Maillard freewheel question...
 

As it applies to a 74' Raleigh (Carlton made) Super Tourer, Maillard 700 "Professional", low flange hub, 5 sprocket cluster.

I want to change the freewheel / cluster and I'm finding "French" or "English" threaded to hub replacements available.

Does anyone know which thread may have been used on this subject bike in question?

Or do I have to remove mine and hope to distinguish the very minor difference in thread diameter and pitch of the two possible thread sizes?

I have owned a Maillard 700 professional hub that had an English thread for the hub - and from memory, like most other hubs of that era it was stamped (or molded) into the hub that it was english threaded and gave the threads per inch etc. You may be able to see some of that lettering down between the flange of the hub and inner edge (largest sprocket) of the cluster - more likely you will have to remove the cluster to read that info.

Thank you! I know now that there is a better way to ID this rascal then. :)

I have two on Raleigh's they were both English threaded I didn't check before I bought my suntour Freewheel cassettes and they both fit.

SRAM threw Malliard 'over the side' when they bought out Fichtel Sachs group.
which Malliard was a part of.

So the Suntours you utilized were a direct replacement fit for the Maillards? Are they (the Suntours) available new?

No suntours are not availbe new Suntour stopped making freewheels in the late 80's. You can buy a 6 or 7 speed Shimmano new with english threads and hyperglide chain for about $30-35 that will work on your bike.

Sometimes, threading information will be indicated on the hub, behind the freewheel. Sometimes, the information will be indicated on the freewheel, itself. And sometimes you get to guess and/or measure before you will know what you have.

If there is another way to figure this out, I would also be interested.

Hmmm....

I don't think that my rear DR will handle the additional travel needed for another cog or two. The limit screws are near max. And wouldn't the axle be too narrow as well? :(

You can buy 5 speed Shimano freewheels new. They're made in Singapore, but they seem to work just fine. I paid $8 for the last one I bought.

The British used French-branded parts, but not with French threads.

The freewheel width on the newer Shimmano 6 and 7 speeds is about the same as the old Mailards so they should work OK with the majority of older RD's and hubs.

Really?

Well, I've searched all over the hub and freewheel for thread size ID, but nothing there. :(

Using Sheldon Brown's info...

British 1.370" x 24 tpi 34.80 x 1.058 mm
French 1.366" x 25.4 tpi 34.7 x 1 mm

I measured MY hub thread OD at 1.365 which isn't as convincing as my checking the thread pitch which I DID find to be 24 TPI and not the 1mm as the French one.

So it appears to be British after all!

Thanks guys.

Well close is kind of subjective the difference between an old school 5 and a hyperglide 6 is about 4mm give or take a little. I have found from experience this is workable. However if the OP wants to keep the same spacing and gearing a good used Suntour Perfect or Winner 5 speed with the same gearing should be a good match for Mailard. These are fairly easy to find relatively cheap. Chances are someone here has one the woul part with for a little more than the shipping.

The following is a good guide changing upgrading older screw type freewheels.
http://sheldonbrown.com/harris/freewheels.html

Your posted link doesn't work (I think you dropped the last "L"), but that is where I already found the size description.

http://www.sheldonbrown.com/freewheels.html


Thanks though.

I would go with a NOS Used SACHS freewheel if you can they have an inner gasket that makes it very dust and water resistant... I got the suntours used and serviced them... they didnt have that extra gasket so even easier to service them but require more service...

Yes direct replacement New Old Stock Yes but at a premium

An English thread bottom bracket lockring will thread onto an English thread hub, but not a metric hub, and an English thread adjustable cup will thread into an English thread freewheel, but not a metric freewheel.

Yup! I just missed out on one yesterday because I hadn't narrowed down the thread size yet.

I'm looking at a couple of used ones, but neither one excite me. I've got time.

I read that just yesterday! Unfortunately I just buttoned up my BB, and really don't want to break it down again.

Any twist tooth Shimano freewheel will give you better shifting than those mentioned above and will probably be cheaper.

It rains here a lot that little rubber gasket keeps the water dust and grit out also since I assume the OP is kinda keeping it period Shimano would not have been on that bike.

What John Thompson said. I keep a clearly marked RH threaded
English cup in my tool box, just for this operation. If I can ever
come up with a scrap French threaded one, it will also be clearly
marked and join the party.

You don't really need the metric cup/lockring. English and Italian freewheel/hub threads are close enough to interchange, so any freewheel or hub that doesn't fit your English test pieces will be metric.