Of course I can handle 48/16, (and even higher!) ... on my geared bike where I can shift up and down as required.

But not on a fixed gear.

Let me try to explain another way. A few months ago I entered a local charity "race". All riders were timed with a chip. Going all out for 46 minutes on my 46-18 I managed an overall average of 18.6 mph over 14.5 miles. Not the fastest and not the slowest. (actually placed 4th out of 67, which really surprised me)

This put me at a tad over 90 rpm average cadence. I COULD NOT have pushed a taller gear at that cadence. Had I run a higher ratio, my time would have been slower. 90-100 rpm's (sometimes more) is common for ultimate cycling performance.

I'm in the western Chicago suburbs. It was 20 degrees when I biked to work at 6am this morning. It's 12 miles each way and I do it over a hundred times a year... less in the winter, but I still hit every month.

Where you at, and what's your cycling story?