Bicycle Tutor

Hi I am a newbie in the bicycle world, I bought a hybrid to commute to work 4 miles each way. I know nothing about bike, so I have a dumb question. My bike has a clicking sound coming from the back wheel, I looked up every where in the internet to find out whether this is normal or not and what should i do to fix it. The clicking sound is there when i pedal it, when i walk it forward (but the sound disappears when i walk the bike back ward). I lift the wheel up and turn the wheel by hand, i can hear the clicking sound, I manually turn the freewheel (cassette?) the noise continues there so it must come from the freewheel. Is it a serious problem? I read that the problem may be solved by oiling it? I don't have a van to take it back to the store where I bought it (it is 40 miles away) I guess I can wait until I can borrow a van to bring it back to the store, but in the mean time, I would like to ride it to work, should I continue to ride it? Is it a serious problem?

Thanks in advance for the help.

Hi man,

That's perfectly normal, it's just the pawls and ratchet engaging. It's only when this noise stops or becomes intermittent that there's a problem (meaning your hub will be gummed up). Not all hubs make the same noise, it entirely depends on design.

Many thanks, it's good to know!