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@oddsock
Don't forget about the crank length - I think Sheldon is on the right track with his 'gain ratios'. I just switched from a road crankset with, I would guess, 172.5mm cranks, to a track crankset at 165mm, and I was amazed at how much difference it made - my good old 44/16 (=2.75) just feels too high now.
I would say for riding around London (lots of stop-start, not too much flat out top speed) you want a medium-lowish gear, certainly less than 3. That 44/16 was low enough to get up the steepest roads in Brighton and high enough to get up to 40 kph on the flat.