Cycling and tracking apps

Texas_Don
Texas_Don Posts: 22 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Okay, I don't have a heart rate monitor or power meter so I rely on tracking apps. I currently use Strava and Map My Ride. 18.50-mile ride MMR says I burned 1200 calories, while Strava says I burned 470. I understand they estimate by ride criteria and are not accurate. My question is how such a discrepancy between the two?

Replies

  • NorthCascades
    NorthCascades Posts: 10,968 Member
    There's a large discrepancy because that use wildly different methods of guessing. Strava is at least likely to be within 500% of the truth.
  • tbright1965
    tbright1965 Posts: 852 Member
    edited August 2018
    Texas_Don wrote: »
    Okay, I don't have a heart rate monitor or power meter so I rely on tracking apps. I currently use Strava and Map My Ride. 18.50-mile ride MMR says I burned 1200 calories, while Strava says I burned 470. I understand they estimate by ride criteria and are not accurate. My question is how such a discrepancy between the two?

    MMR seems to be overly optimistic.

    I rode 40 miles on Saturday and MMR claims I burned just under 4000 calories in just under 2.5 hours.

    During the same period, my MyZone heart rate belt, which I had on during the coffee and waffle stop after the first 15 miles said I burned about 2500 calories during the ride and face stuffing.

    I tend to believe that figure over the MMR value.

    It comes closer to what my FitBit comes up with, which is about 13 calories/minute at my 16-18 MPH average pace or a spin class, which is just under 2000 calories over that same 150 minutes of effort.

    So I tend to only allow myself to eat back 50% of the exercise calories offered up by Map My Fitness efforts.

    FWIW, I weight 220# so another rider's values will be different depending on the mass of the rider, the distance and time ridden.

    And you'll get all sorts of answers.

    The bottom line is, if you are losing weight (assuming that is your goal) with what you are doing, keep doing it. If not, figure out which action or measurement is throwing you off and adjust.

    Also, don't be shocked if you weigh more on a day after a long ride, even if you ate in a deficit. Muscles on the mend need water, so you may retain water for a day or two after the ride.
  • NorthCascades
    NorthCascades Posts: 10,968 Member
    Adding to the anecdotal record, I did 40 slow miles the other weekend, taking 3 hours on a road bike. It was hilly, with 1,700 feet of elevation gain and loss. About 5 miles were gravel. I weigh about 250 lbs. The ride was 1,549 kcal +/- 2.5%.
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,809 Member
    Every time the Map My suite of apps gets mentioned the calories are pure fantasy.

    Strava I find pretty good (for me) on outdoor rides and correlates well with a power meter which is the most accurate for cycling.
    The "for me" bit is despite my suspicion that Strava tries to estimate gross calories but as my aero is pretty awful the estimates work out pretty good for my net calories.
  • Machka9
    Machka9 Posts: 25,588 Member
    I go with approx. 90 to 100 cal every 5 km.

    18.5 miles = 30 km.

    So that's 540 - 600 calories.

    And as it happens, that's pretty close to what Strava gives me.
  • makkimakki2018
    makkimakki2018 Posts: 414 Member
    I like Strava over MMR, but you definitely invest in a Garmin with a power meter and hear rate monitor. The bundles go for about $500, but when they're on sale you can get em close to the $300's
  • fruitily
    fruitily Posts: 75 Member
    @IGbnat24 I did not know this. That means that the Runtastic app, that I thought was overestimating, might actually be pretty accurate.
  • Texas_Don
    Texas_Don Posts: 22 Member
    makkimakki2018 wrote: »
    I like Strava over MMR, but you definitely invest in a Garmin with a power meter and hear rate monitor. The bundles go for about $500, but when they're on sale you can get em close to the $300's

    I will look for these, thank you!
  • NorthCascades
    NorthCascades Posts: 10,968 Member
    Correction to the above. The bundle is for a chest strap HRM and cadence sensor. A power meter costs more than the whole bundle!
  • NorthCascades
    NorthCascades Posts: 10,968 Member
    Texas_Don wrote: »
    Okay, I don't have a heart rate monitor or power meter so I rely on tracking apps. I currently use Strava and Map My Ride. 18.50-mile ride MMR says I burned 1200 calories, while Strava says I burned 470. I understand they estimate by ride criteria and are not accurate. My question is how such a discrepancy between the two?

    I wanted to take a better stab at this.

    I think MMR uses the same kind of system MFP uses for exercise, which is overly generous. I think it can also estimate by heart rate if that data is available, but that's like steering a car by rolling dice.

    Strava ignores your heart rate completely to guess your calorie use. Instead, it uses basic physics to determine how much energy is required to move you and your bike at the speed you were going, over the hill conditions you rode. That's obviously going to be much more realistic than HR because it's based on relevant data. Where Strava tends to get it wrong is with wind, if you're drafting, or if the underlying GPS or elevation data isn't sound.
  • JasonDee1989
    JasonDee1989 Posts: 84 Member
    Also using Strava. 🙌🏼
  • chiefdave08
    chiefdave08 Posts: 2 Member
    Pm on TT bike and areo race bikes. Kj through garmin connect export into mfp. I don’t see 2,000 untill >3 hours 60 Miles. 6 foot 185 lb sprinter, lots of crits, a few flat RR and a few itt a year. Good luck man! Hydrate in Texas, lots, then drink more :#

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