How Many Calories Burned on Recumbent Bike?

A 30-minute ride on a recumbent bike can burn between 100 and 320 calories, depending on your weight and pedaling intensity. Due to individual differences, this range can vary significantly. In this guide, we’ve make calorie burn charts by body weight, as well as the most accurate ACE heart rate-based formula and links to online calculators to help you get personalized results.

Recumbent Bike Calorie Burn: Chart by Weight and Intensity 30 minutes recumbent bike calories

Your body weight and workout intensity are the two key factors that determine how many calories you burn on a recumbent bike. The chart below shows estimated calorie burn for a 30-minute session across different weight categories and effort levels — light, moderate, and high intensity.

30 minutes recumbent bike calories

📌 Note: These are approximate values based on METs (Metabolic Equivalent Tasks) [1] and may vary by age, fitness, and bike settings.

How Long Does It Take to Burn 500 Calories on a Recumbent Bike?

The time to burn 500 Calories depends on your weight and pedaling intensity. In general, the heavier you are and the harder you ride, the faster you’ll reach 500 calories burned. Use the chart below to find your estimated ride time based on body weight and effort level.

Here’s an estimate of how long you’ll need to ride to burn 500 calories, based on weight and effort level:

📌 Note: These are approximate values based on METs (Metabolic Equivalent Tasks) and may vary by age, fitness, and bike settings.

How to Calculate Accurate Calories Burned for Yourself

To get the most accurate results, you need to consider your heart rate, weight, age, and workout duration. This section explains two proven methods: the ACE heart rate-based formula and a MET-based estimation.

ACE Heart Rate-Based Formula

The American Council on Exercise (ACE) provides a calorie burn formula using heart rate, weight, and workout duration:

For male:

Calories/min = (-55.0969 + (0.6309 × HR) + (0.1988 × weight in kg) + (0.2017 × age)) / 4.184

For female:

Calories/min = (-20.4022 + (0.4472 × HR) - (0.1263 × weight in kg) + (0.074 × age)) / 4.184

Multiply by the total number of minutes ridden to get your estimate.

MET-Based Estimation

METs (Metabolic Equivalent of Task) represent the energy cost of physical activities — the higher the MET, the more calories you burn.

• Light Effort: ~3.5 METs
• Moderate effort: ~5.5 METs
• Vigorous effort: ~7.5 METs

Formula:

Calories burned = METs × weight in kg × duration in hours

Multiply by the total number of minutes ridden to get your estimate.

Calories Burned Calculator Recommendation

Compared to MET-based estimates, the ACE formula is:

• ✅ More Accurate – Heart rate reflects your actual exercise intensity
• ✅ Personalized – Considers your weight, age, duration, heart rate, and gender
• ✅ Great for Recumbent Biking – Ideal for steady-state cardio tracking

However, the ACE calculation can be a bit complex.
That’s why we recommend using our Recumbent Bike Calories Burned Calculator — with just a few clicks, you can get the most accurate estimate of how many calories you burn on a recumbent bike.

Reference

1. Jetté, M., Sidney, K., & Blümchen, G. (1990). Metabolic equivalents (METS) in exercise testing, exercise prescription, and evaluation of functional capacity. Clinical cardiology, 13(8), 555–565. https://doi.org/10.1002/clc.4960130809
2. American Council on Exercise. (n.d.). The accuracy of heart rate–based zone training using predicted versus measured maximal heart rate. https://www.acefitness.org/continuing-education/certified/research/7466/the-accuracy-of-heart-rate-based-zone-training-using-predicted-versus-measured-maximal-heart-rate/