Cycling calorie calculator
Calculate estimated calories burned biking outdoors using weight, riding time and speed range. See active and total energy for your ride.
Your bike ride
Count the time at the selected effort, excluding breaks.
Use moving speed on an ordinary pedal bike. Wind, hills, drafting and electric assistance change the effort.
Total energy for your 30-minute bike ride.
30min
4.0METs
Energy over moving time
Total calories · kcalA model-based estimate, not a measurement. Your terrain, movement and individual physiology can change the result.
The numbers, explained.
Our methodology ↗This cycling calorie calculator uses your moving time and an outdoor speed category. Choose the band that best describes the riding segment, rather than the average speed of an outing that includes a long café stop. The calculation assumes a conventional pedal bike.
For example, 30 minutes at the 12–13.9 mph setting and 170 lb gives about 324 total kcal and 283 active kcal. Doubling the moving time doubles the modeled energy. That arithmetic assumes you remain in the same category throughout.
Outdoor speed is only a rough description of effort. A headwind, climb or drafting group changes the work behind a given speed. This tool deliberately reports no distance from a speed band, because a band does not identify your exact speed. Use recorded distance when comparing routes.
| Activity setting | METs | Source code |
|---|---|---|
| Leisure · below 10 mph | 4 | 01010 |
| 10–11.9 mph | 6.8 | 01020 |
| 12–13.9 mph | 8 | 01030 |
| 14–15.9 mph | 10 | 01040 |
| 16–19 mph · no drafting | 12 | 01050 |
Selected categories from the 2024 Adult Compendium. Values describe activity groups, not a personal metabolic measurement.
A little more clarity.
How many calories does 30 minutes of biking burn?
Enter your weight and select the relevant pace. At 170 lb, the 12–13.9 mph example returns about 324 total kcal in 30 minutes. A leisure setting gives a different estimate.
Does this include electric bikes?
The options describe conventional cycling. Motor assistance changes the effort you supply, so these categories should not be treated as an e-bike measurement.
Should I include traffic-light stops?
Use moving time for the selected riding category. Long stationary pauses do not belong in a calculation that assumes continuous riding at that effort.
Can I use indoor bike speed here?
Use the stationary bike calculator instead. An indoor speed display is not necessarily equivalent to outdoor road speed. Its watts or session category are more appropriate inputs for that tool.
Keep exploring.
All calculators ↗Methods checked against the linked references · September 14, 2026. Educational estimates for adults. No individual medical assessment.