Originally Posted by
theextremist04
Yes, I know what a hybrid is and yes, I have ridden one. But the OP is also asking for a 3mph average speed increase, which you can't get by new tires and a new crank/cassette by itself.
How so?
What more is there?
The chain?
As I believe I said above, I replaced my 22/32/44 with a 42/52, which increased my max gear from 95-118 gear inches. This gives me three more gears higher than my previous big gear, even with my 15 yo 7speed 12-21.
What sold me on my hybrid was that it had full touring braze-ons, excludung a third bottle mount, at maybe half the cost. It just took years to understand the gearing issues that I had, and others (ie. shop people, including those I worked for) discouraged me from changing anything having to do with the crankset. Nobody said anything about not being able to get a bigger ring for the cranks, nobody suggested that I get a whole new crankset and possible bottom bracket.
Fast forward to Oct. of last year, when I built up my first fixie, that is when (in a moment of clarity) I realized that I could easily swap out my crankset. Now I have a fast and fun commuter/tourer/cx bike.