You'd have to be ODC to notice any difference in ride or feel. Gear inches are gear inches. After that different spindle, bearing and crank designs are intended to make things lighter and in some extreme cases - stiffer. Chainrings on 6-7-8 speed cranks don't have to be quite as concentric as 9-10 speed set-ups, but what you're looking at should be equivalent to each other. The ramping pins on the Shimano are propriatory and work extremely well when used with their chains and cassettes, but if you are going to mix and match chain, cassette and chainrings anyway - it really doesn't matter.