I understand they are still a hard to find thing....I'm just wondering that with Velo-Orange now producing a French-thread BB and A french-thread Headset, where are the French Threaded Freewheels?

I'm thinking that there's not enough demand for them to make it worth the cost of producing them, but maybe there are more French-threaded hubs out there than I realize.

In spite of my penchant for French & Swiss bikes, so far I haven't been afflicted with a French threaded hub... probably a few narrow scrapes that I turned my back on though!

Stay away!

I had revenge on my thief once. I had a french threaded freewheel, and the thief took a freewheel remover and a crank extractor to my bike. My revenge was the knowledge that my freewheel would mess up his hub.

some cretin stole your freewheel and cranks and left the bike?!

Really? Sounds like a lotta trouble to steal some funky french parts.

I know. It's really hard to believe. He was clearly a knowledgeable cretin. He could only have used a freewheel tool and a long wrench for the freewheel, and he could only have used a crank puller for the cranks. I felt like my unknown evil twin did it to me. This was in Boston in 1981.

Did you ever think that he knew knew was stealing a hard to find French FW....for his French C&V bike?? Did you notice anyone tailing you closely before the theft, trying to find out what FW and hub you might have??

Chombi

I've been messing with bikes 40 years and I think I've come across 1 French threaded freewheel...

i only really asked because I've seen two sets of Mavic 501 hubs on ebay recently, both threaded for French freewheels. Shame those hubs are basically useless.

Haha! Incredible.

Oxymoron, Tom.


I don't know much about French-threaded FWs, and am fully prepared to be chastised for this, but. . . . is it possible to force a standard FW on there (and then scrap the hub and FW when the FW wears out)?

Yeah, I gotta couple sets of Zeus hubs in French (I think)...

Do 'french threaded freewheels' mean the helicomatic freewheel / hub monsters or is there a different type where the thread is the same but the pitch is slightly off?

Thats it right there. Different from Helicomatic...just another odd French thing.

Yes, you could force an English freewheel on. It would require a bit of force, but you can do it. And don't take it off.

I'm sure you could find the odd French FW on eBay, I have sold a few there, but they will probably be old 5spd. Atoms, not the best match to a Mavic 501.
Wonder what Mavic thought would be run on those hubs, and if French eBay is where you should look for it?

And once you have a french threaded freewheel body, you could build it up from another freewheel of the same model. It's crazy, but you could do it. I have at least one Atom freewheel, though I think it's pretty worn. I also have other freewheels in various states of repair and wear.

French thread is not just another odd French thing. The French used standard metric threading. The British and Italians (whom the Japanese copied) used several inch-based ("English") threading systems that have the same threads per inch, but different pitches. When the French bicycle component industry lost the competition for world domination to the Japanese (for reasons not based on choice of threading), everyone declared metric thread "odd French stuff" and embraced the even odder marriage of Japanese/British/Italian threading systems which have more exceptions and exclusions than anything the French ever produced. But non-French parts are more available so stick to Shimano for all your part needs and you'll be fine. The Japanese are very good at mass production and interchangeability.

History is written by the victors. The French bicycling industry lost.

That's a shame because generally, metric>not-metric.

I have a french freewhee...

Oh. I threw it and the wheels it was on away. :/ Really.

grifone37 is correct. It's a shame, and it hurts to hear people call metric odd.

Don't get the idea that all Mavic 501s are French-threaded. I've never seen a set that was.

I think you misspoke yourself in the underlined phrase. In my world, at least, "pitch" and "threads per inch" have the same meaning.

A general comment I have about this discussion; the basis for units of length, etc. in the "metric" or SI system are no less arbitrary than more traditional units. However, Napoleon's metric system has the enormous advantage of being conceived as a whole, rather than piecemeal over millenia, so it is much more organized and coherent.

I've got a clock you'll love.


Grand Bois I've seen mostly standard threaded Mavic 501's too, but when I recently searched for some on ebay I turned up like 3 french threaded rear hubs (seemed odd to me)....which prompted this thread.

Via Bicycle / Bikeville has some French threaded freewheels. See: https://www.bikeville.com/frames.html

Malliard French threaded 5spd Freewheel NOS. 14-28. rare and you know that. Made in France. $60
Malliard Course, french threaded 6 spd freewheel. black. NOS. 13-18. $45.00

I cant understand why a five speed freewheel should be so much more...