Originally Posted by TimArchy
I've heard from several racers that there is some (probably psychological) effect of using larger/smaller gears of the same ratio.
From several independent sources I've been told that smaller chainring/cog combos give better acceleration from slow speeds. Larger combos make it easier to stay on top of a faster cadence.
It seems like this could be an effect of different rotational mass. The small/small has (marginally) less rotational inertia, and therefore accelerates faster. The large/large has (marginally) more rotational momentum, and therefore decelerates slower.
Still, the difference would be almost imperceptible.