Cycling calories:
leisure, moderate and fast riding compared

Cycling calories depend on how hard you ride

For a 70 kg rider, an hour of relaxed pedalling burns about 280 kcal, a steady commute at 19 to 22 km/h about 560 kcal, and a hard ride at around 26 to 30 km/h about 840 kcal. The bike and the hour are the same; the effort is not.

Cycling has an advantage over running for estimates: your weight is supported by the saddle, so the cost depends mostly on power output, which in turn depends on speed, wind and slope. That makes speed a decent but not perfect guide, and why intensity bands work better than a single figure.

The MET formula for cycling

The three calculators on this site use leisure, moderate and fast bands. Pick the one that matches your average pace, excluding the time you spend stopped at lights, then multiply by your own weight and ride time.

Worked example: a 45-minute moderate ride

A 60 kg rider commutes for 45 minutes at a steady 20 km/h, which sits in the moderate band at 8.0 MET.

If the same rider rode only at an easy 14 km/h (4.0 MET) for the 45 minutes, the burn would be 4.0 × 60 × 0.75 = 180 kcal, exactly half, for 10.5 km.

Hourly burn by intensity and body weight

The table gives one hour of riding in each of three bands, using the MET values above.

A fast hour at 12 MET is a serious workout: 1,020 kcal for an 85 kg rider is a large share of a day's energy, and few people sustain it beyond an hour. Most recreational rides sit in the 6.8 to 8.0 range with stops and coasting built in.

Stationary bikes and power readings

Indoor bikes are rated by power in watts rather than speed, because wheel speed on a trainer means little. Typical Compendium values for stationary cycling are about 3.5 MET at 30 to 50 W, 6.8 MET at around 100 W, 8.8 MET at 101 to 160 W and 11.0 MET at 161 to 200 W.

A power meter gives the best estimate. Your body is about 20 to 25% efficient on a bike, so mechanical work of 150 W takes roughly 600 to 750 W of metabolic energy. Over an hour that is about 150 × 3,600 = 540 kJ of work, or around 130 kcal of work and 520 to 650 kcal of energy used.

Energy per kilometre and long rides

Dividing the hourly burn by speed gives the cost per kilometre, which is useful for planning a long ride. For a 70 kg rider, a moderate 8.0 MET at 20 km/h costs 8.0 × 70 ÷ 20 = 28 kcal per kilometre. A leisure 4.0 MET at 14 km/h costs 20 kcal per kilometre. A fast 12.0 MET at 28 km/h costs 30.

Notice how little the per-kilometre figure changes compared with the hourly one, which triples from leisure to fast. Riding faster mostly makes you burn the energy sooner. A 100 km day at an average of 25 km/h takes 4 hours, and at 8.0 to 10 MET it costs 2,240 to 2,800 kcal for a 70 kg rider.

Energy on that scale cannot come from breakfast alone. Endurance riders commonly take in carbohydrate during a ride, often somewhere between 30 and 60 g an hour, along with fluids. Because the right amount depends on pace and individual tolerance, practise it on shorter rides before an event. People with diabetes or other conditions should get tailored advice.

A last practical point concerns commuting. A rider who cycles 6 km each way at 16 km/h, which is about 22.5 minutes a leg and 45 minutes a day, and sits at 6.8 MET, uses 6.8 × 70 × 0.75 = 357 kcal a day for 70 kg. Over five working days that is about 1,785 kcal, a sizeable weekly total from time you were going to spend travelling anyway. Be aware that traffic lights and hills move the real figure, so use moving time when you can.

Why two riders at the same speed burn differently

• Wind: riding into a headwind at 20 km/h can need twice the power of riding in still air.
• Hills: a climb at 10 km/h can cost more than flat riding at 25 km/h.
• Drafting: following another rider can cut effort by a quarter or more, with the same speed.
• Coasting: downhills and traffic stops pull the average MET down although the clock keeps running.
• Weight and bike: a heavier rider burns more on climbs, while on flat ground aerodynamics dominate.

For a realistic number, use your average moving speed and your true ride time. If a recorded 60-minute ride included 10 minutes of stops, calculate on 50 minutes. Cyclists with heart or blood-pressure conditions should check with a clinician before hard efforts.