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@simontwosheds
Mr Conan,
There is a difference between changing a chainring and a sproket. I don
t know the sums but the chainring controls the leverage (torque) which is not greatly affected by the sprocket until you get down to track sproket type sizes (14t). Using a small chainring (39t or less) is good for low cadence pedalling. Attempting to spin such a gear is difficult because you need a lot of muscle tension to keep it smooth and comfortable. Using a large chainring (above about 41t) promotes a spinning cadence, because the leverage is low and resitance is more even around the pedal circle. A 46x18 gear and a 36x14 are both about 69", but when used througout a range of pedal speeds they would feel quite different from one another. In summary: 44x16 is quite a usable gear for london(and will be better for skids and tricks than your current). If youre looking to develop your spinning (or youve got poorly knees) you might like 42t instead, but dont go smaller for road use.