Introduction

Whether your goal is weight loss, weight gain, or improved performance and recovery, it can be extremely useful to understand your calorie requirements for cycling at a range of different speeds.

This free calculator enables you to predict calorie and fat burn for any cycling distance, duration, and speed. It also provides a weight loss estimate.

Weight Loss

Keeping track of calorie intake and output is very popular with those seeking to lose weight by biking. Being aware of the energy requirements for cycling different distances at different speeds can help achieve your calorie deficit goals and ultimately weight loss.

Overcompensating or undercompensating for exercise is quite common, so it's really useful to have an idea of how to balance your nutrition and diet appropriately.

If your goal is weight loss then it's best to aim for small calorie deficits in order to avoid a drop in performance or adverse effects on your health. Note also that fast weight loss can result in an undesirable drop in muscle mass.

Weight Gain

If you're seeking to gain weight while cycling a lot then it's crucial that you ensure you're well fuelled and that you compensate appropriately before, during, and after a biking session. On longer bike rides calorie burn can be significant, so being able to plan ahead and accurately calculate calories burned is really important.

Weight Maintenance

Those who wish to maintain their body weight need to consider how increased or decreased activity affects their daily calorie needs, and adjust their diet in line with this.

Refuelling

In order to recover optimally it's necessary to refuel both during and after biking sessions. Doing so will optimise performance and recovery time. Since cyclists tend to spend a long time on the bike, and because taking on fuel while cycling is relatively straightforward, more planning is required for calorie intake during exercise than it tends to be with other sports. Having an accurate calculation to hand to understand how many calories are likely to be burned can greatly assist this planning.

Pre-fuelling

How much you need to pre-fuel before cycling will depend on the duration and intensity of your session. For times up to a couple of hours at moderate speeds no particular energy loading is necessary (although it's worth experimenting to see how it affects performance). For longer and more-intense rides increasing your food and calorie intake both the day before and on the day of your training is much more important.

METs

This calculator is based on the concept of METs. MET stands for Metabolic Equivalent of Task. METs are used to calculate how much energy is expended for a particular task, taking a person's weight and the duration of the activity into account. A single MET is roughly the amount of energy required to sit down and do nothing. METs for other activities are determined with reference to this baseline. For example, cycling at 15 mph/ 24 kph requires approximately 10 times more energy than sitting still and doing nothing. So, this cycling speed is equivalent to 10 METs.

METs and Calories (kcal)

Conversion from METs to Calories (kcal) is achieved with the following formula:

Calories/kcal = activity (METs) x weight (kilograms) x duration (hours)

So, the number of Calories/kcal required for a 7 MET activity performed for 2 hour 30 minutes by a person weighing 65 kilograms is:

7 x 65 x 2 = 910 calories

Cycling METs

To calculate the METs for cycling at various speeds, we use values provided by the 2024 Compendium of Physical Activities Reference List for Cycling.

Where these values offer a range of speeds for a single MET value, we take the midpoint of that speed range and assign that MET value to it.

Where METs are not available or suitable for a specific speed, we use linear interpolation to derive a suitable MET value.

Cycling and Hills

For uphill-only rides we use cycling physics to work out the energy needed to lift your body and bike against gravity, plus the extra cost of air resistance and rolling resistance.

For rides that include both uphill and downhill components we calculate the uphill cost the same way, then apply a "downhill refund" based on how much less energy is needed when coasting or pedalling lightly downhill. The downhill part is estimated from your flat-road cycling calorie burn at the same speed, reduced to reflect the easier effort.

Indoor vs Outdoor Cycling

Which option burns more calories depends on the type of ride. When cycling indoors, you get steady resistance and no coasting, which means efforts tend to be more consistent. Outdoor cyclists have to contend with wind drag and terrain changes, which can make rides more demanding. The headwinds, hills, stopping and starting, and higher speeds outside can push calorie burn well above the calorie burn that you might achieve on a stationary bike.

If you want to measure calorie burn on an indoor bike then see our stationary bike calorie calculator.

3,500 Calories is approximately equivalent to one pound of fat:

Weight loss (lbs) = Calories ÷ 3,500

In metric:

Weight loss (kg) = kilojoules ÷ 32,217

For example, a cyclist weighing 190 pounds who rides a bike 40 miles in two hours will burn approximately 2,896 kcal / 12,117 kJ. So, their fat loss due to this ride will be approximately:

2,896 ÷ 3,500 ≈ 0.83 lbs

or in metric:

12,117 ÷ 32,217 ≈ 0.38 kg

Weight

Enter your weight in pounds, kilograms, or stones and pounds. A higher weight will mean a greater calorie burn.

Distance

Specify how far you biked in miles or kilometers. Cycling further will typically burn more calories.

Duration/Speed

Enter either the duration of your bike ride or your speed in miles per hour or kilometers per hour. Faster and longer bike rides use more energy.

Elevation

Enter a climb in either feet or meters. Cycling uphill requires more energy, and downhill cycling (or coasting) requires much less.

Hill options

If the bike ride is entirely uphill then check the "Uphill only" checkbox.

Types of Bike Rides

To get an even better idea of calorie burn for various bike rides:

• A cyclist weighing 150 lbs riding at 12 mph for 1 hour would burn roughly 503 calories (2,105 kilojoules)
• A 2-mile bike ride at 20 mph for a 180 lb rider wouild burn approximately 137 calories (573 kilojoules)
• A 175 lb bicyclist completing 10 miles in 30 minutes would burn about 667 calories (2,791 kilojoules)
• A tough cycle from the bottom to the top of a tough 2-mile, 500-foot hill in ten minutes would see a calorie burn of roughly 244 calories (1,021 kilojoules) for a 180 lb rider

On runbundle

» Calorie calculator for stationary/static bikes

» Cycling speed tables

» Calorie calculator for runners

» Calorie calculator for walkers

» Calorie calculator for swimmers

» Calorie calculator for rowers

» BMI calculator

Further reading

» 2024 Compendium of Physical Activities

» 2024 Compendium of Physical Activities Reference List for cycling/bicycling