Hi DMF, I know it sounds crazy but I have checked the line of the chain over the front rings. Even in the small ring, the chain is pulled tight to the inside over the teeth. This causes a bit of bind and tons of noise which is relaly loud through the frame. I looked all over to see if the chain was dragging on the derailleur, if the rear dereailleur was out of sync, etc. My first 2-3 gears are tough on the chain even in the small sprocket. I used to ride my Litespeed cross-chained in the big gear and it was OK. This thing is squawking big. I can trim out the derailleur to not drag but the chain drags across the teeth.