Two Bicycling Questions

It's definitely harder work to ride a heavier bike, so your hunch is right. Lighter bikes just let you go faster and are better for climbing hills. And they're less of a pain to carry up and down flights of stairs.

Here is my attempt to clear up your questions.. Light bike or heavy bike, the workout is based on your exertion and the time spent riding but to keep a heavy bike moving the same speed as a light bike, especially uphill will require more output, so yes a harder workout, but moving a heavy bike slower than a light bike doesn't mean the heavy bike is the same, its how much input the rider is putting in. Bike type is also a factor Road bikes are generally faster than hybrids/mountain bikes with the same level of rider input..

To properly calculate calories, use a HRM, the MFP number are a vague estimate that cannot calculate wind/elevation change, rolling resistance of your bike, bike weight, fitness level etc... example, you do a 5 mile ride on slight downhill grade withe wind at your back and get a ride home from a friend. The next day you ride your bike home uphill against a 30mph headwind... it will tell you that you burned more calories going there with barely any exertion than your extremely challenging uphill, into the wind ride of the same distance based soley on the speed of your ride. Your HRM calculated calories would not have that problem.

You can go MUCH faster on a light bike. I have biker friends that spend HUNDREDS (and some thousands) on their bikes and easily pedal at 24mph.
I've got a GIANT (name brand) mountain bike (paid about $600) and i can definitely pedal MUCH faster on that one versus a bike from like... Target or something that is just a normal bike. On the GIANT bike i can go about 16 to 18mph (although thats just my preference in speed) and i can burn about 700-800 calories in an hour. On my old bike i pedal about 14mph and i burn about 600 calories per hr.
I know with a lighter bike you will work less, but if you are going faster than on a heavy bike I assume the work out is what you put forth in it and equals out.
I'm sure calorie burn also depends on the weight of the person such as if you are at goal weight or still trying to lose/overweight.

Riding my hybrid, on flat road, at about 16mph is around the same effort as my road bike at 18mph.
Going uphill is easier on the hybrid, because of the granny gear.

There's a lot more to a bike than light and heavy. Gear set, tires, geometry, how well it's fit for your body, understanding economic movement, cadence, and appropriate knowledge of what gear to be in. Though that's sorta the same thing as cadence. Sorta. Oh also - light bikes don't have suspension seats or forks - two things that rob you of power.

I've found my HRM puts me within 10% of mapmyride. Both burns I think are ridiculously high for bicycling and I put little faith in them.


the people on the road bikes blowing by you probably also are using clipless pedals.

I have a mountain bike and a road bike. I seem to work harder on the mountain bike. The road bike is lighter and easier to pedal but I push to go faster on that bike. So I am not sure which I really work harder on.

As for calories, I am lazy, I just take the amount MFP lists. I use the speed lower than what I averaged. If I average 12.8 mph, I use the calories from 10 to 12 mph.

I use the HMR scale - but I ride inside on a stationary bike not outside - I was always told in Weight Mgmt Classes to guess high on calories and low on exercise so that's what I've done. Not much of an answer but it's all I have

Hey OP. I used to do amateur bicycle races, cycled 1000's of miles each year etc and previous owner of a racing bike (it got stolen).

The only way the weight of the bike matters is if you're going uphill. In that scenario the gross weight difference between a light and medium/heavier bike is negligible unless you are already at a very, very high level of fitness because you'll be carrying multiples of that weight difference on your body as excess fat anyway.

What matters on a bike is
a) the quality and width of your wheels/tyres
b) Uhh, that was it.

Everything else is irrelevant. If you don't have cleats that could be responsible for other people cycling faster then you because they can put power through the pedal through a larger section of their pedal strokes allowing them to achieve faster speeds especially uphill.

I can average 18mph on a mountain bike with very thick tyres and heavy cheap suspensions in a very hilly region. It's not your bike that's causing you to get overtaken

2) to address your second question, cycling doesn't use up as many calories as people think it does. 500-750 region per hour is okay and covers calories burnt for a broad range of fitness levels.

Rolling resistance (tires) is far more important (unless you live in the Alps) than the weight of the bike. Riding a bike with knobbly off-road tires will increase the amount of effort needed on a flat surface. A lighter wheel also helps as you have less inertia to overcome.