I think I may have been a bit ambitious with the chain wrap, and there's a bit too much slack. 38/34 x 11-42. Can anyone eyeball this and tell me if I can take out two links?
I personally wouldn't worry about it. I never intentionally use the big ring with the biggest (or next biggest cog). However I think it's a good idea to make sure the big/big combination doesn't jam up because it's possible to get there unintentionally.
I never get even close to the small/small combination since that's horribly inefficient and will wear the drivetrain prematurely. I just want enough chain tension with the small ring and middle cog.
Thanks for the reply Stu. Problem is the chain has been jumping off the tension pulley lately, and getting down between the teeth and the outer panel of the cage. I do use the big-big on short pitches and don't trust myself to remember not to - hence the eyeball question before I commit to taking two links out...
I didn't have an old chain (tossed it), but I've just taken the risk anyway. Turns out it was very close - it was binding up at first, but I did have a tension pulley that is one size smaller (two fewer teeth). Changing the pulley got it working fine. So I've probably only removed one link, effectively, but the point was to stop the chain from jamming up in the cage - fingers crossed. Thanks again for the replies.
