Cycling is certainly good for you: it keeps the heart trained, strengthens the muscles, helps relieve stress and also allows you to shed extra pounds. Let’s see how many calories you burn on the bike.
How many calories does our body burn when cycling?
On a bicycle, you can burn a certain amount of calories, which can vary according to the duration of the ride, the more or less sustained pace and the weight of the cyclist. For example, if a 60kg man cycles for about an hour at a slow pace, he can burn up to 240 calories. In practice, 4 kcal is disposed of for every kilo of the cyclist’s weight. If you travel at a faster pace, however, you can burn double the calories or 480 kcal. Keep in mind that an amateur cyclist can consume approximately 8 kcal per hour for every kilo of weight.
The type of route you cycle can also play a role in the number of calories you burn. If you are tackling steep roads or mountain paths, a greater effort is required from the cyclist and therefore, even more calories are burned than when cycling on a flat path.
Another factor to consider when calculating the calories burned on a bike concerns the possible load that the cyclist decides to carry. It is natural that if you travel without any weight, it is less effort than when, for example, you carry everything you need for cycling. Route and weight can therefore increase the number of calories you burn on a bike.
How many calories are burned on an e-bike?
Many think that with an e-bike, you do not make any kind of effort thanks to the motor that provides pedal assistance, but this is not the case at all. Even on an electric bike, you have to pedal, although the motor support serves to make pedaling less tiring. So, like a normal bicycle, an e-bike can also give physical benefits to those who use it.
There are several studies that have shown that pedaling with an electric bicycle can improve the cardiovascular system and aerobic capacity. As regards, however, the caloric consumption that occurs using a pedal assisted bicycle, the tests carried out by Ron Wensel, a mechanical engineer who designs electric bicycles and who wanted to evaluate the differences in both heart rate and calories consumed, is very interesting. using both a normal bicycle and an e-bike.
As a result, it emerged that with a traditional bicycle, he managed to burn 552 kcal, while on the same route with the e-bike, the calories burned were 444 kcal. Between the two types of bicycles, there is a difference of approximately 20% in calories eliminated. At the same time, however, it has been shown that even the use of an e-bike allows you to burn calories and therefore also an electric bicycle can be used to lose weight.
Burning heat on the bike, but with caution
Using the bicycle to keep fit is certainly fine, but you shouldn’t overdo it. It is necessary to proceed gradually, especially if you are not trained. To begin with, for example, you can use the bicycle to go to work or to run errands and then gradually take longer and longer rides.
Exercise must also be combined with a healthy diet. Therefore, after a good ride, do not think about bingeing. Otherwise, you will have nullified all the efforts you have made on a bicycle.
Now that you know how many calories you burn on your bike, all you have to do is get your bike out of the garage. If you want to buy a new one, it’s the right time, since you can take advantage of the mobility bonus that allows you to save up to 500 euros to buy a traditional bicycle or an e-bike to keep fit.
