low-cost units.
The dust caps are integral with the flanges, so not removeable.
Last edited by dddd; 03-11-13 at 06:43 PM.
03-14-13 | 02:02 AM
#28
Ride, Wrench, Swap, Race
Joined: Jan 2010
Posts: 9,808
Likes: 1,781
From: Northern California
Bikes: Cheltenham-Pedersen racer, Boulder F/S Paris-Roubaix, Varsity racer, '52 Christophe, '62 Continental, '92 Merckx, '75 Limongi, '76 Presto, '72 Gitane SC, '71 Schwinn SS, etc.
I found another example of the OP's 5-piece hubs, only these say "made in italy" (in much smaller text) on the barrel, instead of "New Star".
No question they are from the same design, it's actually hard to tell them apart except that these newer ones were laced to 1975 Rigida rims (3 years newer than my other set) and have a less outwardly-positioned left side flange in back (which is a dish-reducing design change that also occurred in some of Atom's one-piece hubshells during the same years).
The metal finish is even identical, and the axle threading is similarly 26tpi but there is a faint "BSA" engraving on the integral drive-side dust shield found only on the older (French-made) rear hub.
A letter "R"-dated Shimano freewheel, (similarly English-threaded) was fitted to this later, Italian-made version, part of a wheelset that was originally fitted to a French ORLY-Motobecane.
So there was perhaps some kind of conglomerate having these hubs built in both France and (later) Italy, being shipped back to France.
Or maybe the old factory was simply moved to a place where cheaper labor could be sourced?
No question they are from the same design, it's actually hard to tell them apart except that these newer ones were laced to 1975 Rigida rims (3 years newer than my other set) and have a less outwardly-positioned left side flange in back (which is a dish-reducing design change that also occurred in some of Atom's one-piece hubshells during the same years).
The metal finish is even identical, and the axle threading is similarly 26tpi but there is a faint "BSA" engraving on the integral drive-side dust shield found only on the older (French-made) rear hub.
A letter "R"-dated Shimano freewheel, (similarly English-threaded) was fitted to this later, Italian-made version, part of a wheelset that was originally fitted to a French ORLY-Motobecane.
So there was perhaps some kind of conglomerate having these hubs built in both France and (later) Italy, being shipped back to France.
Or maybe the old factory was simply moved to a place where cheaper labor could be sourced?
Last edited by dddd; 03-17-13 at 06:48 PM.
06-25-24 | 11:59 AM
#30
Junior Member
Joined: Sep 2021
Posts: 168
Likes: 122
From: Calgary, Canada
Bikes: 1981 Schwinn (Panasonic) Le Tour Tourist 10 speed, 1972? Hiawatha 10 Speed, 1988 Schwinn (Giant) World Tourist w/Shimano FF System, 1971 Schwinn Super Sport (refurbed and ready for sale) 1986 Miyata Terra Runner (now refurbed and ready for sale)
Hmmm......it looks like I will be resurrecting this thread one more time.
A buddy of mine is looking for a rear wheel for his 1979 Canadian-made Raleigh Grand Prix that he recently acquired.
The bike is in pretty good nick EXCEPT someone along the way has replaced the rear steel-rimmed 27 x 1 1/4
wheel with an aluminum-rimmed 700C wheel. The poor GP looks like it's riding uphill when standing still.
The front 27 x 1 1/4 wheel looks like the correct item with a Rigida steel rim dated 1979 and a Normandy hub dated 1-79.
I've exhausted all my local sources trying to find a suitable steel rimmed wheel for him. A big seller of used parts said
I'll be #3 on his list of guys looking for steel-rimmed 27 x 1 1/4 rear wheels !!! Even obscure guys in the loose "network" of
vintage bike guys in Calgary laughed their heads off at my request. Hmmmmm.....I sense a shortage ocurring here.
Now the fun part: I have in my stock of project bikes a 1980 Baycrest men's 10 speed which I posted about
in another thread while trying to identify it. Turns out, it was made in Quebec, Canada by an outfit called
Procycle (and that's a whole 'nother story). A true "department store" bike made for the Hudson's Bay Company group
of stores to cash in on the tail-end of the 10 speed craze. While looking for a suitable wheel for my buddy's GP, I looked
at the Baycrest and, amazingly, it has VERY nice 27 x 1 1/4 steel rimmed wheels with Rigida dimpled rims date coded 1980.......
and 3 piece chromed steel NEW STAR low-flange hubs stamped "Made In France" but no date code.
So it appears that NEW STAR was still in business up to 1980 at least.
