Judging by some of the fatties on downhill bikes, mountain biking hardly burns any calories 
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road cycling v mountain biking, calories?
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Posted 1 year ago #
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x2 what Roter Stern wrote.
HR zones .... thats why theres so many more fat mtbers than roadies.Posted 1 year ago # -
thats why theres so many more fat mtbers than roadies
No.. the reason is that MTBers MTB because it's a laugh, and they know how to enjoy life. Roadies road because they like pain and suffering, and denial to them comes naturally
Posted 1 year ago # -
that sounds convincing also...
Posted 1 year ago # -
No.. the reason is that MTBers MTB because it's a laugh, and they know how to enjoy life. Roadies road because they like pain and suffering, and denial to them comes naturally
Sort of agree
A lot more mtbers come to it later in life as an alternative to pastimes such as mountain walking or jogging. These folk don't think of themselves as athletes and dress and act accordingly. If there is a nice sunset they'll watch it. Roadies - of the thin lyrca clad ilk have more in common with the track athlete or XC racer. Their (our) mindset is about pushing themselves but I'd stop short of saying they are not enjoying themselves, far from it. One of the mistakes I think I made when I stopped competitive cycling is I thought my natural mindset would change too. It's taken a few years of pratting around on longer travel bikes living for the downhills to realise that I'm only truly happy with my lungs hanging out XC stylee (just a bit slower now!). It takes all sorts.
Posted 1 year ago # -
so anyhow
how do you measure calories burnt then, heart rate monitor?
Posted 1 year ago # -
You don't. HRMs just guess really. I think you need a lab and exercise bike...?
Posted 1 year ago # -
if you've spent 3/4 of the ride thinking 'this is flippin' hard work, I'm never doing this again' you've probably burnt more calories than you normally do.
Kev
Posted 1 year ago # -
You don't. HRMs just guess really. I think you need a lab and exercise bike...?
In fairness i'm not really looking for lab type accuracy, just a fair idea, clearly online sites are nonsense, is a heart rate monitors guess a half decent guess? i'm not really after more than that..I'm not an athlete and never will be, just looking for a way to gage my activities as i try to improve, distance and elevation are a couple things i'm looking to keep track of, calories burnt is another i'm thinking of..Posted 1 year ago # -
A simple measure is average speed over a known route, but average heart rate is useful to know too, as some days you feel crap and set a good time while others you feel good and set a crap time.
Posted 1 year ago # -
If you use the same device over several rides, the numbers will be comparable. So if you get 600 on one ride, then 700 on the next, you can be sure that second ride burned about 15% more calories. Whether the absolute numbers are 'correct' is pretty difficult to know, but as a tool for comparison it is reasonably useful.
Posted 1 year ago # -
is a heart rate monitors guess a half decent guess?
I really don't think so. There are so many variables. Your heart rate vs power developed varies during a ride anyway (cardiac drift), and it varies day to day with things like illness and condition. I find that if I ride hard one day then ride again the following day my heart rate for a given power is 10bpm or more lower. Don't ask me why!
My guess is that the Polar ones are a bit better since they at least do some kind of test on you before calculating.
Posted 1 year ago # -
i burn fat easier onroad than off, based on no HRM use, just hours on the bike and bathroom scales, but I feel like i work as hard overall on either bike. I think on the road it's easier to settle into a rhythm and you burn fat at this pace, plus the efforts can be more sustained; off-road is more interval-like and that uses up glycogen and o2 more, good for spring fitness. I read somewhere that a strong coffee, a hard hill effort at max or two, then a steady mid-pace ride burns fat effectively and you can dothat on or off-road.
i get fit more effectively on-road too, more leg/lungwork and less tech per hours on the bike. actual calories used, not sure how it varies, i just try to balance calories in and calories out overall. maybe 500 an hour on a brisk ride for an average 12-13st rider at an average 8-10mph off-road / 17-18mph onroad?
I may be miles off but that's my unscientific take on it all )
Posted 1 year ago #
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