FREEWHEEL:
Maillard 700 Professional - 13/19 (13-14-15-16-17-19) 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 Professional ... [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 precariously paltry 135 grams for a six speed straight block, these ultra lightweight Maillard 700 Professional freewheels were purpose built specialty items intended for select racing applications 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, during the course of an event such as the 1977 edition of the Tour de France, individual members of the Peugeot-Esso-Michelin team were actually equipped with a brand new Maillard freewheel at the beginning of each and every stage having a gearing configuration determined to be best suitable for the individual rider and their particular objective. With respect to original equipment for this bike, potential buyers could specify upon ordering their 1977 Peugeot PY-10 CP that it be fitted with either a durable Maillard 700 Course freewheel having an alloyed steel body and cogs or a lightweight Maillard 700 Professional aluminum alloy freewheel as seen here - and in either case, they were also asked to specify the exact sequence of cog sizes in a range from 13 to 28 teeth for said selection. Also, the manner of threading for said freewheel would automatically be rendered consistent with that of the rear hub - which is to say, provisioned in accordance with whatever one specified on their original order form where French metric threading was considered the default standard and BSA or English threading was a readily available option.]
