Maillard freewheel shims
08-25-20, 03:26 PM
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Maillard freewheel shims
Hello there!
Bought old bike with Maillard freewheel on it. Freewheel has some notable "play", when wheel is steady or/and spinning.
As I understand, to solve this, I have to remove spacier (shim) from inside freewheel. Problem is that it only has 1 spacier there. I can`t remove this last one, right? Bearing replacement won`t help? What are my options here, except throwing this away
?
Thanks.
Bought old bike with Maillard freewheel on it. Freewheel has some notable "play", when wheel is steady or/and spinning.
As I understand, to solve this, I have to remove spacier (shim) from inside freewheel. Problem is that it only has 1 spacier there. I can`t remove this last one, right? Bearing replacement won`t help? What are my options here, except throwing this away
?Thanks.
08-26-20, 03:41 AM
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Hello there!
Bought old bike with Maillard freewheel on it. Freewheel has some notable "play", when wheel is steady or/and spinning.
As I understand, to solve this, I have to remove spacier (shim) from inside freewheel. Problem is that it only has 1 spacier there. I can`t remove this last one, right? Bearing replacement won`t help? What are my options here, except throwing this away?
Thanks.
Bought old bike with Maillard freewheel on it. Freewheel has some notable "play", when wheel is steady or/and spinning.
As I understand, to solve this, I have to remove spacier (shim) from inside freewheel. Problem is that it only has 1 spacier there. I can`t remove this last one, right? Bearing replacement won`t help? What are my options here, except throwing this away
?Thanks.
It's been a while since I had a Maillard apart, but I think it has an odd number of pawl-teeth, so under load it won't rock as much as a Shimano.
08-26-20, 05:08 AM
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The wobble is normal for this and many vintage freewheels. Add a good synthetic grease to the races and a few drops of high-grade machine oil to the pawl pivots and re-assemble. You will be good to go!
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Enjoying the GA coast all year long!
Thanks for visiting my website: www.freewheelspa.com
08-26-20, 06:28 AM
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I have removed this last spacier I had and made replacement from foil 
Rode 10 km this morning and it looks much better. Hope it wont destroy my wheel when I am far away from home.
Rode 10 km this morning and it looks much better. Hope it wont destroy my wheel when I am far away from home.
08-26-20, 09:51 AM
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a freewheel will "float" while spinning rear wheel if the axle is in the least bit bent.
also in my 60s Maillard catalog the cheaper Atom freewheel was offered with
1/2 balls for a savings of 50c (presumably for the OE market) I did notice that a lot
of Mid to low end French bikes had wobbly freewheels back then
also in my 60s Maillard catalog the cheaper Atom freewheel was offered with
1/2 balls for a savings of 50c (presumably for the OE market) I did notice that a lot
of Mid to low end French bikes had wobbly freewheels back then
08-26-20, 11:30 AM
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a freewheel will "float" while spinning rear wheel if the axle is in the least bit bent.
also in my 60s Maillard catalog the cheaper Atom freewheel was offered with
1/2 balls for a savings of 50c (presumably for the OE market) I did notice that a lot
of Mid to low end French bikes had wobbly freewheels back then
also in my 60s Maillard catalog the cheaper Atom freewheel was offered with
1/2 balls for a savings of 50c (presumably for the OE market) I did notice that a lot
of Mid to low end French bikes had wobbly freewheels back then
08-27-20, 01:59 PM
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The fix for not having the needed selection of shims can be to sand down the seating surface of the cone using wet/dry 240 grit or similar on a flat surface.
Be prepared to test-fit the cone before removing the full amount needed, because there is no going back. If you take too much off then the freewheel will be binding until you perhaps find another (donor) freewheel to supply a needed shim. Turn the cone 90 degrees every 10 or 12 seconds of sanding.
I wouldn't expect a thin aluminum shim to be long for this world, so save the original shim(!) and be prepared to remove the foil remnants and sand down the cone.
Also I would use LocTite on cleaned threads upon final assembly, getting the locking cone as tight as possible. I usually use a small hammer and thick nail to drive the cone tighter, alternating between driving the two peg holes (this really helps get the cone settled in tight).
And remember, don't take too much off the cone, there needs to be some freeplay or it will tend to bind at one or more spots around it's rotation!!!!!
Be prepared to test-fit the cone before removing the full amount needed, because there is no going back. If you take too much off then the freewheel will be binding until you perhaps find another (donor) freewheel to supply a needed shim. Turn the cone 90 degrees every 10 or 12 seconds of sanding.
I wouldn't expect a thin aluminum shim to be long for this world, so save the original shim(!) and be prepared to remove the foil remnants and sand down the cone.
Also I would use LocTite on cleaned threads upon final assembly, getting the locking cone as tight as possible. I usually use a small hammer and thick nail to drive the cone tighter, alternating between driving the two peg holes (this really helps get the cone settled in tight).
And remember, don't take too much off the cone, there needs to be some freeplay or it will tend to bind at one or more spots around it's rotation!!!!!
08-29-20, 01:01 PM
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The fix for not having the needed selection of shims can be to sand down the seating surface of the cone using wet/dry 240 grit or similar on a flat surface.
Be prepared to test-fit the cone before removing the full amount needed, because there is no going back. If you take too much off then the freewheel will be binding until you perhaps find another (donor) freewheel to supply a needed shim. Turn the cone 90 degrees every 10 or 12 seconds of sanding.
I wouldn't expect a thin aluminum shim to be long for this world, so save the original shim(!) and be prepared to remove the foil remnants and sand down the cone.
Also I would use LocTite on cleaned threads upon final assembly, getting the locking cone as tight as possible. I usually use a small hammer and thick nail to drive the cone tighter, alternating between driving the two peg holes (this really helps get the cone settled in tight).
And remember, don't take too much off the cone, there needs to be some freeplay or it will tend to bind at one or more spots around it's rotation!!!!!
Be prepared to test-fit the cone before removing the full amount needed, because there is no going back. If you take too much off then the freewheel will be binding until you perhaps find another (donor) freewheel to supply a needed shim. Turn the cone 90 degrees every 10 or 12 seconds of sanding.
I wouldn't expect a thin aluminum shim to be long for this world, so save the original shim(!) and be prepared to remove the foil remnants and sand down the cone.
Also I would use LocTite on cleaned threads upon final assembly, getting the locking cone as tight as possible. I usually use a small hammer and thick nail to drive the cone tighter, alternating between driving the two peg holes (this really helps get the cone settled in tight).
And remember, don't take too much off the cone, there needs to be some freeplay or it will tend to bind at one or more spots around it's rotation!!!!!
Maybe you can advise, what would be the best choice if I want to change this old Maillard freewheel to something new?
08-29-20, 04:21 PM
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Best freewheels are Shimano UG and Suntour Alpha. Best friction shifting possible!
I often use 9s chain on Suntour 7s Alpha freewheels since the largest cogs are closer-spaced. For indexing this becomes more important since the Accushift levers have lots of overshift movement toward larger cogs.
I often use 9s chain on Suntour 7s Alpha freewheels since the largest cogs are closer-spaced. For indexing this becomes more important since the Accushift levers have lots of overshift movement toward larger cogs.
