Cycling Calorie Calculator

Enter weight, minutes, and riding intensity from the list. The calculator multiplies cycling MET by kilograms by time in hours. Seventy kilograms, 45 minutes, and moderate 8 MET give 420 kcal.

Inputs

Cycling: mass, minutes, MET
Profile (optional)

Height, age, sex, and PAL add Mifflin, TDEE, and this session as a % of TDEE. Session kcal still use MET, mass, and minutes.

Result

Weight (kg), Time (minutes), Intensity (est. MET) and Height (cm). Calories burned shows up here.

kcal = cycling MET × kg × (min / 60). MET: 4 / 8 / 12 / 14. Watts and cadence are not inputs. Any MET: calories burned.

How it works

Cycling calories take a MET from the list, mass, and minutes. Easy riding is 4 MET, moderate 8, hard 12, race 14. 70 kg, 45 minutes, and 8 MET give 420 kcal, because 8 × 70 × 0.75 = 420. An hour at the same 8 MET and 70 kg gives 560. 80 kg, 45 minutes, and easy 4 MET give 240. Pedal watts and road grade are not fields.

Someone comes back from a forty-five minute commute, someone from an hour on a trainer. 30 minutes at 12 MET and 70 kg also gives 420, the same as an easier 45 minutes at 8. Time and intensity trade places. 90 kg and an hour at 8 MET give 720. 65 kg, 45 minutes, and race 14 MET give 683 after rounding 682.5.

Enter mass and minutes, pick intensity, then Calculate. The default is moderate 8. US mode reads pounds and returns to kilograms with 0.453592. An optional TDEE profile shows a percent of the day when you give height, age, sex, and PAL. Without a profile you see session kcal and kcal per minute.

Any Compendium table number you enter lives on the calories-burned page. That page has no 4/8/12/14 list; you enter MET yourself. Walking has its own list: 2 / 3.5 / 4.5 / 5.5. Running from kilometers uses kg × km × 1.03 and does not take minutes. The pool and the gym also stay off this card.

Blank mass or blank minutes does not pretend you rode. The calculator waits for both numbers greater than zero. 75 kg and 90 minutes at 8 MET give 900. 60 kg and 20 minutes at 8 MET give 160. The “race” label at 14 does not mean you are on Zwift; it is only the fourth value on the list.

A MET-list estimate is not a lab measurement and not a file from a power meter. Enter 70, 45, and 8, and check 420. Then try 30 minutes and 12 to see the same 420 another way. Fat loss lives on other tools.

How to use

  1. Enter mass and minutes on the bike. For example 70 kg and 45 minutes.
  2. Pick intensity: 4 easy, 8 moderate, 12 hard, 14 race. The default is 8.
  3. Click Calculate. 70 kg, 45 min, and 8 MET give 420 kcal. An hour at the same 8 MET gives 560.
  4. Leave the TDEE profile blank when the session is enough. Mifflin appears only after height, age, sex, and PAL.
  5. There are no watts here. If you know a table MET, open calories burned and enter it yourself.

Formula

kcal = cycling MET × kg × (min / 60)

MET: 4 / 8 / 12 / 14. This is not power in watts and not a file from a power meter.

Cycling MET and list kcal, not watts

Four rungs: 4 easy, 8 moderate, 12 vigorous, 14 racing. 70 kg, 45 min, and 8 MET is 420 kcal; an hour at the same 8 is 560.

MET
A riding rung from the list, not watts. 8 × 70 × 0.75 = 420. 12 MET for 30 min at 70 kg is also 420, because time and the rung trade.
kcal
Cycling MET × kg × (min / 60). 420 from 45 minutes at 8 and 70 kg. A power meter and cadence do not enter, and grade does not either.

Examples

Example 1

  • Mass: 70 kg
  • Time: 45 min
  • MET: 8

420 kcal

70 kg, 45 min, 8 MET: 420 kcal, a moderate ride.

Example 2

  • Mass: 70 kg
  • Time: 60 min
  • MET: 8

560 kcal

70 kg, one hour, 8 MET: 560 kcal.

