Originally Posted by
bikinfool
IMHO you've got it backwards...small changes up front mean more than small changes out back.
Uh no.
Small changes in the front have less of an effect than changes in the back. It's not really an opinion, this is backed up by fact.
42x16 = 69 gear inches vs 43x16 = 70.6 gear inches
42x16 = 69 gear inches vs 42x15 = 73.6 gear inches
So a 1t jump for example in chainring gives just over 1 more gear inch from a 42 -> 43. But 1t jump in the rear cog is 4.6 gear inches.