Estimate the calories burned biking from your weight, time and ride type, from leisure pace to 20+ mph, e-bike assist and spin class, or from average watts, with calories per hour and per mile.
Cycling Calorie Calculator - Road, E-Bike, Watts
Estimate the calories burned biking from your weight, time and ride type, from leisure pace to 20+ mph, e-bike assist and spin class, or from average watts, with calories per hour and per mile.
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Calories burned biking, by ride type or by watts
A 175-pound rider holding 12 to 13.9 mph for an hour burns about 635 kcal, using the 8.0 MET the latest Adult Compendium of Physical Activities lists for that speed. Turn on full assist on an e-bike and the same hour drops to about 318 kcal; a spin class lands near 714. This cycling calorie calculator takes your weight, riding time and one of 23 bicycling entries from the Compendium, or the average watts from a power meter or a smart trainer, and returns the calories for the ride, per hour, per mile and above what you would burn sitting still.
- How to estimate - from the type of ride (MET values) or from average power in watts, when a power meter, a smart trainer or a stationary bike shows it.
- Weight and unit - body weight in pounds or kilograms. MET calories scale in direct proportion to weight.
- Riding time - minutes in the saddle; two 25-minute commutes are 50.
- Type of ride - 23 entries: six speed bands in mph, own-pace riding, commuting, mountain biking, dirt roads, three e-bike assist levels, stationary bike by watts and spin class. "By average speed" picks the band from distance and time.
- Distance (optional) - miles or kilometers; adds calories per mile and the average speed.
- Watts and efficiency - in the watts mode only: average power at the pedals and, if you know it, your gross efficiency. Empty efficiency means 20%.
Eight rides, eight calorie counts
An hour on the road at 13 mph
Situation: 175 lb, 60 min, by average speed, 13 miles. Result: 635 kcal (8.0 MET), 556 above resting, 48.8 kcal per mile.
The same rider, 10 miles in 50 minutes
Situation: 175 lb, 50 min, 10 miles, so 12.0 mph. Result: 529 kcal, 52.9 kcal per mile. Same band, so the hourly rate stays 635.
A long ride at 16 mph
Situation: 160 lb, 2 hours, 32 miles. Result: 1,742 kcal at 12.0 MET, a value the Compendium marks as estimated; 54.4 kcal per mile.
Half an hour on a stationary bike
Situation: 150 lb, 30 min, stationary 126-150 W. Result: 272 kcal, 544 kcal per hour.
An e-bike commute on high assist
Situation: 200 lb, 45 min, e-bike high assist. Result: 272 kcal at 4.0 MET. The same 45 minutes without assist: 463 kcal.
A spin class
Situation: 130 lb, 60 min, spin bike class. Result: 531 kcal at 9.0 MET, 472 above resting.
Climbing on a mountain bike
Situation: 70 kg, 60 min, mountain biking uphill, vigorous. Result: 980 kcal at 14.0 MET.
A trainer ride from watts
Situation: 180 lb, 90 min, 150 W average, efficiency empty (20%). Result: 968 kcal, 810 kJ of work at the pedals, about 7.9 MET.
MET values and calories per hour for 150, 175 and 200 lb
Each row is one bicycling entry from the current Adult Compendium, with its code, so you can look it up. Calories per hour are MET x weight in kilograms; two entries are marked by the Compendium as estimated rather than measured.
| Ride | Code | MET | 150 lb | 175 lb | 200 lb |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Leisure, under 10 mph | 01010 | 4.0 | 272 | 318 | 363 |
| 10-11.9 mph, light effort | 01020 | 6.8 | 463 | 540 | 617 |
| 12-13.9 mph, moderate effort | 01030 | 8.0 | 544 | 635 | 726 |
| 14-15.9 mph, vigorous effort | 01040 | 10.0 | 680 | 794 | 907 |
| 16-19 mph, very fast (estimated) | 01050 | 12.0 | 816 | 953 | 1,089 |
| Over 20 mph, racing, not drafting | 01060 | 16.8 | 1,143 | 1,334 | 1,524 |
| Mountain biking, general (estimated) | 01009 | 8.5 | 578 | 675 | 771 |
| Mountain biking, uphill, vigorous | 01003 | 14.0 | 953 | 1,111 | 1,270 |
| E-bike, no assist | 01080 | 6.8 | 463 | 540 | 617 |
| E-bike, light assist | 01084 | 6.0 | 408 | 476 | 544 |
| E-bike, high assist | 01088 | 4.0 | 272 | 318 | 363 |
| Stationary bike, 90-100 W | 01220 | 6.0 | 408 | 476 | 544 |
| Stationary bike, 126-150 W | 01228 | 8.0 | 544 | 635 | 726 |
| Stationary bike, 151-199 W | 01232 | 10.3 | 701 | 818 | 934 |
| Spin bike class | 01270 | 9.0 | 612 | 714 | 816 |
Calories per mile at different speeds
Riding faster costs more per hour, but you also cover the mile sooner, so per mile the gap narrows. For a 175-pound rider, at a speed inside each band:
| Average speed | MET | kcal per mile | kcal for 10 miles |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8 mph | 4.0 | 39.7 | 397 |
| 11 mph | 6.8 | 49.1 | 491 |
| 13 mph | 8.0 | 48.8 | 488 |
| 15 mph | 10.0 | 52.9 | 529 |
| 17.5 mph | 12.0 | 54.4 | 544 |
| 21 mph | 16.8 | 63.5 | 635 |
The jump at the top comes from the Compendium itself: 12.0 MET for 16-19 mph and 16.8 for over 20 mph without drafting. Wind, hills and stops all change the real effort at a given average speed, which is why the watts mode exists.
When to switch to the watts mode
A power meter measures the work at the pedals directly. The body spends more than that, because only part of the energy reaches the cranks: in 15 young elite road cyclists, Artetxe-Gezuraga and colleagues measured a gross efficiency of 18.0% at 135 W rising to about 21.5% at 275 W. The calculator divides the work by your efficiency, 20% if you leave the box empty, and converts joules to kilocalories with 4,184 J per kcal. A rough check: 1 kJ on the bike computer is close to 1.2 kcal at 20% efficiency. On an e-bike, only the power from your legs counts, not the motor.
Questions riders ask about calorie counts
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