Example 3

  • Mass: 80 kg
  • Time: 45 min
  • MET: 4

240 kcal

80 kg, 45 min, easy 4 MET: 240 kcal.

Example 4

  • Mass: 70 kg
  • Time: 30 min
  • MET: 12

420 kcal

70 kg, 30 min, 12 MET: 420 kcal, same as an easier 45 min at 8.

Example 5

  • Mass: 90 kg
  • Time: 60 min
  • MET: 8

720 kcal

90 kg, one hour, 8 MET: 720 kcal.

Example 6

  • Mass: 65 kg
  • Time: 45 min
  • MET: 14

683 kcal

65 kg, 45 min, race 14 MET: 683 kcal.

Example 7

  • Mass: 75 kg
  • Time: 90 min
  • MET: 8

900 kcal

75 kg, 90 min, 8 MET: 900 kcal.

Example 8

  • Mass: 60 kg
  • Time: 20 min
  • MET: 8

160 kcal

60 kg, 20 min, 8 MET: 160 kcal.

Related calculators

TDEE

TDEE calculator: sex, age, weight, height, and activity.

Use calculator →

Walking calorie calculator

Walking calorie calculator: weight, minutes, and walking pace from the list.

Use calculator →

Swimming calorie calculator

Swimming calorie calculator: weight, minutes in the water, and a MET rung.

Use calculator →

Calories burned calculator

Calories burned calculator: activity MET, weight, and minutes.

Use calculator →

All health calculators

Frequently asked questions

Where does 420 kcal at 70 kg and 45 min come from?

8 × 70 × 0.75 = 420. Moderate 8 MET. An hour at the same MET and 70 kg gives 560.

Can I enter pedal watts?

No. Intensity is four MET values. A power meter and cadence are not inputs. Road grade is not either.

Why do 30 min at 12 MET also give 420?

12 × 70 × 0.5 = 420. Time and MET trade. That is not a rounding bug.

Is 14 MET Zwift on a trainer?

In this calculator 14 is the race label. A trainer, wind, and a group are not in the formula. 65 kg and 45 min at 14 give 683.

How is this different from calories burned?

Here you pick from 4/8/12/14. There you enter any MET yourself. The kcal formula is the same: MET × kg × hours.

What if mass or minutes is missing?

The calculator asks for both numbers greater than zero. It does not show 0 kcal as if you skipped the ride.

Does US change 420 at 70 kg?

After pounds convert to kg, the same time yields the same kcal. A different mass is a different number.

Why TDEE on a ride?

To show a percent of the day when you give Mifflin and PAL. Without a profile you only see the session.

Is 4 MET an e-bike with assist?

The calculator does not ask about motors. 4 is easy riding on the list. Assist changes real life, not this label.

Is 420 kcal a lab measurement?

No. It is an estimate from a MET list, mass, and minutes. A power meter and a VO2 mask would give a different number. Treat 420 as the order of a ride, not a lab test.

How many calories does 45 minutes of cycling burn?

At 70 kg and moderate 8 MET, 45 minutes is 420 kcal (8 × 70 × 0.75). Easy 4 MET at 80 kg for 45 minutes is 240. Hard 12 MET at 70 kg for 30 minutes is also 420 another way.

How many calories does an hour of cycling burn?

At 70 kg and 8 MET, one hour is 560 kcal. At 14 MET (race) the same hour at 70 kg is 980. Time and MET scale the result linearly.

Does the calculator use watts or km/h?

No. Inputs are mass, minutes, and one MET rung (4 / 8 / 12 / 14). Pedal watts, grade, and speed are not fields. Another table MET lives on the calories-burned page.

Is 420 kcal a power-meter reading?

No. It is a MET × kg × hours estimate. A wattmeter file and a lab test will differ. Treat 420 as the order of 45 minutes at 8 MET.

Knowledge sources

Cycling multiplies MET, mass and minutes. Watts and cadence are not inputs.

Page updated in 2026.