Cycling Calorie Calculator: MET Values and Worked Examples
Every cycling calorie calculator uses the same idea: assign an effort level a MET value, multiply by body mass and time. The arithmetic is simple; the input is where the error lives.
MET values by effort
| Effort | Speed | MET_value |
|---|---|---|
| Very light | Under 16 km/h | 4.0 |
| Light | 16–19 km/h | 6.8 |
| Moderate | 20–22 km/h | 8.0 |
| Vigorous | 23–25 km/h | 10.0 |
| Racing | 26–30 km/h | 12.0 |
| Racing, hard | 32 km/h+ | 16.0 |
One MET is roughly 1 kcal per kilogram per hour. A 75 kg rider at 8 MET burns about 600 kcal in an hour, which matches most online calculators.
The formula
kcal = MET × weight_kg × hours
That is the whole calculation. The complication is that MET values were derived for steady riding on flat ground, and almost no real ride is steady or flat.
Worked examples
| Rider_weight_kg | Speed | MET | 60 min | 90 min |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 60 kg | 20 km/h | 8.0 | 480 | 720 |
| 75 kg | 20 km/h | 8.0 | 600 | 900 |
| 90 kg | 20 km/h | 8.0 | 720 | 1,080 |
| 75 kg | 25 km/h | 10.0 | 750 | 1,125 |
| 75 kg | 30 km/h | 12.0 | 900 | 1,350 |
Calories per kilogram per hour
| Effort | kcal per kg per hour |
|---|---|
| Easy commute | 4–5 |
| Steady ride | 7–8 |
| Hard ride | 10–12 |
| Race pace | 13–16 |
This is the number to remember, because it travels: multiply by your weight and by hours. A 75 kg rider at 8 kcal/kg/h for 2 hours burns 1,200 kcal, whatever the route.
Where the estimate goes wrong
| Assumption | Error |
|---|---|
| Flat ground | Hills add 25–40% |
| No wind | A headwind can add 30% |
| Steady pace | Stops and sprints change the average |
| Average body mass | Muscle burns more than fat at the same weight |
| Efficiency 20–25% | Varies 18–26% between riders |
The largest errors come from terrain and wind. A hilly 40 km ride can burn as much as a flat 55 km ride at the same average speed, because the calculator only sees the average.
Duration and what counts
| Duration_min | Useful for |
|---|---|
| Under 20 | Barely worth logging |
| 30–60 | Most of the health benefit |
| 60–120 | Meaningful training load |
| 120+ | Requires fuelling |
The duration that matters for weight management is the weekly total, not the single ride. Five 40-minute commutes burn roughly the same as one 200-minute ride, and the commutes are easier to sustain.
What a power meter changes
A power meter measures work in joules, and 1 kJ of work is roughly 1 kcal at 24% efficiency. A rider holding 200 W for an hour does 720 kJ of work and burns about 720 kcal — far more accurate than any MET table, because it measures the actual output rather than assuming it from speed.
Without a power meter, heart rate is a better input than speed on hilly routes: the same heart rate corresponds to a similar metabolic cost whether you are climbing slowly or riding fast on the flat.
Using the number honestly
Treat any calculator figure as ±15%. Use it to compare rides against each other, not as an exact budget for eating back calories — the “burn 600, eat 600” habit is how weight loss stalls.
Indoor versus outdoor numbers
Indoor rides usually burn 10–20% fewer calories than the same duration outdoors, because there is no wind resistance and no coasting. A trainer hour at 200 W is real work, but a road hour at the same average speed includes freewheeling descents the calculator still counts.
If you train indoors and outdoors, log the indoor numbers separately. Mixing them makes weekly totals look erratic when the training is actually consistent.
Where to go next
- Cycling for weight loss — the diet side
- Health benefits — what the exercise does beyond calories
- Low-impact exercise — joint load considerations