Now the question is: do I sacrifice the Baycrest to put his GP back on the road ?? Or go ahead and refurb the
Baycrest and let my buddy scramble around for a rear wheel on his own ?? Decisions, decisions !!!
UPDATE: Well, my buddy Too-Tall Al finally got organized and opened up his garage after getting home from a weekend M/C rally .
We searched through the various spare wheels he has and, lo and behold, there's a rear wheel with chromed steel Rigida rim (no date code)
and a Normandy one piece high flange hub (with no date code). It also had a real almost miniature road race Cyclo 5 cog freewheel on it so
we figured out it must have come from one of the 4 or 5 Peugeot hulks he has hanging around. We tried a Shimano UG 5 cog freewheel on
the wheel to make sure it'll take modern equipment and the Shimano spun on nicely so the hub apparently has modern ISO threading.
It looks like my GP owning buddy will get his back wheel after all and I'll keep my Baycrest intact.......if the OLD works out on this replacement wheel.
A buddy of mine is looking for a rear wheel for his 1979 Canadian-made Raleigh Grand Prix that he recently acquired.
The bike is in pretty good nick EXCEPT someone along the way has replaced the rear steel-rimmed 27 x 1 1/4
wheel with an aluminum-rimmed 700C wheel. The poor GP looks like it's riding uphill when standing still.
The front 27 x 1 1/4 wheel looks like the correct item with a Rigida steel rim dated 1979 and a Normandy hub dated 1-79.
I've exhausted all my local sources trying to find a suitable steel rimmed wheel for him. A big seller of used parts said
I'll be #3 on his list of guys looking for steel-rimmed 27 x 1 1/4 rear wheels !!! Even obscure guys in the loose "network" of
vintage bike guys in Calgary laughed their heads off at my request. Hmmmmm.....I sense a shortage ocurring here.
Now the fun part: I have in my stock of project bikes a 1980 Baycrest men's 10 speed which I posted about
in another thread while trying to identify it. Turns out, it was made in Quebec, Canada by an outfit called
Procycle (and that's a whole 'nother story). A true "department store" bike made for the Hudson's Bay Company group
of stores to cash in on the tail-end of the 10 speed craze. While looking for a suitable wheel for my buddy's GP, I looked
at the Baycrest and, amazingly, it has VERY nice 27 x 1 1/4 steel rimmed wheels with Rigida dimpled rims date coded 1980.......
and 3 piece chromed steel NEW STAR low-flange hubs stamped "Made In France" but no date code.
So it appears that NEW STAR was still in business up to 1980 at least.
Now the question is: do I sacrifice the Baycrest to put his GP back on the road ?? Or go ahead and refurb the
Baycrest and let my buddy scramble around for a rear wheel on his own ?? Decisions, decisions !!!
UPDATE: Well, my buddy Too-Tall Al finally got organized and opened up his garage after getting home from a weekend M/C rally .
We searched through the various spare wheels he has and, lo and behold, there's a rear wheel with chromed steel Rigida rim (no date code)
and a Normandy one piece high flange hub (with no date code). It also had a real almost miniature road race Cyclo 5 cog freewheel on it so
we figured out it must have come from one of the 4 or 5 Peugeot hulks he has hanging around. We tried a Shimano UG 5 cog freewheel on
the wheel to make sure it'll take modern equipment and the Shimano spun on nicely so the hub apparently has modern ISO threading.
It looks like my GP owning buddy will get his back wheel after all and I'll keep my Baycrest intact.......if the OLD works out on this replacement wheel.
Last edited by H2Rick; 06-25-24 at 09:16 PM.
06-25-24 | 02:39 PM
#31
Full Member
Joined: May 2016
Posts: 242
Likes: 70
From: Duluth, Minnesota, USA
One of you is poised to go to alloy rims. They are lighter and make for better braking, compared to the Rigida steels. Your buddy is halfway there with a front alloy 700C rim. Many bikes of the 27" era have been switched to 700C. Will his front and rear brake pads go about 4mm lower, and so work with 700C rims? You could help him find a 700C rear wheel or rim. If wheel, probably 120mm between the rear dropouts. If his rear hub is OK, a new or used alloy rim. Then you can restore and keep intact that unusual Baycrest.
I recently got a 1996 Klein with a damaged rim. Found a replacement wheel on ebay but not a rim. So I bought that wheel and used that rim to replace the damaged one. Good similar luck to you guys!
I recently got a 1996 Klein with a damaged rim. Found a replacement wheel on ebay but not a rim. So I bought that wheel and used that rim to replace the damaged one. Good similar luck to you guys!
