Cycling apps - Big difference in calorie estimate.

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rafikiphoto
rafikiphoto Posts: 35 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
On my cycle ride this afternoonI ran two apps on my phone: MapMyRide and Strava. For the 25km ride Strava estimated a conservative 878 calories burned but MapMyRide gave a figure of 1125 calories burned. I shall be looking into this further but I'm just wondering if any other cyclist has come across such a discrepancy with these apps.

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  • Camo_xxx
    Camo_xxx Posts: 1,112 Member
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    Use a heart rate monitor for best results. Garmin - strava with HRM seems to be a widely accepted as close enough.
  • Elise4270
    Elise4270 Posts: 8,375 Member
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    I emailed Strava about a year back when my hrm didn't jive with their app. They stand by their calculations.

    Turns out my hrm was way overestimating my burn at 11cal/minute. Strava is close to my current hrm from Garmin 4-5 cal/ min.

    I'd err on the conservative side.
  • rafikiphoto
    rafikiphoto Posts: 35 Member
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    Camo_xxx: How does your setup compare with a straight Strava measurement?
  • Camo_xxx
    Camo_xxx Posts: 1,112 Member
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    rafikiphoto wrote: »
    Camo_xxx: How does your setup compare with a straight Strava measurement?

    Hmmm good question. I have not used strava without the garmin-HRM but I will go try and log one of my well know workout rides and compare.
    ( I used mapmyride before I got the garmin setup but not for calorie burn )

    Don't have a clue if it matters or not but I am using the garmin 500 with garmin HRM included in the bundled kit.
  • MeanderingMammal
    MeanderingMammal Posts: 7,866 Member
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    I generally find Strava to be more realistic. For 25K then around 800 would seem more appropriate than in excess of 1000
  • Camo_xxx
    Camo_xxx Posts: 1,112 Member
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    Apparently on strava I need to go ride the route without a HRM to get an estimate.
    On mapmyride my daily workout route is estimated at 1950 calories.
    The same route on strava with garmin HRM logs in most days at 1100 calories.

    MFP estimates the same 90 minute 16mph avg ride at 1700 cals but is much closer @1150 cals to the HRM if I select the 14mph option
  • Camo_xxx
    Camo_xxx Posts: 1,112 Member
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    For me the garmin - strava is accurate enough that I can eat all the calories I burn during a ride and still lose almost the exact amount of fat I expected to based on my calorie deficit for the month.
  • smittybobitty917
    smittybobitty917 Posts: 19 Member
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    I use a Garmin 500 w/ HRM and cadence. I upload both to Strava and to Garmin Connect. The Strava calorie count is always about half of what Garmin Connect calculates. My last ride was 24 miles, and my Strava/Garmin figures were 807/1721 calories.

    MapMyRide was always in excess of what Strava provided back when I used them both. Since my goal is to lose, I'm using Strava data as my entry into MFP. Worst case is I will drop weight more quickly than expected even if I eat back all of my cycling calories.

    I've never been able to figure out why Strava is lower than other programs and online calculators. It has all of my personal and equipment data entered. Garmin only has my weight and age.
  • Camo_xxx
    Camo_xxx Posts: 1,112 Member
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    I have never looked at my garmin connect calorie burn. Interesting, but not surprising.

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