I cut my chain too short, then when a friend was helping me install the derailleur we couldn't get the B-screw adjustment right, and instead of realizing that the chain was too short causing the problem we assumed it was still too long and cut out another couple of links. Yes, we're amateurs.

How can I avoid doing that again? I followed a Park Tool video on how to size the chain, but maybe this frame needs a little different approach to find the right chain length. I have the large size of this frame and I'm using a 30T chainring with a 10-51 cassette (Shimano XT 12-speed drivetrain) -- how many links do I need to remove from a fresh 126-link chain?

Another chain-related question -- when the chain is on the largest cog the chain line looks to be at its limit, too far really. I might need to use a spacer between my hub and my cassette to bring it out. Did anyone else need to do this to get a reasonably straight chain line toward the larger cogs (inner cogs) of the cassette? I'm using a new DT Swiss 240S hub with Shimano XT cassette.

BTW the derailleur hanger shipped with my frame was wonky and needed to be bent quite a bit. So if you're like me and can't get your derailleur to work as expected then try checking that. Am I likely to get a better result right out of the box with an official SRAM UDH (vs the Airwolf part), or is this maybe because the frame is not square at the dropout and I'll need to do this again if I ever get a new derailleur hanger?