I took the bike back to the shop. Riding it the few feet from the car to the shop, I realized that, with a rider, the rear suspension drops the bottom of the front derailleur cage enough to give me a few more gears in the front ring.

Talked to a guy in the service dept. a bit – short story, I’m not worried any more. There’s some rub in top three gears when I ride in the smallest ring – ie, when I’m crossing the chain. No worries.

Ultimately I gotta be happy with my bike, and after looking at the situation more closely, I am. Happy. Very. Just riding along those 20 feet made me happy =)

Next goal: sneak out of work early to hit one of my favorite trails.