How many calories does a 30 km ride burn?

At 19–22 km/h, 30 km take about an hour and a half. At 70 kg that is about 760 kcal total energy.

Why does cycling burn so little per kilometre?

Because the bike rolls: at 70 kg a kilometre at 16–19 km/h costs only about 25 kcal, walking about 50 and jogging 60 to 70 kcal. Per hour cycling is still strong because you cover far more kilometres.

How much does a daily bike commute burn?

Twice 20 minutes at 16–19 km/h is about 300 kcal a day at 70 kg – roughly 1,500 kcal over a working week.

Calories burned by sportCalories burned

Calories burned cycling

By Thomas Freimoser · Updated: October 26, 2026

Per kilometre, cycling is the most economical way to move – and per hour still one of the strongest. Because the feet carry almost no load, it can go on for a very long time.

Short answer

At 70 kg you burn about 445 kcal per hour cycling at 16–19 km/h, about 260 kcal at a leisurely pace under 16 km/h and about 655 kcal at 22–26 km/h.

kcal per hour by pace and body weight

Pace / variant	55 kg	70 kg	85 kg	100 kg
leisure, under 16 km/h4 MET · Code 01010	230	260	290	320
16–19 km/h6.8 MET · Code 01020	395	445	495	545
19–22 km/h8 MET · Code 01030	465	520	580	640
22–26 km/h10 MET · Code 01040	580	655	725	800

Example person: 35 years, 172 cm · total energy including resting metabolism · rounded to 5 kcal · MET values: Compendium 2024.

Calculate for your bodyHeight, age and sex shift the values by up to 20 %.

What raises the burn

Pace counts twice: from leisurely to 22–26 km/h the burn per hour rises by about 150 % – more than any other sport here.
Long, not hard: the feet carry almost no load, so the planner allows up to 10 hours a day. The bottleneck is the seat – padded shorts and a well-adjusted saddle decide how long you last.
Indoors and off-road: a moderate ergometer is 6.0 MET in the Compendium, spinning 9.0 MET, mountain biking 8.5 MET. Hills and headwind add to the burn; the table is for flat routes.

Frequently asked questions

How many calories does a 30 km ride burn?: At 19–22 km/h, 30 km take about an hour and a half. At 70 kg that is about 760 kcal total energy.
Why does cycling burn so little per kilometre?: Because the bike rolls: at 70 kg a kilometre at 16–19 km/h costs only about 25 kcal, walking about 50 and jogging 60 to 70 kcal. Per hour cycling is still strong because you cover far more kilometres.
How much does a daily bike commute burn?: Twice 20 minutes at 16–19 km/h is about 300 kcal a day at 70 kg – roughly 1,500 kcal over a working week.

In comparison

Similar burn at 70 kg, from the calmest to the most intense variant:

Cycling260–655 kcal/h
Elliptical325–585 kcal/h
Tennis390–520 kcal/h
Hiking390–510 kcal/h

And for the 10K Burn Challenge?

With cycling alone it would take 2.3 hours to burn 1,000 kcal. The planner shows how a whole day of 5,000 to 10,000 kcal comes together.

Build a day in the planner

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