I find that on my new fixed gear my avg speeds are a few mph faster than on my old hybrid. It's geared at 48/15, but even this is a bit too high, and i'm probably going to back it off a little bit. 17mph isn't a bad pace to keep, though. I don't know about the more seasoned riders, but this is my first summer of serious riding and that's right around where i was before i got my fixed gear. But definitely put some lower gears on there and start spinning faster.