Stationary Bike Calorie Calculator
Enter your weight, time spent on the stationary bike, and power or intensity to discover your calorie burn.
Calorie Burn & Stationary Bikes
Introduction
Whether you're cycling casually or powering through a high-intensity spin session, this tool estimates how many calories you burn based on your weight, workout duration, and either workout intensity or power in watts. Great for gym-goers, home cyclists, and anyone chasing fitness goals.
Stationary Bike versus Cycling
Although exercising on a stationary bike closely mimics outdoor cycling, there are differences in terms of physical and environmental mechanics and in how energy (i.e. calorie burn) is measured.
Physical and environmental mechanics
Riding outside involves real-world variables like hills, wind resistance, changes in surface, balance, and gear shifting. These can all affect your body's mechanics and thus how much energy you use. In contrast, on a stationary bike you encounter a controlled and stable environment with fixed resistance.
Measurement methods
On a static bike, effort is typically measured in power output (watts). This is in contrast to outdoor cycling where we tend to consider distance and speed. Modern gym bikes typically include sophisticated displays and analysis, but some older or cheaper exercise bikes include no display at all, meaning that it's necessary to rely on perceived effort.
Stationary Bike Calorie Burn Calculation
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, if you are outputting 100 watts on a static bike, that will require approximately six times more energy than sitting still and doing nothing. So, this static bike effort is equivalent to 6 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 9 MET activity performed for 1 hour 30 minutes by a person weighing 70 kilograms is:
9 x 70 x 1.5 = 945 Calories
Stationary Bike Power & METs
To calculate the METs for exercise on a stationary bike at various intensities, we use values provided by the 2024 Compendium of Physical Activities Reference List for Cycling.
Where these values offer a range of power outputs for a single MET value, we take the midpoint of that power range and assign it to that MET value.
Where METs are not available or suitable for a specific speed, we use linear interpolation to derive a suitable MET value.
Stationary Bike Intensity
Many bikes, such as Peloton, have sophisticated methods to calculate power output precisely. However, for those using a simple exercise bike or one without an appropriate display, the calculator includes an "intensity" option. These are terms that reflect perceived effort and are mapped to power outputs, using entries in the compendium as a guideline:
| Intensity | Power |
|---|---|
| Very light | 27.5 |
| Light | 50 |
| Light to Moderate | 60 |
| Moderate | 75 |
| Moderate to hard | 95 |
| Hard | 125.5 |
| Very hard | 214 |
| Extremely hard | 263.75 |
| Exceptionally hard | 325 |
Bear in mind that perceived effort will vary according to the exercise duration. For example, one minute on a stationary bike at 100 watts may not feel particularly challenging, but two hours at this intensity is very difficult indeed.
When choosing an intensity from the dropdown, try to think about how hard it would have felt if you'd maintained that effort for 30 minutes and you'll be in the ballpark.
Elite Power Output
According to Alpecin Cycling, elite cyclists generate an average of 230–250 watts during a typical Tour de France stage, and this rises to over 300 on harder stages.
In sprints, the numbers become more incredible: maximum power outputs of 2,400–2500 in elite males and 1,400–1600 in elite females.
Types of Stationary Bike
Stationary bikes vary in design and efficiency. However, the calculator works well for all types of exercise bike, including those used at home and in the gym, and recumbent bikes.