I gave up half way through. Well, a little less than halfway.

I think you're asking if gears make you faster. Gears don't make you fast or slow, they just let you pedal at a comfortable cadence (rpm) at a given speed. Your legs make the speed.

There are lots of reasons to upgrade stuff, but this won't make you faster. Cycling takes a long time to get fast. People who are new and think they're fast just don't ride with the right people. Usually their first race cures them of this belief.

I know this because I am slowly graduating from being new and have begun to learn enough to see everything I don't know. You know?