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I have a 18 speed mountain bike. (Huffy)

I recently had my rear derailleur replaced along with new shifters.

Shifting in the lower gears is smooth and there is no noise when pedaling.

However, when I am in the upper gears, there is a "clicking" sound.

What adjustment can I make to eliminate that sound?

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fixit7
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    Sorry to ask, but is it just me or there are only 6 cogs in the back? Are you sure it's a 21 speed drivetrain? – Robert Sep 07 '19 at 04:17
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    A mismatch between the shifters and the number of cogs in the cassette/freewheel would definitely cause this kind of behaviour where it's in tune at one end of the range but not at the other end of the range – Kibbee Sep 07 '19 at 11:40
  • @Robert Lee You are right. I have edited my post. – fixit7 Sep 07 '19 at 17:01
  • @Kibbee The bike tech who installed the shifters and derailleur, ordered a 7 speed shifter saying they were easier to find. Is that the problem? – fixit7 Sep 07 '19 at 17:05
  • It is a problem, but can be fixed by also replacing the freewheel, but I definitely wouldn't be paying for any service from a tech who didn't know this would be a problem – Kibbee Sep 07 '19 at 17:43
  • @Kibbee The sound isn't all that bad, so I will live with it for now. – fixit7 Sep 07 '19 at 19:48
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    I have sent a message to the bike tech based on this info I have received.
    NO! If you have an INDEXED SIX-SPEED freewheel or cassette and you want to keep it indexed then you need a SIX-SPEED shifter. 7 speed and 6 speed are different thicknesses of cogs and spacing between cogs is different too.     – fixit7 Sep 09 '19 at 21:18
  • That's a useful response. So, you don't have an indexed shifter (with clicks for each gear), right? If that's the case, then the next common problem that could cause that kind of noise, I think, is a bent derailer hanger (the structure on which the derailer is attached) -- very likely if the bike was crashed. You can ask the shop to check if the hanger is still parallel to the wheel (there's a special tool for this purpose), as it should be. Didn't they check for this prior to installing the new derailer? – Robert Sep 10 '19 at 09:44
  • If the hanger is all right, then a little bit of noise could be simply because the chain, in those gears, is stretched laterally across different planes (cross-chaining), which is normal up to some extent. Also, chain lubrication helps reduce noise, check https://bicycles.stackexchange.com/questions/1869/what-is-a-sign-that-my-chain-needs-to-be-lubricated-again – Robert Sep 10 '19 at 09:51
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    I do have an indexed shifter. The bike tech offered me either a 6 speed shifter or a 7 gear freewheel at no charge. I am going with the freewheel since it will give me 3 more gears. – fixit7 Sep 10 '19 at 14:29
  • As the chain wears down (in a few thousand km) it becomes slightly longer, causing the cogs/chainrings to wear down too, chainging the shape of their teeth. If you install a new freewheel, the old, elongated chain might not engage properly with the new cogs, causing the chain to skip forward as you pedal (and other problems). I would ask for a 5 minute test ride after the new freewheel is installed, to ensure there is no chain skipping whel pushing hard on the pedals, good shifting performance, no unusual noises, etc. – Robert Sep 10 '19 at 15:59
  • You can check how badly the chain is worn with a 12 inch ruler: https://youtu.be/5okJdYrANt8

    Also see this: https://bicycles.stackexchange.com/q/2787/32314 And this: https://bicycles.stackexchange.com/q/4975/32314 This too: https://bicycles.stackexchange.com/q/52592/32314

    Or have the shop measure chain wear and see if they recommend or not replacing it too. If it is badly worn, you might need to replace the front chainrings too in order to avoid the above mentioned problems.

     – Robert Sep 10 '19 at 16:08
  • @Robert Lee My current chain is new. I will test ride it before I leave the shop. – fixit7 Sep 10 '19 at 18:41
  • Could potentially be caused by bad (dirty/rusty/bent/damaged) derailleur cables/ derailleur cable housing or derailleur cable housing end caps. If any of these parts are in bad condition it can make it very hard or impossible to properly adjust the derailleur which can lead to the derailleur being properly aligned with one side of the casette but on the other side of the casette it can refuse to get into gears/skip gears and such problems. Your frame could theoretically also be bent. You can make a tool to check frame alignment quit easily, RJTheBikeGuy has a tutorial about it on his YT channe – Maarten -Monica for president Nov 19 '19 at 05:29

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