Bicycle MPG Calculator

Weight of Bike and Rider (in lbs):

Speed in MPH:
Power raw/real (watts):
Calories per minute, hour, and mile:
Approximate Miles per Gal:

How This is Calculated

This calculates an approximate miles-per-gallon comparison to a gas-driven vehicle. The methodology is as follows:

The user enters the weight of the rider and bike (in lbs) and speed (in mph). Weight is converted to metric mass, and speed is converted to meters per second to calculate wattage.

Power required to drive this weight at this velocity is calculated from the following formula (see the wikipedia entry for explanation of terms):

Bike Power Formula (Level Ground)

I’ve further simplified it by assuming that groundspeed (Vg) and airspeed (Va) are the same (ie: no wind). This gives the raw power needed to drive the bike and rider at speed.

Since humans are about 24% efficient at turning fuel into mechanical energy, the real power in watts needed to drive the bike and rider at speed is Raw Power / .24, which gives real power.

Watts are then converted into kilocalories per minute, and per hour (Cal/min, Cal/hr). Dividing the burn rate (in kilocalories per hour) by the speed (in miles per hour) yields kilocalories per mil (Cal/mi).

Using 31,000 kilocalories/gallon, and dividing by kilocalories per mile, we arrive at the eagerly anticipated Miles Per Gallon!