Bear with me, as this opens the discussion up, and may support what measurement means more to you. mjseverson24 should be able to chime in, since his background is in this realm.
It seems to me, 20% decrease in torque would be more easily realized than a 20% increase in knob travel.
Here's why:
When I fish a moving bait, I pretty much use a constant retrieve. Actually, sometimes I slow down as the bait gets closer, but that's a whole different discussion on technique, not gear. That retrieve rate is usually judge by the bend in the rod, or in other words, I pick speed based on resistance of the bait. It matters little what length the handle is, within reason, of course. My hand moves at basically the same rate, irrespective of the length of the circumference the path of the knobs describe. Watch yourself reel. Observe the difference, if any when differing handle lengths are introduced. I did this with two of my three Chronarchs, one has a Hawgtech, the other does not, and the third is handicapped, as Maximus says lol. There isn't any difference. Crank shaft RPM, or the speed I move the handle is unchanged, even though I changed handle length.
Remember that resistance I spoke about? To get the rod tip load equally, requires the same cranking RPM. The perceived torque used to get to this arbitrary, yet constant load is different. The longer handle takes less effort. How much less? aavery quantified this with simple math. What changes in the parameters affect this perceived difference? Handle length, gear ratio, spool diameter. Change just one of these parameters, and you get a noticeable change in the way a reel feels. What's not on that list? Knob travel distance, as it relates to "rollout" or "overall gear ratio" - a term I hate. The amount of line taken up by the spool is the same, regardless of knob travel. While this certainly changes when you increase handle length, it isn't an influence on "speed" of the reel.
I'm all for discussions on specs, and using formulas and math to get to the answers and support an opinion. But, and this is a big ole but, it must apply to practical usage. There might be a place for Josh's formula to justify or quantify a some mechanical change made to a reel, but for comparison's sake, and real world fishing, it pales in consideration of other factors. You may disagree, and that's okay, too. I would like to hear an application of rollout or overall gear ratio applied to actual fishing conditions.
Last thing, if this doesn't discussion interest you, then don't post negatively. Just move on. I could care less about many topics posted here, but I have to read them all, being a moderator. I don't post in threads I deem unworthy of discussion - it's not my business, so long as forum rules aren't being broken.