# Cycling Calorie Calculator

URL: https://kibora.app/calories-burned/cycling/
Language: en
Page type: activity calorie reference
Last Updated: 2026-08-20
Description: Estimate calories burned cycling by body weight, duration and speed. Compare leisure, light, moderate and vigorous cycling with MET-based estimates.
Structured data: Organization, WebSite, SoftwareApplication, WebPage, Article, FAQPage, BreadcrumbList

## Cycling Calorie Calculator

A 70 kg person burns about 250 calories in 30 minutes of light cycling at 16.1–19.1 km/h.

Your estimate changes with body weight, cycling speed, duration and terrain.

## Calories burned cycling

Choose your body weight, then compare estimated calorie burn across common outdoor cycling speeds and durations.

Body weight: 70 kg

| Cycling speed | 15 min | 30 min | 60 min |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Leisure | 74 kcal | 147 kcal | 294 kcal |
| Light 16.1–19.1 km/h | 125 kcal | 250 kcal | 500 kcal |
| Moderate 19.3–22.4 km/h | 147 kcal | 294 kcal | 588 kcal |
| Vigorous 22.5–25.6 km/h | 184 kcal | 368 kcal | 735 kcal |

## Calculate your cycling calories

Enter your body weight and duration, then choose the cycling speed that best matches your session.

This is a MET-based estimate for outdoor cycling. Hills, wind, drafting, bike type and effort can change actual energy expenditure.

## What changes cycling calorie burn?

The same amount of cycling time can produce different calorie estimates depending on how the activity is performed.

### Speed and effort

Higher cycling speeds generally require more power and correspond to higher MET values.

### Terrain

Climbing increases effort, while descending or riding with a tailwind can reduce it.

### Wind and drafting

Headwinds increase resistance, while drafting behind another cyclist can reduce the power required at the same speed.

### Bike and rider

Bike type, aerodynamics, body weight and cycling efficiency all influence actual energy expenditure.

## Your workout is one part of the day.

Track food and activity together in Kibora to see your daily picture.

[Try Kibora free](https://my.kibora.app?lang=en)

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## Calculation methodology and sources

These estimates use outdoor cycling MET values from the 2024 Adult Compendium of Physical Activities and the standard MET calorie-expenditure equation.

### Cycling speed and intensity

The 2024 Adult Compendium lists bicycling below 10 mph (16 km/h) at 4.0 METs, bicycling at 10–11.9 mph at 6.8 METs, 12–13.9 mph at 8.0 METs, and 14–15.9 mph at 10.0 METs.

These four ranges are used as the calculator intensity presets and reference-table rows.

### Calorie calculation

Calories are estimated with the standard MET equation: MET × 3.5 × body weight in kilograms ÷ 200 × minutes.

Reference-table values are rounded to the nearest whole calorie. Calculator results can retain one decimal place.

### Assumptions and limitations

Road speed is only a proxy for effort. Hill grade, wind, drafting, bike type and riding position can produce very different workloads at the same speed.

Standard MET values are population-level reference estimates, so actual calorie expenditure can differ from the result shown here.

[2024 Adult Compendium — bicycling MET values](https://pacompendium.com/bicycling/)

[Compendium of Physical Activities — MET unit conversions](https://pacompendium.com/unite-conversions/)

## Related calorie-burn activities

### Running

342 calories per 30 min at 70 kg

[Running](https://kibora.app/calories-burned/running/)

### Walking

140 calories per 30 min at 70 kg

[Walking](https://kibora.app/calories-burned/walking/)

### Treadmill

140 calories per 30 min at 70 kg

[Treadmill](https://kibora.app/calories-burned/treadmill/)

### Rowing machine

276 calories per 30 min at 70 kg and 100–149 W

[Rowing machine](https://kibora.app/calories-burned/rowing/)

### Walking one mile

about 90–96 calories per mile at 70 kg

[Walking one mile](https://kibora.app/calories-burned/walking-one-mile/)

## FAQ

### How many calories does 30 minutes of cycling burn?

It depends on body weight and cycling speed. A 70 kg person burns about 147 calories in 30 minutes below 16 km/h, 250 calories at 16.1–19.1 km/h, 294 calories at 19.3–22.4 km/h, and 368 calories at 22.5–25.6 km/h.

### How many calories does one hour of cycling burn?

For a 70 kg person, the examples on this page range from about 294 calories per hour at a leisure pace below 16 km/h to about 735 calories per hour at 22.5–25.6 km/h.

### Does cycling faster burn more calories?

Generally, yes. Higher cycling speeds correspond to higher MET values in the Compendium and increase estimated calorie burn per minute.

### Does cycling uphill burn more calories?

Usually, yes. Hills increase the required power and can raise energy expenditure substantially compared with level cycling at the same road speed.

### Are bike computer calorie estimates accurate?

They are estimates. Power meters can provide more individualized workload data, while this page uses standardized MET values based on cycling speed and effort.