calories burned cycling

gregsonevans
gregsonevans Posts: 232 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Hi guys
Is there a general scale to check number of calories burned when cycling? I currently weigh 240lbs and cycle about 40 miles a day averaging 13mph on a heavy old hybrid town bike, I use sports tracker to map my ride and calculate weight loss but the numbers are always higher than MFP numbers and I was wondering which one would be more accurate?
I know people will probably say to invest in a HRM but that is another minefield of choices and if the app I am using is fairly accurate then why spend more money?

cheers for any help

Greg

Replies

  • gregsonevans
    gregsonevans Posts: 232 Member
    http://www.sports-tracker.com/#/workout/gregsonevans/u2vufi9gdk5vadln
  • moschika
    moschika Posts: 3
    I don't know of any quick way to know how many calories you burn while riding. It all depends on your size, terrain, how long (time and distance) and how hard you were working.

    for example, there are two 25 miles loops I might take from home. one has a couple climbs, one of which is very steep and the other loop is pretty flat. one takes me about an hour and 20, the hillier one takes me about an hour and forty-five minutes. the flat loop burns about 800 kcals and the hillier one about 1600 kcals. this is based on my HRM.

    however if I'm really pushing it fast on the flat loop, I can cut 10 minutes off my time and burn 1000 kcals. so even though I rode less, i actually burned more calories because i worked that much harder.
  • Ianultrarunner
    Ianultrarunner Posts: 184 Member
    Get a good Heart Rate Monitor such as the Garmin Forerunner Series or Suunto which for me are considered the most accurate if you have the money.
    If budget is a big concern the consider one of the better Polar models. I've had many issues with their long term durability and customer service but there are many who swear by them.
    You get what you pay for.
    Garmin supports GPS tracking, bike RPM speed and cadence too. If you care about then I don't think Polar may be an option.
  • Cmonnowguys
    Cmonnowguys Posts: 361 Member
    I bike a lot and use a polar ft7 HRM. My HRM numbers are always different when compared MFP or any apps I've tried, eapecially because some days are more intense than others and apps just dont have a way to judge that. A HRM takes more personal information into account and therefore is probably the closest you can get to an accurate calorie burn count.

    I use my Ft7 to know my calorie burn and heart rate, but I use the free Strava cycling app to track everything else; speed, avg mph, top speed, mileage, elevation, etc.

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