3speed

So I put together a sort of cobbled together drive-train consisting of Shimano 8sp bar end shifters, a 9sp Shimano XTR MTB rear derailer, basically new 8sp cassette, and new 9sp chain. There should be no indexing issues between the 8/9sp with Shimano. However, I still have this clicking that I can't seem to tune out. I have no chain rub anywhere. The clicking sounds like it's just coming from the chain going over the gears on the derailer. Can anyone offer some advice here? Is this just something that I'm going to have to live with? I really like a silent drive-train, and this is putting a bit of a damper on the situation.

nlerner

Does the clicking happen in all gears? Any chance it's your front derailleur coming into contact with your pedal arm (been there, done that!)?

Neal

3speed

It does happen in all gears. I'm running this bike as a 1x8, so no front drive train issues to worry about. And it's much too fast of a clicking to be something like the pedal arm. Like there's a click for every link in the chain as it goes through the rear derailer. The derailer/hanger looks aligned too.

illwafer

try swapping pedals.

i also personally would use an 6/7/8 speed chain with an 8 speed cassette.

Old Fat Guy

Quick link?

gaucho777 

Is the chain riding up on the jockey pulley? Could it be either a worn pulley or worn chain? Shimano RDs often use one metal RD pulley. If the chain isn't sitting well on the metal pulley, that might cause the clicking.

3speed

It's not pedals. It's clearly coming from the rear, at the derailer I believe. I don't think it's the quick link, as it happens constantly, not just when the quick link goes through the derailer/cassette. The chain is new, so it's not a worn chain. I was wondering if maybe a worn pulley would cause it. Both of the pulleys on this derailer are plastic, for whatever that's worth. How would one diagnose/test a pulley situation? Surely a pulley isn't too expensive if that is the cause, so that would be alright.

zandoval 

NO!

Don't ya just hate those clicks - I have to chase these down all the time on my FrankinBikes - Waffers right, try switching out your pedals - And don't forget your crank bolts - Some times I have to use thread locker on the Sugino 8M crank bolts for the square taper spindles - And don't give up - Find the click - And don't be surprised when another one comes along later on...


https://www.jimlangley.net/wrench/keepitquiet.html

illwafer

swap out the RD. check the hanger's alignment.

Primitive Don

slightly bent rear derailleur cage?

Old Fat Guy

One thing for sure, it's near impossible to diagnose a click in a bike over the internet.

3speed

Thanks for the link. That's useful for any home bike mechanic. It's not pedals or anything. With the bike in the stand, I could hold it gently while I turn the crank arms with no pedals and still get the click coming from the derailer area. I do have a pair of MTB cranks that I think I need to start lock-tighting, though. They seem to like to come loose and creak these days.
I'll certainly give you that, but you gotta try, right? Maybe I'll see if I can get a video and upload it to youtube.

AZORCH

I'm sort of betting on the pulley.

Captain Blight

You *may* be running into an incompatibility issue with your shift train. I know 8-speed shifter pull is different from the 9-speed; could it be that the parallelogram geometry of your derailleur is optimized for 9-speed shifters and a 9-speed cassette?

If I'm mistaken on this (and I may well be) then the next thing I'd look at, if the bike was in a stand in front of me, is your cable tension. Remember that the derailleur moves only as far as the cable pull tells it to. If you're set up slightly loose, the mech may not be moving as far as it needs to-- and vice-versa, with too much tension at the start giving a poor result in the opposite way. Ya folla? It's only the work of a few minutes to loosen your pinch bolt and start from scratch.

Otherwise, check your biscuits for wear, check the cage for straight and the hanger for parallelity. Beyond that, I got nothin'.

hueyhoolihan

from your multiple, and consistent, descriptions of the problem, i would have to guess that the derailleur cage is bent somewhere and is hitting the plates on the chain. as someone mentioned swapping out the RD with another one would narrow things down a whole lot...

if this is true it should make a similar noise when back peddling.