Wow that's really extended...
I pulled back my adjuster screws a little and here's the result:
Not quite the extension that you have...
I went on the park tools website and found their chain length calculator. According to that, my chain should be (2 * 16.5) + ((52 / 4) + (26 / 4) + 1) = 53.5 inches long, and I counted 55 inches on mine. Sorry for the questions -- I was just confused as to why a bike with stock parts and assembly would not have the correct chain length.
I was reading Sheldon Brown's guide on chain length found here:
http://sheldonbrown.com/derailer-adjustment.html#chain . I was a little hesitant to shorten my chain after reading this:
If the chain is too short, it will be at risk for jamming and possibly ruining the rear derailer if you accidentally shift into the large-large combination. Never run with a chain that is too short, except in an emergency.
If the chain is too long, it will hang slack in the small-small combinations. You should never use those combinations anyway, so this is not a serious problem. If you exceed the recommended gear range for a particular rear derailer, you may have to accept droop in these gears.
I was also on Bicycle Tutor's website and came across their guide:
http://bicycletutor.com/calculate-chain-length/ . This is what mine looks like:
If I were to shorten my chain, where should I break the link? Also, does it matter that my chain rings are of an oval shape (not perfectly circular)? Note that I have a master link in there as indicated below:
If I break the link at the position indicated above and then connect my master link, I should have 1 extra inch of space, as suggested by Bicycle Tutor -- correct?
Should I just shorten it by 1 link and see if it works?
Interestingly, with Park's website, I can either do 53 inches or 54 inches, from rounding to the "closest" whole inch.
Thanks for all of the help...