Joe,
I bought (& still have) an '82 or "83 Peugeot PH10L that I mostly rode on weekends in very hilly terrain. I weigh about 185 lbs. and my lowest rear cog is 26 teeth. The pawls in the Helicomatic freewheel bearings stopped making that "tick tick" sound around year 2000 but the bike still rode fine. About 2003 the pawls failed completely and turned the freewheel into a TRUE freewheel in both directions! I was able to buy a freewheel on ebay to replace the defective one. I think I was fairly lucky to happen upon an available NOS replacement. I'm not so sure they are as readily available anymore but once in awhile you can find them:
ebay item number 160049870383
The point is (for me at least) it wasn't a catastrophic failure - I had plenty of warning, just didn't heed it in time. I would buy a replacement & toss it on the shelf & try to remember where you put it 20 years from now.
Best Regards, Eric Meddaugh (raining in) San Carlos, CA usa ---
On 11/13/06, Joseph Bender-Zanoni <joebz@optonline.net> wrote:
> So I bought a set of wheels for the Super Champion Mod. 58 rims with the
> aforementioned hubs and figured to take them apart and sell the hubs.
> Then I see how well built and true the wheels are. Then I realize that I
> have an eclectic French bike project that could use such wheels. You see
> where I am going... I remember these hubs may have some issues but
> nothing more. What's the experience from those who know. I'm not light
> and the bike will have low gears.
>
> Joe Bender-Zanoni
> Great Notch, NJ
> Gadzooks- I'm cleaning up the basement and sorting out all the "stock"!