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Ever since I put my rear wheel on after taking it off, I have had this constant clicking noise from the cog.

Here's what I know:

  • It wasn't always like this. I rode for a few months with no clicking noise.

  • Chain line appears to be straight.

  • Clicking sound comes from the top of the cog when pedaling forward and the bottom of the cog when pedaling backward.

  • Chain appears to "bounce" quite a bit when leaving the top part of the cog when pedaling forward and when leaving the bottom part when pedaling backward.

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  • When you say chain appears to bounce, do you mean it could be sticking slightly to the sprocket? This might indicate that one of the teeth is bent. I managed to do this on my chainring once. I'd certainly suggest you take things apart such that you can get a closer look.
    – PeteH
    Commented Jan 31, 2015 at 21:44
  • It sort of jumps off the cog as it leaves it
    – Kyle
    Commented Jan 31, 2015 at 21:46
  • The only other thing I can think of, which would change if you took the wheel off and put it back on, is the actual tension of the chain. Do you have horizontal dropouts? With the bike in a stand, if you remove the chain altogether and just spin the wheel, do you still get the noise?
    – PeteH
    Commented Jan 31, 2015 at 21:50
  • I've taken the chain off and it does not make a noise. It seems to be the interaction between the chain and the cog that is causing the noise. It makes the noise with as tight of a tension I can get as well as when there is no tension at all.
    – Kyle
    Commented Jan 31, 2015 at 21:53
  • OK, but noise is inherently made by two things rubbing that shouldn't. Which is why I suggested that the chain might be rubbing on a bent tooth. When you took the wheel off, was it to change either the sprocket or the chain?
    – PeteH
    Commented Jan 31, 2015 at 22:01

1 Answer 1

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Is it the same link every time? There could be a tight/sticky link in the chain from when it was installed. I'm not sure why that would have come up after removing/replacing the wheel, but it's worth checking.

  1. Mark or otherwise make note the problem link

  2. Take the wheel off or push it in the dropout to put slack in the chain

  3. See if that link is difficult to bend

  4. If it is difficult to bend, then set your thumbs on it, push it side-to-side, quite firmly but not with all your might, until it becomes less sticky

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  • Cogs and chainwheels aren't perfectly round; there is always a spot in the cycle where the tension is higher and another where it's lower. It may be that removing the wheel put the sticky link closer to the lower tension part of the cycle and there isn't enough tension in the chain to pop the link.
    – Fred the Magic Wonder Dog
    Commented Feb 11, 2015 at 16:32

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