jlaw

Until last March when I started working on my first vintage bike resto-mod. I hadn't really dug into the drawer where I kept my old bike tools from the 1980s for a long time. I bought a few new tools and used several of the old ones to break-down the project bike to the frame. There was one tool that I noticed, but had forgotten what it was for. I knew that the each end was a spoke wrench and the toothed ring was for removing/installing some sort of retainer ring. I usually donate most of my old tools that I haven't used recently, but for some reason this caught my eye and I decided to keep it around.

Here it is:



And then recently I bought the Trek 620 that I have posted previously - and found that it had the infamous Helicomatic hub on the rear - and what do you know? The mystery tool is for removing the retainer ring on the Helicomatic hub!

I must have purchased it originally for the 1984 Peugeot that was my first good bike. The Peugeot (long since sold to a guy at work) apparently had the Helicomatic hub and I never realized that I was riding around on a ticking time bomb (according to some)! I've read a few articles about the Helicomatic hub and it really was a good idea that caused significant problems for some users - and thereby earned its bad reputation. I'm going to install new bearings with good grease into the Helicomatic that came with the 620 and ride it - see what happens.

So the question is....was it serendipity that I kept this odd, somewhat rare little tool and then discovered that it was just the thing that I needed for my new project?

Or, was it my fate to once again encounter the Helicomatic hub and choose to ride it into some unknown future?

madpogue 

If you're like me, it was neither. It was your borderline-irrational doggedness about hanging onto any marginally practical item, especially any tool, with the notion that it will come in handy someday. This sets up a subliminal "need" to acquire something that will actually make use of said squirreled-away object. You probably didn't realize that the fact that you still had that Helicomatic tool was what actually moved you to buy your latest bike. Remarkable how these things work themselves out.

Reminds me, I need to get my mitts on one of those. Fortunately, Yellow Jersey is less than an hour's drive from here, and Andy claims to have them on hand. Just need an excuse to get in the truck and drive up there....

That is also a bottle opener, isn't it?

juvela

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The is actually a Helocomatic appreciation web site -

https://www.borgercompagnie.com/helicomatic/history.html

readers who have never encountered one might wish to view this video -


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seedsbelize 

This is the correct answer.

madpogue 

"You might be a Helicomaniac if......"
Gotta love how RJ pronounces Maillard like "Mallard", like it's a duck.

juvela

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Yes, his articulation leaves a wee dram to be desired...


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thumpism 

I have a spare. Tool, not Helicomatic bike.

Regarding the thread title and the subject, it could have been Helicomatic: Threat, or Menace?

Lascauxcaveman 

madpogue 

Well Hooray for you....

(Sorry, I've hijacked; we should Git On topic....)

RobbieTunes

Serendipity or Fate?

Not sure the difference, but I can't imagine a lap dance from anyone named Fate.

jlaw

I removed the retainer ring using the Helicomatic tool. The ring was barely hand-tight and the cluster popped right off like it was put on yesterday and not 33 years ago (possibly). Impressive.

However, there sure isn't much room for bearings on the DS of the hub - must be some very small bearings in there - will find out later today.

dweenk

Yes, those bearings are small.

madpogue 

How 'bout Menace? (Or Threat?....)

jetboy 

it looks like a good bottle opener...

madpogue 

^^^^ Although I'm surprised and a bit disappointed, given that it's French, that they didn't instead incorporate a corkscrew.

SJX426 

@dweenk - Yes they are small. 3/16"? Check your cones for wear. They are not available except on current hubs. I have a block that would fit your hub due to a trashed cone.

P1000288, on Flickr

RobbieTunes

Of course, redheads.

Jon T

I don't understand all the bad press about the Helicomatic system. My one and only ride is an '84 Peugeot PH10 purchased new. It's 34 years old and I've not encountered problem one with the Helicomatic system. Hell, it'll probably out-live me (I'm 63). Just sayin'.....
Jon

gugie 

Run to Vegas and put it all on red.

The Golden Boy 

madpogue 

D'OH!, now I have to resist the temptation.... (Granted, as RJ's video illustrates, it's on with a lot less torque than a Shimano cassette lock ring.)

Rotten

cannonride15

Never used needle nose for this, but channel lock pliers work just fine! Generally very little force required, removed one that had probably been on for thirty years, practically finger tight! Pretty sure I used 5/32" BBs.

The Golden Boy 

Yeah- it was actually shocking how easy that came off- I'd read that you really have to be gentle- a guy I know has overhauled a few of them and he said to be gentle- so I just put the "teeth" from the pliers on there, engaged them on the "teeth" on the ring and a little twist- I may have actually been able to do it with my fingers- again- never overhauled in 30+ years.

dddd

The oft-not-stated hidden feature of these hubs was that by protecting the axle from bending, the frame's driveside dropout was protected from breakage.

The sad truth though was that, compared to Shimano's freehub system, everything about these was really crummy.

Chief among my complaints was their poor use of space. They used narrow ~ultra sprocket spacing, which was designed around their Sedisport chain's dimensions, but the big cog was positioned rather far away from the spokes, the small cog was rather far from the dropout, and because of the lack of any adjusting washers on the axle, there was nothing that you could do about it. So wheel strength in terms of spoke-bracing angles was far from ideal.

Then there was the sprocket design, relatively ancient with the thick teeth having a V-groove atop each tooth which tended to allow an unwanted false-neutral effect as the chain too frequently "skated" atop the tips of the teeth following an even slightly-imperfect shift.

The helicomatic system didn't seem to exploit any opportunities to save weight as Shimano's freehubs did, and the axle bearings proved nowhere near as durable as Shimano's.

I retain the original 13-24t 6s Helicomatic freewheel on my so-equipped Peugeot PH501 from the early eighties, just as a reminder of how good and bad that the system really was. If adjusted with some freeplay in the axle bearings (that only goes away with the final closing push on the QR lever), the small bearings will not be overloaded and should last quite a while. But, as supplied from the factory, all of the Atom/Mailard hubs that I ever encounter on unmolested bikes seem to have been adjusted far too tight at the factory to consistently last even though the first thousand miles. Other brands of hubs tolerate this abuse for a great deal longer than most of the Maillard hubs, but adjusted properly those other brands tend to last many years if not decades if kept clean and dry.

I only asploded one Helicomatic freewheel, as supplied on my top-of-the-line Trek 720 of 1984. Admittedly, I had rebuilt that freewheel for the purpose of tightening it's bearing adjustment, so I have to blame myself for failing to sufficiently tighten the cone-nut upon reassembly. I recommend Loctite for freewheel cones since I have had all of three freewheels come loose in service over the years (two were Shimano and the other was Helicomatic).
"Asploded" is really an exaggeration though, since I noted the looseness and was able to re-tighten the cone IN EVERY CASE before asplosion actually occurred, using a roadside nail and rock to drift the cone back into tightness for the ride home.

The Helicomatic tool (however redundant, because pliers work so well) always sticks around because of it's bottle-opener utility, a thoughtful approach to making any redundant tool more appreciated.