CyclingFool95 

These are on a couple of early 80s wheelsets I own. How do I get these things off the hubs (Nuovo Record and 600)?

JohnDThompson 

The top one is an early Uniglide freehub. The smallest sprocket is theaded and holds the rest of the cluster in place. To remove the sprockets, hold one of the larger sprockets with a chain whip and use a second chain whip to unthread the smallest sprocket, then lift the other sprockets off the hub.

JohnDThompson 

The other one appears to be a Regina style two-notch freewheel. A SunTour two- prong tool will not work reliably. Use a Bicycle Research CT-1 or old style Dura-Ace tool, which have stabilizing rings to reduce the risk of damaging the notches on the freewheel.

Andrew R Stewart 

The first is not a freewheel but an early version of a freehub. The smallest cog threads on doing the job of current cassette lock rings. Still holding the other cogs from turning while the second chain whip is working on that small cog is needed

The second is a freewheel that needs a specific two dog/prong removal tool. Could be a SunTour but I can't see the tooth tops which would differentiate it from other two prong tool ones (like Regina or Shimano). Do know that when using the proper two prong tool it's best to secure it really tight against the freewheel, with axle nuts or the QR skewer. Only break the initial threading tightness then back off the QR or nut and continue to spin the FW off. To not clamp the tool against the FW will often result in broken prongs. Andy

CyclingFool95 

So, it turns out, after cleaning it off, that it's a Maillard freewheel.

CyclingFool95 

And, sure enough, that 600 wheel is a freehub. Is there a way to turn it into something useful?

thumpism 

You could find a NOS Uniglide cassette for it to replace that worn one, or you could install a Hyperglide cassette body and cassette on that hub. I've done that.

dedhed

FWIW the freewheel appears to be French threaded.

eddy m

It's useful as it is is you can find the right size cogs for your needs.
The limitation of that hub is that the smallest cog is a 13 that screws on to hold the whole cogset together. You can't go smaller and I've never seen anything bigger. Most of them had only 6 cogs, but maybe you could respace them to get 7 or maybe 8. The advantage is that at the time it was the lightest hub/cog combination that was commonly available back then, it is easlily serviceable and you can easily change cogs as you requirements change. The axle is also well supported so it never bends or breaks, which was a problem with the 6 or7 speed freewheels that were common at the time. You can also use a wider chain that's easy to replace and less subject to breakage than 10 and 11 speed chains. The flat cogs shifted well for 1980, but not as well as modern bikes, but you can improve that by using Hyperglide cogs if you can find them.
All those limitation makes it unusable for racing, but for touring or commuting it's arguably better than anything that is availble now, if you can live with it's limitations.

Dave Mayer

Shimano Uniglide cassette hub.. I rode on these for years. Good system, and superior to freewheel hubs as explained above.

You'll need to keep the #1 threaded cog to hold everything together; fortunately it doesn't seem too worn. The rest of the cogs can be replaced with far superior shifting Hyperglide (or clone) cassette cogs. Go to your local bike Co-op and find a suitable cassette in which the cogs are loose, or individual cogs are pinned together. $5 at our shop. You may need to do some grinding to remove the pins. Some of the upper-end cassettes are held together with tiny hex-headed pins that look like rivets.

Hyperglide cogs differ from Uniglide in that one (1) of the splines are wider than the rest. A few minutes per cog with a flat file and a bench vice fixes that, until they slide right on. Keep your original spacers.

This way, you have unlimited gearing options, except of course, your necessary #1 cog.

Bill Kapaun

On the Uni Glide, all but the smallest cog can be flipped over and get 2X the life.

You can also use HG cogs by widening the narrow spline with a file, Dremel or ??

eddy m

The original Shimano 600 cogs were flat, and not even riveted together. That one doesn't even look excessively worn. Clean the cogs, flip them over and use it. The upgrade to Hyperglide is not worth the effort.

Ghrumpy

The stamped threading reads "1.375 x 24TPI", which is ISO threading. It was intended to split the difference between, and be compatible with both British (1.370") and Italian (35mm/1.378") 24tpi freewheel hubs. French freewheel threads are 34.7mm x 1.0mm. Hopefully the hub is not French threaded.

(Edited to correct typo)

Hondo6

You sure about that, Ghrumpy? I'm reading the stamp in the photo as "1.375 x 26 TPI" - not 24. But the photo's not that clear, even when opened separately and expanded to higher resolution. I could be wrong.

I've read that some Maillard axles used finer threading than the norm. Dunno about their freewheels, and I'm certainly no expert on freewheels. But a 2 TPI difference would possibly be significant.

Ghrumpy

I'm quite confident. But eyes can be deceived.

I am actually "sure" about a few things.
-- I've never seen a 26tpi hub freewheel thread. Could exist, perhaps before the turn of the 20th century and national thread standardization efforts. If it exists, it likely wouldn't be French though.
-- 1.375" x 24 tpi is ISO thread, definitely not French
-- OP noted that it was mounted to a Campagnolo hub. They made their Record/Super Record hubs with BSC, Italian, and French threading, and no others that I have seen (if indeed there are any others.) So even if a 26tpi freewheel thread existed, Campagnolo didn't accommodate it to my knowledge.

It's definitely a significant difference. I've seen 24tpi head parts screwed onto 26tpi steerers. The threads start to interfere after a turn and a half, and if forced further, it basically obliterates a section of thread four or five turns long on the steerer. So if by chance that is a 26tpi freewheel, it would mean that hub thread is ruined.

It is true that Maillard used finer 0.75mm axle threads on some of their Professional model hubs. The finer thread is of course less deep, so it leaves more metal in the axle, making it stronger and less prone to breakage.

Hondo6

Thanks for the reply. I only asked because to me the image certainly appears to say "1.375 x 26 TPI" vice 24 TPI and I'd read Maillard used nonstandard threading on some of their hub axles; I thought they might have done something similar with some of their freewheels too. But I'm certainly no freewheel expert, and as I said the image isn't the clearest. I could easily have misread it.

Again: thanks for the reply. Educational, and I'm always ready to learn.

dedhed

zooming in it looks more like 24 tpi than 26 when on my small screen.