Originally Posted by
bluenote157
Next, it mentions that the pulleys should be perpendicular to the ground. What i'm not sure about is if the pulleys and the center of the freewheel all have to line up to perpendicular or is it only the two pulleys that need to line up and be perpendicular?
It has nothing to do with the freewheel center. It means that a line through the two pulley wheels is at a right angle to the ground. The dérailleur pivot spring will locate the RD however it sees fit, and that won't change the measurement.
IMO the Shimano method is at least as good as the "big-big" method, but isn't as easy to use perform.