Thanks to everyone here for all the info and enlightenment! I think this is probably a little out of my league, so I'll settle for riding it out with my current setup (14-28), although all this information is going to come in handy very soon when I purchase my replacement bicycle!

BTW, out of pure curiosity.... I have an old 18-speed MTB lying around, how difficult would it be to transfer the whole gearing system (front/rear derailleurs, shifters, etc)?

Again thanks for the info!!!