barrys@hercules.UUCP (Barry Steel) (11/15/85)
Just a few words on the Maillard freewheels and hubs. My wife and I both have Trek 620s, with Maillard hubs and their Helicomatic freewheel. I have about 5000+ miles on my bike and she about 1000 miles. After about 600 miles on my bike I had gouged front bearing cones. I found this out when I did my first complete overhaul on the bike. Now at 5000 miles, I have the same problem with the rear cones (yes, I do know how to adjust them). I had to replace my freewheel body at 2000 miles because it got so loose that it was making noise. My wife's freewheel fell apart (literally) on a tour, miles from nowhere (at about 500 miles). I have tried to locate the cones for my bike, but after 6 weeks of looking I have been told that the Trek factory rep can't even get them for ANOTHER SIX WEEKS. Needless to say I'm unimpressed. I'm going to replace all of the Maillard "junk" with Specialized sealed hubs and a non-cassette freewheeel. It can't be any less reliable, and will a lot easier to get parts for. A word to the wise, avoid Maillard if you expect a reliable bike. barry steel (Wiser and poorer)