noisy rear gears

biff55

noticed on the last few rides a constant clicking noise coming from the
rear casette / derailleur area in certain gears.
relatively quiet in smallest 3 cogs but quite noisy in the middle 2 cogs ( gears 4 + 5 )
any ideas guys ? derailluer ? cassette ? chain ?
the mechs and chain are regulary cleaned , lubed and adjusted so its not a maintainence
issue.
plus i've checked the rear casette and found no damage to any teeth
:?
thanks for any help offered

p.s. bike isfeltQ520 with shimano 8 speed running gear

nicklouse

sounds like poor set up somewhere.

checked the mech hanger is straight?

biff55

thanks for the reply nick
yeah , sort of considered the rear mech or hanger
when i look down at the rear wheel whilst riding the bike it does look ibit bent / out of
position but unable to know for sure without having another for comparison.
is it worth replacing the hanger as a starting point ?

LTheisinger

Have you considered the internals of the rear hub (drive side), sometimes a small spring come off inside? (especially if its a Hope) does the hub still click as it used to - if not, time to dismantle and reassemble!!

ride_whenever

If it was the internals it's be in all gears.

Take it to your lbs, they should have an alignment tool to check!

LTheisinger

Not always in 'all gears' if it the 'freehub', just in the gears that put the most stress on it? It has happened to me before??....

supersonic

Not sure this is likely a problem on this bike - Shimano freehub on the 2008 and 2009.

Check the gear cablws are clean (and as above the mech hanger is straight) and readjust the gears.

biff55

thanks for the replies all
defo not sticking cables , recently fitted full-length jagwire outers and teflon cables
shifting between gears is sooth and quiet.
i'll take out the hanger , have a look , and squash it flat in a vice if bent
should the mech jockey wheels be directly aligned with each other when looking from above or behind ?
cos the bottom jockey is neare the wheel than the top one

supersonic

Yes, it should be straight. If not either the mech hanger is bent, or the cage is.

bamba

Did you manage to sort this problem out ?
I have the same problem , constant clickin like its trying to change up or down when on the 3 largest rear cogs mainly,( GT agressor xc1 ,09 rear mech Shimano SLX)
The other week it wouldnt always shift on to the largest cog, So rightly or wrongly adjusted the screw stop which did the trick.
Tried adjusting the outer cable at the shifter end, which changed nothing.
Im thinkin the cable might need tighten up at the rear, but bit worried about tackling it due to bad expiriances adjusting gears when i was a kid.

biff55

hey bamba, managed to quieten it a bit , but not changed rear a mech hanger so no definative answer as yet.
but for your gear issues i'd defo say it was stretched / dirty cables
first give good clean and lube where cables enter / exit outer covers
make small adjustments with the turn barrel at the rear mech whilst in smallest rear cog
9 times out of 10 it smoothens things up.
good luck

bamba

already tried adjusting outer cable as mentioned cables are always cleaned an lub'd regular too.