Current Projects chat and miscellany

I seem to remember when i worked for cyclesurgery they had a few cheap 27'' wheels that would accept a screw on block - So you could still use a 5/6/7 speed freewheel with it - Sunrace do a 5 speed freewheel for about £7

Raleigh Wheel 27 X 1-1/4" Rear Nutted

basic but will get it back on the road - Id recommend adjusting the cones because are too tight out the box

I woulden't use a tiagra hub, you'll most likely have spacing issues and won't be able to use less than 7 speed on it

I sort of saw this problem coming when I originally built my GF's bike for her but it was a cheap build and I threw it together with whatever parts I could get cheaply and easily, plus I don't really know what I'm doing when it comes to bodging together old parts...

The bike is running 27" wheels and the rear has a maillard helicomatic hub and cassette. I've just had to replace the chain and predictably the new chain doesn't bind with the slightly worn cassette causing the chain to slip badly. NOS helicomatic cassettes seem rare and expensive so simply replacing the cassette isn't an option so I think I'm looking at replacing the wheel. 2nd hand options don't seem that easy to find (quick look on here, Hillary and Ebay) so what are my options for getting a new wheel?

SJS has a decent selection of 27" rims so that bit is easy, but what hub would people recommend? The current set up is a 5speed rear cassette, with Suntour VX RD. The cheapest rear hub on SJS is tiagra, but obviously that is a 10speed cassette - would this work with the existing derailleur?

If so then that makes everything easy. If not, any suggestions?