I was here a couple of weeks ago concerning derailleur adjustments (http://www.bikeforums.net/bicycle-me...djustment.html) and was interested in hearing from folks in the know about der pulleys and if size matters.

My original der had the 10/11T pulleys. A few years ago, when I replaced the der, it came with the larger pulleys (in dia. and no. of teeth, tho don't have the no. of teeth at hand, but the setup has the pulleys fairly close to each other). Does anyone have any insight as to whether this is better or worse than the smaller pulleys. Here's my take on it:

Pros -
* Larger diam. means more chain on pulley which could mean smoother, more positive shifting? (not clear to me since I don't really have any way to do A/B comparison)
* Fewer rotations per stroke which could mean less wear-and-tear on the pulley
* Since the pulleys are closer together, there's less chance of the chain coming off between pulleys (never experienced this and have never heard of it happening)

Con -
* With more of the chain on the pulley, less flexibility during the shift which could mean a stiffer/worse shift (see Pros above)

Anyway, interested in anyone else's experience or knowledge...Thx in advance....