Just looking for opinions on chainrings…elliptical??? aero?? normal?? what do you use and your opinions on the others…
Jury is still out on the elliptical. Nobody really knows if they work or not. Aero is a gimmick in that an aero chainring shouldn’t make much difference.
Unless you’re a big watt monster, go compact. 50/34 or 50/36 with an 11/23 cassette or 12/25 if you ride a lot of hills.
Aero won’t do anything for you. I tried an FSA aero setup and it shifted like crap compared to my regular Campy and Shimano setups (and yes, it was adjusted properly). I’ve never tried elliptical and don’t plan on it. They shift poorly (the gap between the top of the ring teeth and bottom of the outer derailleur cage isn’t constant as the cranks turn). I remember something on Cyclingnews about Bobby Julich’s bike giving their mechanics fits trying to get it to shift properly (he uses the very oddly-shaped Osymmetric rings).
Using 53/39 with a 12/27 cassette gives you about the same ratios as 50/36 with a 12/25 cassette on the smaller gears, with only a minimally wider spacing to the higher gears. On my 9s ultegra, spinning the chain on the small cogs doesn’t feel smooth, and I guess that is still true for 10s. I would probably stick to 53/39 (absolutely no offense intended).