You should have checked the little/little for sag or rubbing BEFORE you took off an inch of chain. If there was no rub or sag, the chain was not too long. I still say that the problem is unrelated to chain length.
There is ONE length that will handle any cassette from an 11-21 to a 12-27. There is never a need to change the chain length. It would NEVER be shortened to use a 12-27.
As an example, I have the true maximum wrap with my Campy 11 speed bike. I have a 50/34 with a 12-27 on a short cage RD. The same 53 inch chain will also work perfectly with an 11-23.
Last edited by DaveSSS; 09-28-09 at 10:36 AM.