Freewheel - 01

FREEWHEEL:
Maillard 700 Professional - 13/21 (13-14-15-17-19-21) standard 6 speed - 2 notch removal interface - 1.370" x 24 TPI English thread - 2x2x2 stepped body of Zicral (7075 T6 aluminum alloy) construction with steel pawls, ball bearings, and outer cone - Zicral (7075 T6 aluminum alloy) cogset / three notch slip fit cogs / threaded locking cog / duplex threaded cog pair - nylon plastic spacer rings - model 700 Pro Team ... [Introduced at the October 1973 Salon de Bicyclette in Paris and thereafter produced almost unchanged for well over a decade, the French manufactured Maillard 700 Professional would ultimately prove to be the lightest metallic freewheel ever marketed to the general public (...the title of absolute lightest regardless of material construction surely goes to the resin molded five speed cluster specific to the short lived Original Plastic Bike, also from the year 1973). Tipping the scales at a scant 145 grams as seen here (...or a precariously paltry 135 grams for a 13/19 six speed straight block), these ultra lightweight Maillard Professional freewheels were purpose built specialty items intended for select racing applications such as time trialing or hill climbs where component longevity was not of any import. While it is true that several of its contemporaries also employed individual aluminum cogs, the Maillard 700 Professional freewheel took things a step further by incorporating an aluminum alloy body as well - only the outer cone, pawls, and ball bearings themselves were of steel composition. Not surprisingly, service life on these units was remarkably short, and in fact, I know of at least a few riders who have literally stripped an alloy cog from one of these freewheel bodies while trying to execute a downshift and launch into a sprint up an incline (...more often than not with calamitous results). It should come then as no surprise that this particular component has only been temporarily mounted as "eye candy" for purposes of this photo shoot. I would normally ride this bike about using a Sachs / Maillard 700 Compact 13/21 seven speed freewheel featuring a near bulletproof steel body as well as durable hardened steel / nickel plated cogs incorporating their improved Rapid Grip and Shift (RGS) tooth profile.]