cmcanulty

I recently replaced a wheel and freewheel on an ancient bike. I got it all running smoothy and quiet while on the bike stand through all the gears. But when I ride it the noise from the chain in the rear is terrible. I checked and the chain and pulley alignment looks fine and the limit screws are properly set. Gears shift normally. Chain length seems correct. But the noise sounds like chain on cog noise. How can it be fine & quiet on bike stand and terrible on road? Any ideas would be helpful. Thank you

FBinNY 

Chain drive is always much noisier under load. If you kept the old, possibly worn chain, that alone may be the issue.

OTOH even with everything new and perfect, you'll still get noise, especially on smaller sprockets because of chordal action.

Lastly, consider me highly biased here, but your choice of chain lube can make a big difference.

cmcanulty

I should have mentioned I replaced the chain also.

Iride01 

Swap bikes with someone else and ride next to them. See if you really notice the noise. And you might, but then again, I've thought my bike noisy at times and no one else hears it.

There are some differences between turning the cranks in a bike stand with no weight being moved compared to the chain having to move 160 or more pounds down the road. If you are a masher and power along in high gear ratios, then I'd think you'll hear more noise or a harsher noise than someone that rides in a easy gear.

I have had times that a bike that seemed to be adjusted correctly in the stand, seemed to be at the point where it wanted to change gears on the rear when being ridden. So a small turn of the barrel adjuster took care of that.

coupster

Off the wall thought - and we've all done it at one time or another. On most rear derailleurs there is a metal tab on the cage between the top and bottom pulleys. If you don't route the chain over the tab it will run along the tab as if it were a pulley and will make a god awful racket on the road but quiet on the stand. Duh! moment - easy fix.

maddog34

Road vibration/chain bounce can make the upper pulley set too close to the Large Gears in back.... what gear are you using when the noise happens?
and i agree about chain ROUTING thru the der. roller cage...

FBinNY 

I selectively quoted to challenge the bad chain routing theory.

Chains routed over the cage's tab are noisy on of off the stand. What's more, people with that problem generally feel the added drag on the stand.

The real problem here is how to tell the difference between a noise issue, and possibly excess noise sensitivity and/or high expectations.

This is one of those cases where experienced ears have to be there.

cmcanulty

It is terrible loud noise in every gear when riding grinding chain noise on freewheel. All gears are quiet on stand. I am only 110 lbs and don't mash hard gears.It is really baffling me.

Iride01 

You should have said it was a terrible loud noise in every gear before. And I guess you did, but you didn't emphasize that enough. I always assume many think any noise from their bike is terrible.... and a unrealistic expectation.

You should double check that your chain isn't routed wrong through the RD cage and rubbing on that little tab as others have suggested. Though I'd expect it to be rubbing in the stand too, it may not be as loud and noticeable then.

Take a pic of your rear DR and post it. That might let someone see the issue. Loud noise in every gear just seems like something very obvious is being overlooked.

Your jockey wheel isn't rubbing on the cogs is it?

choddo

I’ve had a situation (think everyone who has ever changed a chain has done it once) where I didn’t notice that mistake on the stand but did immediately out on the road. In theory there shouldn’t be any increased tension on that section of chain so I’m not sure why it made such a difference.

cmcanulty

I changed to another freewheel both shimano sis 5 speed and it is better but still some noise. Both freewheels run smoothly.

FBinNY 

I'm on thin ice here because of my obvious bias, but it may now be time to consider changing chain lubes.

As a rule, dry lubes tend to be noisier than wet lubes, and among wet lubes, thinner tends to be noisier.

If you try another lube and it gets quieter, then you have both an answer, and a new question.

choddo

You haven’t commented on the routing of the chain through the RD yet, that a few people have mentioned - is it because the question is beneath you? 😁

cmcanulty

no I am not beneath anything. It is routed correctly

cmcanulty

It got a bit better with the freewheel change. Then today I switched one washer from the left side axle to the right side axle and that improved it more. Now it isn't perfect but shifting is fine and I can live with the remaining noise. Thanks everyone for the help!