Dave at the shop tightened the BB, but that didn’t address the chain coming off the chainring. He said that it was probably the chain, and that Shimano 1×11 drivetrains with wide-narrow chainrings are picky about the chain. I was a little skeptical about that, but he convinced me to try a Shimano chain, so I gave him the go-ahead. Surprisingly, I must admit – after swapping the chain, no more derailing up front. The RD shifted fine, so the chain was the problem.
Installing the grips took just a few minutes with some rubbing alcohol, and that finishes it up. While I was tightening the saddle clamp, the bolt heads started to round out, so I’ll need to find some replacements. The saddle is tight for now, but I’d prefer to have bolts that will let me make adjustments as needed. Maybe I’ll just find a new seatpost and solve the bolt problem at the same time – no real hurry on it.
Took it out for a quick ride between rain showers, and it shifts fine, brakes work great, and the fork is working fine too. Will tweak the saddle height and tilt a little, but the bike is finished. May play around with the tilt of the brake and shift levers too, to get them lined up properly now that it’s rideable.
With some help from a Bike Forums member, I found out that this is a 2003 Giant XTC 2. Not required knowledge, but nice to know nonetheless.
Here are some photos.