I road the new crank for the first time today and I'm not sure if I noticed that much difference or if I simply have to get used to them and/or find the right gear and cadence. There's one steep climb on my standard ride and I didn't find it measurably easier that with my standard double and 12-27 cassette combination. I've installed the compact setup on one of my four bikes, so I should be able to tell more as I continue to ride and switch between standard and compact. I got a great deal on the Ritchey crankest and it looks great on my bike together with the other Ritchey components, so even it doesn't provide a big difference in riding, I'm still going to be happy with the move.