Being new to the road bike thing I was wondering what makes the newer bikes faster than the older ones. The reason I am asking is I would like to get a bit more speed out of my old Norco I just bought. I put some new tubes and tires on it already. It has 52/42/36, on the rear 14 to 28 5spd. Any input would be great thanks.

hmm.....well one place to start is getting some clipless pedals and shoes. Another would be a nice set of wheels. If you're running a 5 speed rear then you've got a bike prob around 20 years old. It may not be worth trying to make a speed demon out of it and instead save up for a new ride. Or just love the one you're with.

Speed of a bike to me is the combo of 2 factors: Stiffness and fit. The more stiff the bike setup, the more pure energy is going to be put into the road. The fit of the bike to you allows you to put more energy into the road.

Being new to the road bike thing I was wondering what makes the newer bikes faster than the older ones. The reason I am asking is I would like to get a bit more speed out of my old Norco I just bought. I put some new tubes and tires on it already. It has 52/42/36, on the rear 14 to 28 5spd. Any input would be great thanks.

I know I'm in a minority here, but I don't think you'll go much faster with clipless pedals vs. toe clips. At least I don't--I still use toe clips on my commute bike, and my time for the 25-mile round trip doesn't vary consistently with pedal choice. That's not to say don't get 'em; just don't expect miracles.
Lighter wheels would feel faster, and probably be faster under most conditions, but if yours are 27-inch (instead of the newer 700C), they'll be hard to find. One or two (but not five) more gears in the rear would help under some circumstances, too, but don't spend money on that until you measure the space between your rear dropouts (where the axle goes). Older bikes are likely to be 126mm, newer ones 130. You can spread them, but it may not be worth the trouble. Going from five-speed to seven may be worthwhile, but more than that is a lot of money for incremental gains--you'd need shifters, cables, probably a derailleur and on and on.
As another post said, work on the fit and do whatever's necessary to get comfortable on the bike. Then just ride it. You'll get faster, and when you find something that's holding you back, change that.

As long as everything is in good working order, a modern bike isn't really any faster than an old one, except up large hills, where the probably 10-pound-plus difference would be felt. It will likely "feel less responsive" in cornering and descending.

How well has that bike been maintained? It probably has a loose-bearing bottom bracket, and hubs. If you re-greased those, that would help. How old is the chain?

RE pedals, clipless aren't faster than properly adjusted toe straps, they are just safer and beat up your knees less. Because of this, most riders don't properly adjust their toe straps.

Argentius is spot on. I just went last year from an early 80's trek touring bike, comparable to what you're riding, to a new Le Champion SL. Honestly, not a lot faster, for most riding. You're best bet will be to make sure your spinning parts are cleaned and lubed. Also, you likely have friction shifters and can put a 7 speed freewheel on the back cheaply (without changing anything else), if you feel you need more gears.

I will say the new lighter bike accelerates better. The old one was great for cruising, even on 20+ mph rides, but when the sprints and hills happen, I can get this one faster quicker than the old one. I also really enjoy the brifters.

Having a similar bike last year I chose to not upgrade, but buy a whole new bike and turn the old one into a fixed gear commuter. I'm very happy with that. If you've got limited funds and room for one bike, just clean it up and be happy.

There is no such thing as a "fast" bike. There are only "fast" legs.
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If you take a good rider and stick him on a 21 pound bike, he'll do about the same as if he was on a new 16 pound $6000 superbike. At the highest level of racing, he may find that he's loosing sprints by a foot or two. For the average rider or racer............Meh!.

New cassette? 52 tooth crank and a 14 tooth cog on the fastest gear seems slower compared to a 52/11 or 12. I don't know where to find 5 speeds cassettes anymore though.

I would guess that you have a freewheel, not a cassette, and there are tons of 5 - 6 - 7 speed freewheels out there, the internet is a great tool. (Try qbike.com and search for "Freewheel") The gearing you have sounds like you could climb anything short of Mt. Everest. If you don't have a lot of hills in your area, and find you are rarely using your small ring up front, go with a shorter set of gears for the freewheel. I would go over all the bearings in the drivetrain and hubs and clean/lube/adjust everything. Simple things like a new chain and freewheel and smooth rolling bearings are your best bets for making your bike as fast as it can be. Check tire pressure before every ride, and don't over inflate, too much pressure makes for a harsher ride and less speed. But not enough will add drag. Miles=speed. Just get out there and ride. Part of the fun will be when you build up your legs and cardio to the point you can drop posers on their expensive bling bikes...

The rear wheel is not as smooth as it should be and I do have the peddals and shoes. I am used to mtbing and this old bike feels great speed wise. Though it may be the wrong size when I put the seat were I think it should be I always feel like I am slipping forward gets quite uncomfortable after awile. I lowered it down and it feels alot better but my legs hurt alot quicker. I don,t think I will spend alot of money on this one just ride it so I have something to compare it to when I am ready for a new one. More time on the bike and being in the right gear will definitly make the biggest difference. Thanks again.

