mark_m

I have a '74 Motobecane Le Champion which came to me with taller than stock gearing. Just wondered if anyone has any go-to sources for such parts?
thanks,
Mark M.

CV-6 

Why not use period correct freewheels? Easily found on eBay and this forum. Check the for sale section.

Slash5

Sunrace makes 5 and 6 speed freewheels that don't look bad and shift beautifully - modern tooth profiles. Very inexpensive too.
Bearings can be iffy - had one that growled badly when freewheeling.

eschlwc

what kind of freewheel is on the op's moto?

and what cog sizes is he seeking?
.

mark_m

Looking for a stock set, the largest of which has 28 teeth. Current set lowest cog is 22. I don't know the other sizes or any specifics of thread types etc., new to this. Thanks.

mark_m

I guess I assumed they would not be so easy to find. Did not see any in the marketplace here and not overly sure of what I need to look for on eBay...

My front sprockets are Campy 42 and 53, I think probably stock but not sure. I think the rear cluster should be Atom 14-26 (not 28 as I said earlier) and I have 13-22. Not sure what's in between. Nor do I know how much difference between 22 and 26 but I would think I could use it on hills, being an old guy just getting back into bikes since being a teenager...

Also don't know if I can just maybe replace the 22 and the next one with a 26 and something in between 26 and whatever the third one is vs replacing all of them.

mark_m

p.s. pics of the bike here but no good ones of the rear cluster. Can shoot and post if it's helpful...
1974 Motobecane Le Champion

Phil_gretz

Check your local bike coop in the used freewheel bin. Bring the old one with you. French threaded hub, right? I have two sources within 25 miles of my home near DC. Possibly the same near yours?

mark_m

That sounds great. I'm in the greater SF bay area (Petaluma) so I'm sure there would be something like that. The two bike shops in town are more about contemporary bikes. But I remember there's a small bike coop in Berkeley so if I can get down there, and probably somewhere closer - thanks

randyjawa 

I think I have an Atom 5 cog 14-26 in my man cave. Problem right now, I can't go there until morning. Mrs. Robin has two or three newly hatched chicks and I won't scare her away at night. Can Robins see in the dark? Never though about it until just now.

Anyway, will look tomorrow and get back to this thread, if I have what the OP seeks.

Phil_gretz

I donated an Atom 14-28T 5-speed last year to our coop.

due ruote 

Is it a Campy hub? My guess would not be French threaded, but I could be wrong. Maybe someone else with a LC of that era will chime in. Rootboy probably knows.

mark_m

Campy Record hubs.

pastorbobnlnh 

Atom, Maillard, Regina, or Everest would all be period correct and appropriately European vintage if you desire to keep it mostly original.

Have you removed the current freewheel yet? If so the Atom freewheel should give away its threading, i.e. British or French.



Best of luck and happy riding!

rootboy 

I have a brand new Regina Oro 14-28, if you decide you want to go new, close to perios , and ...em...expensive.

due ruote 

https://www.bikeforums.net/classic-vintage/562617-were-all-campagnolo-record-hubs-italian-threaded.html

brianinc-ville

Welcome aboard! This article should get you up to speed on the theading standards and terminology: Traditional Thread-on Freewheels

If the threads are French, get one of these on eBay (or local bike co-op).

If the threads are English, Sunrace 5-speed or 6-speed (which will probably, though not certainly, fit in your rear spacing, and will offer you slightly less jarring jumps between gears).

If they're Italian, you probably won't be able to tell the difference from English -- see Sheldon's note. Good luck!

If you're struggling to tell the difference, take the wheel to your local bike co-op and ask the grizzled old dude with the big beard and the sandals. He'll be sure to help. (But really: find yourself a standard English freewheel and, following Sheldon's cautionary notes, see if it fits).

It's totally worth it for you to buy the appropriate Park Tools freewheel removers (again, see Sheldon's article) -- they're cheap and last a lifetime. Though, actually, if you just walk in with the wheel in hand and ask, a bike shop will usually remove a freewheel for you, free of charge.

mark_m

Thanks for all the information! I'm injured and can't ride right now so I might as well take the freewheel off, or have a shop do it for me, lacking any special tools. Will report my findings - thanks again everyone.

fietsbob

... Or you mean Helicomatic, the Malliard attempt at a Freehub?

mark_m

So, $15. & 20 seconds for the local shop to pull the freewheel... Anyway it's a Regina CX, 5-sprockets. The guy pulled out some Shimano freewheels and said they'd fit. But then he questioned whether such a thing as French threads exists. So...

I see no other markings and the hubs are Campy Record so maybe Italian threads? In my understanding stock was the Campy hubs with Atom 14-26 freewheel, but the chart above (thanks shows no Italian-threaded Atom freewheels. No reason to think my hubs are the original hubs really, would Campy Record hubs have been made with different threads?

I'd be happy to take randyjawa's or rootboy's offerings if I knew which would fit. From the sound of things maybe Italian? Is there a way to measure? Only about 8 turns on there to measure but I could put a slide caliper to it...

mark_m

OK so I see what I think is the groove in the flange on the back adjacent to the threads, indicating a newer freewheel with English threads? It's in the same piece of steel as the threads i.e. the inner flange rather than the outer.

And if that's the case I'm tempted to assume someone cross-threaded English onto Italian, does that sound probable? Which I would consider unfortunate...

icepick_trotsky 

English and Italian threading on freewheel hubs is so close that it's interchangeable. It'll fit fine. My two cents, use the Shimano one. They shift like a dream, much better than the period correct ones.

mark_m

Do you think they make a 5-speed cluster?

philbob57

Every Campy Record hub I've seen specifies the threading on the threaded flange - see, for example Campagnolo Record Hub Low Flange Rear 28h French Thread 126mm Vintage Bike | eBay - if you magnify the first image, you can see 'FRANCE', and you can almost see some numbers. If you don't see 'FRANCE' on yours, you should see either '1.3470" x 24 TPI BSC' (British) or '35 x 24 tpi ...ITALY' (you guessed it - Italian). My bet is that yours is French and needs a French-threaded freewheel.

If you want a French hub or freewheel, you can probably get it from France way cheaper than the pb'bikes, the owner of which I hope has learned to digest metal....

I haven't seen Sunrace or Shimano freewheels from the US in French threading.

rootboy 

Well...maybe. The earlier 70's Campagnolo Record hubs were not marked like that, to make it so easy.
Note the small flange hubs in the auction were later models, with the curved skewer handles.

If the bike is a '74, the hub may not be marked. But I'll wager it isn't French threaded. Could be. But I'll bet it's Italian. Especially if it had a Regina CX freewheel on it. Still, one must be careful.