Hi all,

My name is Mike. I'm a newbie to Bike Forums, and fairly new to riding. I'd assume that some 'newbie questions' can be irritable : - ), but I hope that my question(s) have some validity that you don't mind addressing for me. First...please allow me to describe a quick bit about myself:

I'm 37yrs old and in good shape. I'm 5'11"...weighing in around 202 (athletic build). About 6 months ago I started mountain biking with some friends (here me out, please, this IS a road biking question : - ) Within 2 weeks I realized that my $100 Target bike wasn't going to cut it, and went out and bought myself a $600 Specialized Rockhopper. Yes...this is cheap by 'real biking' standards, but try telling that to my wife (dang near got divorced over it - lol). In a very short time I got hooked on cycling, and wanted a road bike to ride during the week (my trail riding buddies and I only ride on Saturday mornings - most of us are married). Not knowing a whole lot about riding at the time...and working on a limited budget...I bought a Giordano Libero 1.6 road bike off Amazon for about 400 bucks. Though I'd done some reading, and saw many a recommendation that you should purchase as expensive a bike as you can reasonably afford (better frame, better components, etc...), I was more concerned with budget and wasn't sure how long I'd stick with my new 'hobby'. Long story short, I'm hooked. I've all but completely forgotten about golf (my last mistress), and can't get enough of my bike and learning about cycling altogether. I'm constantly on the internet, have 3 cycling magazine subscriptions already, yada, yada, yada. I've been road biking now for about 3 months, and have invested about $500 in component upgrades (lighter Mavic Aksium wheelset, better quality tires, Shimano 105 brakes, clothing, etc.). The more I learn, the more I wish I'd have taken my time and did more research before making a purchase. But I enjoy my bike and it's serving me well. To date, my best ride was 40 miles, averaging 18.2mph (or something like that). Unless work/family get in the way, I generally do two 20 mile rides during the week and a 30 mile ride on Sunday mornings. Ok...so much for being quick. (Sorry)

Let me just get to the question. I've tried to find an answer to this on the internet, but can't find anything that exactly matches the answer I'm trying to get.

I have two questions...and they both pertain to one thing - overall SPEED. I like going fast (or...at least going faster, more efficiently). The Amazon bike I purchased is a 16-speed road bike. I hate when I'm out on the road, peddling my heart out, dang near in the highest gear...and someone comes zooming by me with ease...peddling at about half the cadence I am...and I notice the chain like only halfway down on the rear cassette, in a middle gear. Now obviously, part of the reason is that I only have 8 gears and the riders in my group (or others I see) have mostly 10 gears...but FINALLY...this is what I'm trying to found out:

1.) Can anyone explain to me how gearing (or, the number of gears you have) affects speed? Let me rephrase...I currently have an 8-spd bike, and want to 'upgrade' to a 10-spd. But what I don't understand is how exactly would this benefit me? Sure, I get two extra cogs in the rear (and yes...I'm aware that I'd have to change shifters, etc.), but what exactly does it translate into? Would I necessarily be able to go a little faster as a result? Or just not have to pedal as hard (in a higher gear) to go as fast as I would be in a higher-gear cog on an 8-spd cassette? Aside from many typical answers I've seen while trying to research such an answer (i.e. the rider himself can lose weight, drop weight on the bike, high quality components, right clothing, yada, yada)...I'm just wondering...all that aside, and everything about everything being equal...is there anything specifically about the bike's drivetrain that will make it go faster?

2) The second part of the question is quality of parts. And I almost feel stupid asking this...almost like...which is better, Ford or BMW? In terms of 'quality', we know who the winner is. But my question is more along the lines of this: Whether in a Ford or BMW, both can easily get you up to legal speeds on the road. There might be a difference in quality of ride, but 60MPH is 60MPH and both will get you to where you want to go. Since I submersed myself in the cycling world, I've quickly become familiar with the premium Dura Ace and SRAM Reds, etc, of the world. Unfortunately, my budget just won't allow it. So...the question on QUALITY of parts is...do you honestly feel it plays a difference (again...in overall speed). If I can go at the same speeds using Bike Nashbar or Forte or some other 'cheaper' brand of parts...should it matter? Some of the things I've been seeing from more experienced riders/posters are things like 'clean shifting', or that they will last longer, etc. Which I can definitely understand. But now that I know a whole lot more about bikes/biking, I wonder things like "Ok...I've got this cheap ass bike. Maybe if I had a higher quality bottom bracket, stuff might roll over a lot smoother and faster. Maybe a higher quality crankset will help me. Maybe a bad ass Shimano chain might whip through there quicker." Ya know? Lol.

I am so sorry for the long post. I've become a pretty good rider (in my view, lol) in a short amount of time. I've been riding with guys who do century rides and stuff, and they always compliment me on my riding skills and invite me out for rides. But I'm still learning my way around this maze, and am trying to figure out the best way to go to continue to increase my skills, give me that 'edge', so to speak, and really help me to keep up with better riders, with ease.

Again, I'm new. Right now, I'm just enjoying the sport and exercise of being on my bike. Maybe in the future I'll look at racing, doing crits, or whatever, but right now I'm just a 'serious casual rider'...if that makes any sense. I want to go faster, more efficiently.

How does the number of gears really play into that? And when it really boils down to it, does quality of parts (specifically the drivetrain) really matter?

If you didn't give up halfway through this, thank you very much for listening, and I appreciate any opinions or help you care to offer!!!