Good call on the 28t to improve your chainline and hopefully so you find yourself using more of your cassette on climbs.
Stay on top of those trunnion-mount bearings and make sure that you get your first shock service down within the warranty period against defects in manufacturing and materials. With many brands, you'll still be paying for the service you'd be paying for anyway (regardless of what they say in their literature, I'd recommend a full service every 100hrs/yearly for most suspension products) but many brands will cover - or crash replace - other damaged parts if there are any.
I don't know what to say re. chainline reporting. I suppose in areas that are less pedal-and-plunge riders are spending less time in the low gear? Also, until recently, I was still working in a shop part-time - turning wrenches - so I may have a more grounded sense of the local average-fitness mountain biker's off-road experience? I can't speak for anyone else's process, but I look at every bike and component from the perspective that I had to spend my own money on it, so things like premature chain wear from unnecessarily shitty chainlines piss me off.
Feb. 4, 2022, 10:25 a.m. - Andrew Major
Good call on the 28t to improve your chainline and hopefully so you find yourself using more of your cassette on climbs. Stay on top of those trunnion-mount bearings and make sure that you get your first shock service down within the warranty period against defects in manufacturing and materials. With many brands, you'll still be paying for the service you'd be paying for anyway (regardless of what they say in their literature, I'd recommend a full service every 100hrs/yearly for most suspension products) but many brands will cover - or crash replace - other damaged parts if there are any. I don't know what to say re. chainline reporting. I suppose in areas that are less pedal-and-plunge riders are spending less time in the low gear? Also, until recently, I was still working in a shop part-time - turning wrenches - so I may have a more grounded sense of the local average-fitness mountain biker's off-road experience? I can't speak for anyone else's process, but I look at every bike and component from the perspective that I had to spend my own money on it, so things like premature chain wear from unnecessarily shitty chainlines piss me off.