Noise from rearwheel single-speed

Lubrication required, should be a little grease in the hub, and light oil in the freewheel. We used to coat the outside of the freewheel with a smear of grease where water can get in.
When you take the hub cones out to grease it you can assess the condition of the bearings.
It was common for track racers to have the ball bearings tapping virtually without lubrication.
 
Sounds like there is a bearing missing and, as stated above, perhaps needs to be greased. To remove you will need a freewheel remover (tool) and a long wrench for leverage. Note: there are dozens if not hundreds of different freewheels each with their own special remover so this may be a job for the LBS.

Steven
 
You do not have to remove the freewheel to access the wheel bearings.
There is space between the hub balls, if not lubricated they will make a tapping sound.
The remover slots on the single freewheel rarely work, we used to resort to a hammer and punch on the end bearing plate, sometimes damageing the freewheel.
Try running a little oil in both sides where the axle goes into the hub and see if the hub feels smoother.
Keith
 
I had this identical issue in the last month - new freewheel, admittedly it was only £10 - but within a week it was creaking & making all sorts of noises. I thought my spokes had snapped at first. LBS took it apart and it had come from the factory with barely any grease - it was also surprising how small the bearings were - in other words the freewheel was cheap & nasty - a fairly well known brand as well. They filled it with grease and yes, there was an improvement once the grease had worked itself in but after seeing the cheapness I decided to change it anyway. I've since splashed out on a Shimano freewheel - much lighter and the quality is excellent - and it makes a very reassuring clicking noise.

Load the one you've got as had been said above, it should be resolved with some additional grease / oil.
 
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