Originally Posted by labratmatt
No, that sounds right.
It makes sense that you were spinning a lot more with the 18. Maybe you just aren't strong enough to mash the 16 yet and therefore can't get up to the speeds you were at with the 18. (I'm not putting you down in any way. 48x16 sounds rough. I'm running 42x15 and I wouldn't want to get a bigger chainring.)