Originally Posted by
anotherbrian
Cross chained will be less efficient than straight, no matter what the gears used are. But those articles do make very clear that gear selection (i.e. an 80x40 would be more efficient compared to a 20x10 due to the less articulation angle/bend) effects the efficiency.
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One hundred percent agree.
But an 80T chainring might weigh enough with the extra amount of chain you need, that lifting that extra weight up the mountain could negate your reduced friction. I will leave that up to the lab geeks to calculate.