My 1979 Raleigh Team has developed an annoying clicking emanating from the pulleys on the rear derailleur. I'm running a 1979 Camp SR derailleur with a Regina SL chain. All seemed well when I had installed a Campy/Mavic SSC wheel-set with Regina CX freewheel. All was still well when I switched out the wheel set for a time trial with a HI-E/Super Champion Medaille d'Or wheel-set with a Campy freewheel. Then I switched over to a Campy/Fiamme Ergal wheel-set with a Maillard alloy freewheel and the clicking started. I noticed the freewheel wobbling so I switched out the axle. This drastically reduced the wobbling but did nothing for the clicking. I switched back to the other wheel-sets but still the clicking persists. I've ridden the bike on the road and the basement trainer and it's still the same. I've noticed that when the chain-links contact the lower pulley they are not in alignment. The outside of the chain climbs up the pulley and then pop!, the slot of the chain finds the tooth of the pulley. I'm running Bullseye pulleys but I switched back to the original Campy ones and the same phenomenon repeated itself. BTW, the supplied washers with the Bulleye pulleys have a thickness that requires 2 on one side of the pulley and 3 on the other side in order to get close to the thickness of the original Campy pulleys. I have also noticed that the clicking is worse the further the chain is from ideal alignment relating to what gear I'm in. I now suspect that my derailleur hanger is out of alignment which is causing the chain to not mesh properly with the bottom pulley. However, the bike has never been wrecked or even fallen over. Perhaps installing it in the trainer bent the hanger? Any ideas or suggestions? I hate noisy bikes. Thanks in advance.
George Allen Lexington, KY
PS: Besides a bent axle, what else would cause freewheel wobble? Lack of concentricity between the axis of the axle and the axis of the freewheel?