Helicomatic Hub
 

Currently my '84 Trek 520 has the factory original Matrix Safari Rear wheel, with the original spokes, helicomatic, & a 6 speed cassette (thing, since it's on the helicomatic)

I have the matching Matrix Safari front wheel, with original spokes, and Malliard front hub. As well as a pair of super champion wheels. The front of which has a high flange hub (I think that's the right term) and the rear has a single speed hub with a bent axle.

I intend to ride in the Hilly Hundred all ~225lbs of me. (hopefully less by October.) which is a two day event. ~ 60 miles on day one, and ~ 40 miles on day two. Day one is just shy of 6000' of climbing, and day two is just shy of 4000' of climbing.

I don't think the 520 has ever been abused in it's 26 years on the road, but I keep hearing horror stories about the Helicomatic rear hub.

My question to the C&V crowd because I admit I don't know much of anything is.
Should I rebuild both Superchampion wheels with matching hubs, and put a 6-8 speed cassette on the back, and then maybe swap out the middle ring up front.

Or should I leave the Trek alone, and go buy that Felt F95X (or similar CycleCross bike) I've been looking at as a (nearly 15lbs) lighter commuter.

I'll add, can anyone tell me what, if any warning signs I should be watching for regarding the Helicomatic? How about the Matrix Safari wheels?
In my 33 years on the planet I've managed to avoid having anything fail on a bicycle I was riding that wasn't directly related to hitting something..... Like a car at 35mph.

The verdict on Helicomatics seem to be 50/50 with a good number of people either liking them or hating them.
I think that in the end, if the system works for you personally they are not bad enough to make it imperative to replace them. After hearing other's experiences wit the hubs in this forum, they aren't really the death hubs that many including me thought that they were. Maybe we can really blame it on the Maillar'd inability to maintain consistent quality control on them when they built them in the 80's. In my case, I had the smaller than usual, bearings literally breaking up in them in short time in my two Peugeots that had them. I was also never able to adjust them to eliminate bearing/race rumble as I think that the races and cones were made so cheaply to start with. Some seem to be lucky enough to get good ones and never had any real problems with them. There's also still enough spare parts for Helicomatics to be foun out there as they made jillions of them in the 80's so keeping them alive might be easy enough......with Helis, you pretty much get waht you pay for. JMOs

Chombi

So you're suggesting I, on some regular schedule, pull the hub apart, inspect the bearings, then repack them. If things look ok don't worry about it, and if they don't replace bearings as necessary, or worst case the hubs?

If I understood that correctly, how frequently should I be pulling them apart if I'm commuting to and from work daily regardless of weather?

Thanks Chombi

If the Helicomatic is running fine for you as you write this, it'll probably be just fine for the run. I've had very good luck with the hubs over the past five years, and continue to use them. Actually, they're my preferred setup when we're talking 126mm spacing.

And I don't maintenance mine any more than I do any other hub.

Skyerocker, I'm not sure I'd recognize if it wasn't running fine. I don't have a lot of experience with other hubs. Maybe 15 miles on a 2000 Trek 7300 Multitrack, and 10 trainer miles on my wife's 2010 Globe Vienna 1

I do know if I try to shift from the smallest gear in the rear to the largest or second largest quickly, badness follows.
but I suspect most bikes do that and it's unrelated to the hub at all.

I think that your Helicomatic hub would be fine. But... you are talking about October. Ride the hey out of it in July and August and if everything looks pretty shady in September, get a hub and a different 6 or 7 (you cannot do 8 or more - got to spread the frame) freewheel. Your rig is friction, so pretty much everything will work. I rode a bit with helicomatics back in the day and I could really not tell much difference... all I have now is the adjusting tools (a couple of them) that are relegated to beer bottle openning duty these days :). No matter what you do, stay away from that foil Felt ;)

just spring for a new wheelset. the VO PBP set matches nicely.

The problem with the Helicomatic hub was that the design required smaller bearings (5/32" vs the typical 1/4" in rear hubs) and these did not hold up as well as the larger balls. More frequent maintenance can obviate that problem. Service your hubs before the big ride. Replace the balls with new ones and ride in confidence if nothing untoward was seen during the pre-ride service.

Just make sure you service (Clean, repack and adjust as needed) the hubs before your big ride. If you can find the smaller bearings for it, go ahead and change them out while you have them apart just for good due diligence. It's also a good excuse to find out the condition of the races and cones on the hub anyway, before your ride. It had lasted on the bike this long so there might not be anything wrong with it that will make it fail on your ride, so must have gotten a good one. If you do find the chance or reason to change them out in the future, I wouldn't stress about moving on away from them as there are many other classic hub alternatives that can give you as good and reliable service....plus they aren't really in many "holy grail" component lists of classic bike fans.....yet(?).
Good luck on your ride and tell us how it goes with th hubs!

Chombi

Chombi

Keep in mind that if you're really reading Sheldon Brown's description of a Helicomatic, you're justified in expecting a nuclear explosion from the hub taking out your bike in the middle of a long ride. Those who don't believe what he wrote (and it's the single most bit on his entire website that I consider bull****) just ride them and get rather good service out of them. Disclaimer: I'm not an overly-strong Neanderthal racer, so it probably works just fine for me.

just fyi 5/32" is the standard size as headset bearings...so you could do that too ;)

Other then the bearing size, doesn't this apply to all hubs, except maybe the fancy sealed cartridge units. They should all, once in a while, they should be disassembled, inspected and repacked, with new balls and fresh grease.

If bike shops don't have the proper bearings, then call some industrial bearing places, lots of them sell just about any kind of bearing ball you could want. Probably the best thing to do is count the number of balls inside on both sides, note the size or take one of the balls with you, go to the place that sells industrial bearings and buy the right number of balls of the proper size. IIRC Grade 25 or better is required for bicycle use, most recommended is grade 5.

The shifting problem you mention normally has to do with misadjustment of the stops on the rear derailleur or derailleur hanger misalignment. Doing the fast shift between limits used to be a standard test of proper adjustment with a friction shifting setup. If the chain overshot then the derailleur or hanger needed adjustment.

Also note:
The helicomatic sport model still used 1/4" bearings.
The 500, 600, and 700 models used 5/32" bearings.
The 700 models had obscurely threaded axles and cones, but were preportadly very smooth.

This being the C&V forum, there's a limit on what can be suggested.

tcs

I have ridden lots of miles on a helicomatic hub, and I weighed 250 when I started riding them, I've never repacked them, never had a problem, and have ridden my way down to 200 on helicomatics.

Where'd you read that? Back in the day Campagnolo used grade 100 bearings.