Cycling calorie calculator
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Speed matters far more on a bike than on foot, because air resistance grows with the cube of your pace.
Why pace changes everything on a bike
Walking twice as fast costs roughly twice the energy. Riding twice as fast costs far more than twice, because most of your effort goes into pushing air aside, and air resistance rises with the cube of speed. That is why the gap between 12 mph and 20 mph in the calculator above is so much larger than it looks.
It also explains why drafting behind someone saves so much, and why a slight headwind ruins a ride that looked flat on the map.
What this estimate cannot see
The MET method knows your weight, your pace and your time. It does not know the terrain, the wind, your position on the bike, or whether you freewheeled down half of it. A hilly ride at an average of 12 mph can cost fifty percent more than a flat one at the same average.
If you ride with a power meter, trust it instead. Kilojoules of work map almost one to one onto dietary calories, a happy coincidence of human efficiency being close to a quarter.
Commuting counts more than you think
Half an hour each way at a gentle pace is roughly 400 calories a day for a 70 kilogram rider, five days a week, without a single minute set aside for exercise. That is the strongest argument for the bike: it is the only cardio that replaces something you were going to do anyway.
Stop doing this by hand
The ride is measured. The eating afterwards is where most people lose the plot.
Get Kalixo free on the App StoreQuestions people actually ask
Is cycling or running better for burning calories?
Running burns more per minute for most people, because you carry your own weight. Cycling wins per session, since an hour on a bike is far easier to sustain than an hour of running.
Does an e-bike burn any calories?
Yes, roughly a third to half of an unassisted ride depending on the assistance level. Riders on e-bikes also tend to ride further and more often, which often evens out.
Why does my bike computer show a different number?
It may use heart rate, power or its own model, and each rests on different assumptions. Treat any of them as a comparison tool for your own rides, not an absolute measure.
Do hills really make that much difference?
Yes. Climbing is work against gravity and it does not average out, because you cannot recover on the descent what you spent on the way up.