Comments on: Calories Used in Cycling

By: Peter Monk

Peter Monk — Thu, 13 Sep 2012 14:04:57 +0000

I will be 63 in October and I am very overweight (very). I have been though periods in my life when I have been what I can only describe as extremely fit. I have used cycling, static rowing, hiking and weight training to achieve that fitness. Throughout those times I have tried to assess the calories burned during various activities and have never found a satisfactory answer. Of course there are many variables but I would have thought that there must be a useable average somewhere.
I have now re-vamped my old CroMo frame mountain bike with solid forks and road tyres (Specialised Nimbus EX’s). However I haven’t ventured out on the road yet, I have it set up on a CycleOps Mag training rig which I found “in storage” at the back of my garage. It pains me to say that 10 minutes at an average of about 22 kph, in high gear and with the drag set at about 2/3 is enough right now. Consequently the suggested “1 hour time trial” as suggested above is a distant and possibly impossible target. Nonetheless I am very pleased to have returned to some kind of exercise regime and intend to keep it at 10 minutes, twice a day, until October 1st and then up it to 15 minutes. Watch this space. Nice site btw.

Thelonius.

By: How To Get A Friend Cycling | Cycling UK

How To Get A Friend Cycling | Cycling UK — Sat, 04 Jun 2011 19:09:49 +0000

[...] eat more at the same time. Cycling is an excellent way to burn off calories and stay in shape. (Calories used in cycling) This could well be the clinching [...]

By: Ben

Ben — Tue, 24 May 2011 10:02:42 +0000

In my opinion the calorific figures given in this article are next to useless. The amount of calories burned during cycling will depend on the weight of the cyclist, the average speed and the type and quality of bike. No doubt many other factors will come into play as well (head wind?).

There will be a massive difference between a 12 stone cyclist doing 15mph and a 20 stone cyclist doing 15mph. Also if I attempted to maintain 15mph on my steel frame city bike I would have a heart attack after 20 minutes.

A quick search will show many cycling calorie calculators online, all of which ask the weight of the cyclist as the first question.

By: botogol

botogol — Mon, 09 May 2011 09:51:26 +0000

I’d like to know the difference between cycling at a steady 15mph for an hour, compared with a more usual stop/start commutting pattern varying between zero and over 20mph, but covering 15 miles in an hour.

By: Cycling Facts | Cycling UK

Cycling Facts | Cycling UK — Wed, 11 Aug 2010 09:14:27 +0000

[...] 1374 calories per hour! At normal speed, average calorie consumption is around 700 per hour. Calories cycling Popularity of [...]

By: Chris at KarmaCycle

Chris at KarmaCycle — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 12:07:47 +0000

Very interesting article, thanks. My cycle journey through London means I vary between about 5 miles an hour (e.g. behind a pedestrian on the Regent’s Canal) and up to about 25 mph when going along the flat on a clear open road. I do about 10 miles each way – and I’m normally absolutely starving for most of the day. Your article has made me realise I probably don’t eat enough carbs, so … large quantities of pasta, bread, potatoes etc, here I go!

There’s an interesting piece of work being done by an academic in this area which I’ve linked to in my little piece about muffins (!) here:
http://karma-cycle.blogspot.com/2009/08/hunger-and-biking.html

By: tim

tim — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 15:24:41 +0000

very interesting, thanks very much