What makes a bike quick

[JMAG]

As @bpsmith mentions, a lighter, better bike will be faster up hills and so will weight loss and improved fitness. You can go for one, t'other or both, but you can't go in to a shop and lose a few kilos of bodyweight in exchange for some cash.

Looking at that bike though, better gearing options would help. This can be achieved by changing the chainset for a compact double or even a tripple. You might even just be able to change the inner chainring for a smaller one.

The cassette doesn't look particularly big either, but you might find you need a new rear derailleur if you change the total max/min tooth count too much. Spacing between gears can also affect your riding in that big jumps between cogs can unsettle your cadence/rhythm, but changing this by adding gears would need a new groupset and possibly wheels.

If you can find a smaller inner chainring it would be a start in the right direction, but if you fancy a new bike anyway, you will take a lot of variables out in one go.

 

[Dogtrousers]

With this bike I am struggling to climb, someone said before that this bike does not have any short gears which makes sense, but from the pic does the small front chain ring look a bit large?

That looks like a "standard" as opposed to"compact" chainset. The little ring is probably 39T which is about the smallest you can fit on a standard. A compact has the chainring bolts closer together ( smaller Bolt Circle Diameter - BCD) so you can fit a smaller little ring, down to 34T.

Disclaimer- I am an idiot and the above is probably wrong, but I hope not very wrong.

 

[Globalti]

My analogy is...when I first started cycling seriously I had a basic heavy Raleigh, heavy steel frame, gazillion spoked wheels, comparatively basic components now I have a carbon fibre, super stiff, much better components, light wheels....I don't go that much faster. The new bike may be compensating for me being 15 years older..but what the newer bike does do is give you a smoother, infinitely more pleasurable ride over the one 15 year ago.

THANK YOU! This is what I've been saying for years. Before I got into motorcycling I had skinny-tubed steel Raleighs and Carltons with downtube shifters and skinny handlebars. They were okay but not especially comfortable. Decades later, after serving my apprenticeship as a born-again cyclist for 20 years on mountain bikes I bought a steel Peugeot then a steel Harry Hall. Both were OK to ride but not comfortable to my untrained body and after 40 miles on rough roads I felt like I'd done three rounds in a boxing ring. Then I acquired a 2006 carbon Roubaix and was blown away by the comfort, the handling and the ease of riding. It's this that has been responsible, in my belief, for bringing more new cyclists into the sport than anything else.

 

[Andywinds]

Is a compact setup the standard now on road bikes?

That looks like a "standard" as opposed to"compact" chainset. The little ring is probably 39T which is about the smallest you can fit on a standard. A compact has the chainring bolts closer together ( smaller Bolt Circle Diameter - BCD) so you can fit a smaller little ring, down to 34T.

Disclaimer- I am an idiot and the above is probably wrong, but I hope not very wrong.

 

[Andywinds]

Thanks for all the helpful posts everyone.