Activity calories · 2024 Compendium METs

Calories burned cycling

Quick answer

A 70 kg (154 lb) person burns about 245 kcal in 30 minutes of cycling (General), and about 490 kcal in an hour. That is 7 METs.

30 minutes: 245kcal; 70 kg (154 lb)
1 hour: 490kcal; 70 kg (154 lb)
1 hour: 420kcal; 60 kg (132 lb)
1 hour: 560kcal; 80 kg (176 lb)

Outdoor cycling is rated by speed on level ground, from a leisure ride under 10 mph to racing above 20 mph. Wind, hills and stopping at junctions change the effort of a real ride, so treat the speed bands as a guide to your average moving effort.

Calculate calories burned cycling

Starts at 70 kg (154 lb) for 30 minutes of cycling at 7 METs; enter your own weight and time.

Calories burned cycling by weight and time

Kilocalories for cycling at 7 METs (General), by body weight and minutes. Read across from your weight; the pace table below shows the other rows.

Calories burned cycling at 7 METs, by body weight and duration
Body weight	15 min	30 min	45 min	1 hour	1.5 hours	2 hours
50 kg (110 lb)	88	175	263	350	525	700
60 kg (132 lb)	105	210	315	420	630	840
70 kg (154 lb)	123	245	368	490	735	980
80 kg (176 lb)	140	280	420	560	840	1,120
90 kg (198 lb)	158	315	473	630	945	1,260
100 kg (220 lb)	175	350	525	700	1,050	1,400
110 kg (243 lb)	193	385	578	770	1,155	1,540

Cycling: calories by pace or effort

The Compendium rates cycling on 9 lines, from 3.5 METs (Leisure, 5.5 mph) up to 16.8 METs (Over 20 mph, racing). Each row below is one of those codes with the calories it works out to.

Calories burned cycling by pace or effort
Pace or effort	Compendium code	METs	30 min, 60 kg (132 lb)	30 min, 70 kg (154 lb)	30 min, 80 kg (176 lb)	1 hour, 70 kg (154 lb)
Leisure, 5.5 mph	01018	3.5	105	123	140	245
Under 10 mph, leisure	01010	4	120	140	160	280
Leisure, 9.4 mph	01019	5.8	174	203	232	406
10 to 11.9 mph, light effort	01020	6.8	204	238	272	476
General	01014	7	210	245	280	490
12 to 13.9 mph, moderate	01030	8	240	280	320	560
14 to 15.9 mph, vigorous	01040	10	300	350	400	700
16 to 19 mph, very fast	01050	12	360	420	480	840
Over 20 mph, racing	01060	16.8	504	588	672	1,176

The Compendium’s own wording for each code: 01018, “Bicycling, leisure 5.5 mph”; 01010, “Bicycling, <10 mph, leisure, to work or for pleasure”; 01019, “Bicycling, leisure, 9.4 mph”; 01020, “Bicycling, 10-11.9 mph, leisure, slow, light effort”; 01014, “Bicycling, general”; 01030, “Bicycling, 12-13.9 mph, leisure, moderate effort”; 01040, “Bicycling, 14-15.9 mph, racing or leisure, fast, vigorous effort”; 01050, “Bicycling, 16-19 mph, racing/not drafting or >19 mph drafting, very fast, racing general”; 01060, “Bicycling, >20 mph, racing, not drafting”.

What changes the number for cycling

Pace is the biggest lever. The hardest listed way of cycling (Over 20 mph, racing) is rated at 16.8 METs, 4.8 times the 3.5 METs of the gentlest (Leisure, 5.5 mph). For a 70 kg (154 lb) person that is 1,176 kcal an hour against 245 kcal.

Body weight is the second: the same 7 METs of cycling for 30 minutes comes to 175 kcal at 50 kg (110 lb) and 385 kcal at 110 kg (243 lb). To reach 100 kcal at 70 kg (154 lb) takes about 12 minutes at the starting pace.

Laid out in half-hour terms for 70 kg (154 lb): leisure, 5.5 mph is 123 kcal; under 10 mph, leisure is 140 kcal; leisure, 9.4 mph is 203 kcal; 10 to 11.9 mph, light effort is 238 kcal; general is 245 kcal; 12 to 13.9 mph, moderate is 280 kcal; 14 to 15.9 mph, vigorous is 350 kcal; 16 to 19 mph, very fast is 420 kcal; over 20 mph, racing is 588 kcal.

How the calories are worked out

The formula is calories = MET × body weight in kg × hours. A MET compares an activity with sitting quietly, which is 1 MET and is taken as roughly 1 kcal per kilogram per hour. That equivalence is an approximation, which is why every figure is rounded and called about.

For cycling at 7 METs, a 70 kg (154 lb) person for 30 minutes: 7 × 70 × 0.5 = 245 kcal. This is a gross figure: it includes the energy your body would spend at rest in the same time.

The MET values are those of the 2024 Adult Compendium of Physical Activities (Herrmann SD, Willis EA, Ainsworth BE, et al., J Sport Health Sci 2024), read from its activity list on 2026-10-23 and copied with their codes. They are averages for adults; see how we calculate.

Frequently asked questions

How many calories does a 70 kg person burn cycling in 30 minutes?

About 245 kcal at 7 METs (General). The whole range for cycling on this page runs from 123 kcal (Leisure, 5.5 mph) to 588 kcal (Over 20 mph, racing) in the same half hour.

How many calories does cycling burn in an hour?

At 7 METs, about 420 kcal for a 60 kg (132 lb) person, 490 kcal at 70 kg (154 lb) and 560 kcal at 80 kg (176 lb). Heavier people burn more because they move more mass.

How long does cycling take to burn 100 calories?

For a 70 kg (154 lb) person, about 12 minutes at 7 METs (General). At the gentlest listed pace (Leisure, 5.5 mph, 3.5 METs) it takes 24 minutes, and at the hardest (Over 20 mph, racing, 16.8 METs) about 5.

Does the number for cycling include the calories I would burn anyway?

Yes. Of the 7 METs, 1 is the resting cost, about 14% of the total here, so the activity itself adds about 210 of the 245 kcal in 30 minutes at 70 kg (154 lb).

Why would my watch show a different number for cycling?

A watch uses its own model, often with heart rate, age and sex, while this page uses the Compendium’s average. For cycling that average already spans 9 entries from 3.5 to 16.8 METs, a 4.8-fold range, so a gap between the two is normal.

Which line in the table should I choose for cycling?

Pick the row that best describes how you did it: this page starts from “General”, about 26% of the way up the 3.5 to 16.8 MET range. The rows are separate Compendium entries (01018, 01010, 01019, 01020, 01014, 01030, 01040, 01050, 01060).

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These are estimates for healthy adults from average MET values. How much you actually burn varies with your fitness, body composition, technique, terrain and conditions, so use the figures as a guide, not a measurement. This is not medical advice.