🔥 Cycling Calorie Calculator
Enter your weight, how long you rode, and how hard you went to estimate the calories you burned — using the MET formula that exercise scientists use.
A planning estimate — a power meter or heart-rate monitor is more precise.
🧮 Estimate Your Burn
🔥 Calories burned
Fuel your rides properly
Knowing roughly how much a ride costs you in calories takes the guesswork out of eating — enough to recover and keep training, without undoing the effort. A long steady endurance ride and a short hard interval session can burn very different amounts, and intensity is the biggest lever.
This calculator applies the MET energy formula to your weight, ride time and chosen intensity to give a total and an hourly rate. Read exactly how the math works in the FAQ below.
❓ Frequently Asked Questions
How does this cycling calorie calculator work?
It uses the MET (Metabolic Equivalent of Task) method used by exercise scientists: calories = MET × 3.5 × body weight in kilograms ÷ 200 × minutes. One MET is your resting metabolism (3.5 ml of oxygen per kilogram per minute), and dividing by 200 converts oxygen use into kilocalories. Choose the intensity that matches your effort and the tool multiplies it out for your weight and ride time.
What MET value should I use for cycling?
MET rises with speed and effort. As a guide: easy leisure riding under 16 km/h is about 4 MET, a moderate 16–19 km/h is around 6, a vigorous 19–22 km/h is about 8, a fast 22–25 km/h is roughly 10, and racing above 25 km/h is 12 or more. Hills, headwinds and heavy loads push the effective MET higher than speed alone suggests.
Why does body weight change the calories burned?
Heavier riders burn more calories at the same intensity because it takes more energy to move a larger body — that's exactly why weight sits in the formula. Two people riding side by side for an hour at the same speed can burn noticeably different amounts. The calculator scales the estimate to the weight you enter, in kilograms or pounds.
How accurate is the estimate?
Treat it as a well-grounded planning figure, not a lab measurement. MET tables are population averages, and your real burn depends on fitness, terrain, wind, drafting, temperature and cycling economy. A power meter or a chest-strap heart-rate monitor gives a more personalised number. For everyday nutrition planning, the MET estimate is close enough to be useful.