a big difference? no. there was a slight difference that i noticed hammering out of teh saddle in a 53x14 sprint, or grinding up a steep climb, but the difference was very slight, and not worth going out of my way to replace the missing harware.
of course, i'm not the kind of guy who'll remember to dial-in the stiffer sole setting just before a sprint, it's enough for me to remember to jump into the big ring...
