Originally Posted by
veganbikes
It sounds like maybe you haven't had a chance to use a nice cog. Sure some cogs are quite expensive and maybe not as worth it to some but they certainly quiet things down and run a lot smoother using higher quality parts. Dura Ace is a fine cog, not super expensive but of good quality and is a perfect upgrade from a low end cog. Certainly if you are not able to live because you bought a Dura Ace cog then maybe you really need to work out your life and get some help. I could understand if you were saying that about a Super Gigas or Gold Medal cog which are rather expensive but DA track stuff isn't so bad price wise.
I like to buy stuff in the middle of the spectrum. My road bike has a combination of 105 and Ultegra components, and Mavic Open Pro wheels. I have a WTB seat, a Fabric, a Fizik, and a few Brooks. My best, most expensive fixed gear bike rolls on Reynolds carbon rims and Phil hubs (that I bought used), and it has a Zipp seat post, Profile stem, Cinelli handlebar, Tektro brake lever, and DuraAce caliper. My bike that I ride more than all others is a Surly with All City crank, Fabric seat, and Velocity wheels. I don't pay full retail for anything, but look for clearance sales and lightly used parts from private sellers. I would not be opposed to spending for a DuraAce cog. Most of my cogs run in the 20-30 dollar range, from All City, Surly, and Soma, plus a few cheapo stamped ones that I don't use but keep as spares...
My point in the message above was not to degrade the quality of nice, somewhat expensive parts, but to point out that as you go up in price point, you gain lesser and lesser practical improvements. Along the spectrum from the absolute cheapest to most expensive parts, I believe the stuff of best value* usually falls somewhere around the 20 to 40% range. As an example, I just checked Retrogression's range of cog offerings. They go from the 2-Dolla cog at one extreme to the Sugino Gigas (with invaluable NJS stamp!) at the other: a range of $2 to $110. Whaddya know! The DuraAce sits right at 28% in that range.
You can do this with tires, frames, even complete bikes, and it almost always works. Sometimes you have to exclude the high outliers, like primo boutique parts. Otherwise, it seems the 30-ish percent price point almost always offers the most value for ordinary guys like me.
I doubt most people will notice any difference between a DA cog, at $30, and a $20 Soma while installing it or riding it. Most probably will notice subtle benefits from a DA vs. a stamped Chinese 2-Dolla cog. But I'm almost certain nobody here will be able to differentiate the DA from the $110 Gigas without looking to see which is installed. If you've got lots of money, go ahead and spend it on bling parts. If you're a Keirin racer, you have to spend extra for the NJS stamp. For all the rest of us, the best bang for our buck comes from the low to mid-range stuff... not the cheapest available, but not stuff at even the 60% point on the price spectrum.
* value = quality per dollar