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That's commuting around London, there are the filtering bits, the slowing down before lights, the speeding up after etc that are bringing the average down. I'm honestly not taking minutes to hit 20 and I'd rather not lose out on hitting high 20s on the OKR/embankment/wherever else the road opens up a bit just to spin up a couple of seconds quicker. I still pull away from lights faster than most on my commute.
Edit: just compared average speeds (as given by strava) for same commutes on fixed and geared. They're about the same, I think fixed might be slightly faster on average but it's a bit of a faff identifying which is which on the mobile app.
16-17mph average on 48x15 is nearer 65 cadences than 85.
As you suggest, mid80s GI is usually good for averaging 20-25mph but you're obvs taking an age to get there at the mo to drag your average down to 16-17. I reckon you'd go quicker if you went to 48x17 or 18. Or ideally, of course, 48x19 the ratio of the true professional commuter.