Being new to the road bike thing I was wondering what makes the newer bikes faster than the older ones.

The engine.

There is no such thing as a "fast" bike. There are only "fast" legs.
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If you take a good rider and stick him on a 21 pound bike, he'll do about the same as if he was on a new 16 pound $6000 superbike. At the highest level of racing, he may find that he's loosing sprints by a foot or two. For the average rider or racer............Meh!.
Boy (sarcasm), someone hasn't been paying attention to the ads.

Here's a bit of history: Specialized bikes have just really not been as fast as we might have thought going into the year. We all know that last year BMC bikes were pretty darn fast in July and Cervelos were really fast in the spring up through May. The previous year, Time bikes were really fast for most of the year. The seven years prior to that, Trek bikes were the fastest in July and most of the year. In the springtime in the 90s and early 2000s, Colnagos were quite fast on the cobbles. Pinarello bikes were untouchable in July in most of the 1990s. If you go far enough back to the 1940s and 50s, Bianchi bikes were amazingly fast in the mountains and even on the track. It was really something.

Also, let's not forget that there are fast pills and injections.

I have two bikes. A brand new Trek Madone SL 5.9 with Ksyrium Elite SL wheels and an old Colnago Master X-Light with Mavic O.P's. Which one do you think is faster? The Colnago, but not by much. Probably because I have ridden it so long I know exactly how far I can push it. The Trek weighs about 4 pound less than the Colnago. The Trek rides nicer, but the steel bike keeps on moving along...I'd say the difference is in descending. But I have not really pushed the Trek yet, only once and my average speed was faster than my usual on the Colnago.

It's not the bike, it's the rider.

The engine.
I like that answer.

Boy (sarcasm), someone hasn't been paying attention to the ads.

Here's a bit of history: Specialized bikes have just really not been as fast as we might have thought going into the year. We all know that last year BMC bikes were pretty darn fast in July and Cervelos were really fast in the spring up through May. The previous year, Time bikes were really fast for most of the year. The seven years prior to that, Trek bikes were the fastest in July and most of the year. In the springtime in the 90s and early 2000s, Colnagos were quite fast on the cobbles. Pinarello bikes were untouchable in July in most of the 1990s. If you go far enough back to the 1940s and 50s, Bianchi bikes were amazingly fast in the mountains and even on the track. It was really something.

Also, let's not forget that there are fast pills and injections.
I still say it all depends on who your tuner is. I'm trying to negotiate a contract with Steve Saleen to do my bikes.

Being new to the road bike thing I was wondering what makes the newer bikes faster than the older ones. The reason I am asking is I would like to get a bit more speed out of my old Norco I just bought. I put some new tubes and tires on it already. It has 52/42/36, on the rear 14 to 28 5spd. Any input would be great thanks.
Some very good suggestions have been made below. If it were me, I wouldn't put a lot of money into your present bike. To convert it to modern components would cost a small fortune. For example: I have a top-of-the-line bike that easily competes with today's best. It has 8 spd Campy Chorus components. If I wanted to upgrade to 10 speed parts of the same brand/quality level, it'd cost me around $1000, maybe a bit more.

Great info reading the responses. I have had the same experiences... New bike is lighter (maybe 4-5 lbs) than the old one, but really only feels faster uphill. Downhill it's definitely slower. I wonder if that's also weight related? As in less weight / area, so the decent is slower. Lighter wheels make a definite difference uphill.

I find a lighter bike faster to climb with and much easier to accelerate with.

But the Old Bianchi I have is great for grinding just about anything, I put a new 6-speed cassette & chain and the cassette has a huge 28 cog on it and man its the best granny gear for the climbs I do around home- I use it as my secret weapon! once the climb gets too hard...give that old downtube shifter a click- bam! back in the game!

Great info reading the responses. I have had the same experiences... New bike is lighter (maybe 4-5 lbs) than the old one, but really only feels faster uphill. Downhill it's definitely slower. I wonder if that's also weight related? As in less weight / area, so the decent is slower. Lighter wheels make a definite difference uphill.
I'm not so convinved that even five pounds would make that big of a differnece downhill. Maybe older bikes fell more solid and breate the appearance of greater speed or make you feel more comfortable at speed.

I'm not so convinved that even five pounds would make that big of a differnece downhill. Maybe older bikes fell more solid and breate the appearance of greater speed or make you feel more comfortable at speed.

On anything other than a dead straight descent, my confidence handling the bike makes much more of a difference than the bike's weight or wheels. Similarly, back in the 70's a lab tested competitive runners for their top speed. The best predictor for their maximum speed, better than either strength to weight ratio or percentage of fast twich muscle fibres, was how little they feared falling.