clicking from wheel and is chain knackered?

andy83

After doing some well needed felting on brakes etc last night I noticed a few things

There is a clicking which seems to be coming from my rear wheel, was clicking when in the stand and at random times during my ride this morning. I did give it a good clean yesterday and for some reason proded around with the plastic disc in between wheel and cassette, could I have knocked this?? Replaced tyres recently but dont think its this. Could it be a case of a build up of rubbish or does my hub need servicing? not really done this before, how easy is it? Im ok with general maintenance and have changed cables etc and also built old mountain bike from scratch but never had to mess with bearings etc

Also I bought a chain checker and just a little unsure of what its telling me. Its the lifeline one off wiggle http://www.wiggle.co.uk/p/cycle/7/LifeL ... 360031491/ obviously i know you place the two ends in the chain but not sure what its telling me. Im thinking after 3000 miles its screaming out to be changed but not quite sure

Thanks

supersonic

It is a process of elimination to find noises.

Park Tools has a good guide on what to look for.

Could be hub bearings, freehub, spokes, chain, cassette, derailer, etc!

The plastic disc is not important and can be removed if the gears are correctly adjusted.