I always feel like I got away with something when leaving this place unscathed.

a 1 x pain in the ass

Last chance for this 1x8 idea to work. I'm one part away from shelving this bike until next Labor Day, taking the Reba and putting it on my single-speed, then ordering a double or triple setup for the front of the EWR for next year.

3 different chain guides
nylon homemade custom spacers
many sizes of chainring bolts
a very destructible alloy ring
and an indestructible TomiRing

the funky angled downtube on the EWR prevents the pricey Paul chain guide from reaching the correct spot, and the Paul is designed for a narrow chain and no bashguard. I like bashguards and want to make this work with one. The cheapie Third-Eye seemed like it should work, but for some reason it still let the chain dive through an invisible gap. The funky EWR downtube also made it hard to get screwdriver and fingers in there to adjust it and move it clear after the chain did what it wasn't supposed to do. Dive and suck.

my new ride looks a lot less problematic
gotta get this thing over to Buck's soon...