I know that this has been covered time and time again, but.

I just did a ride of 16.17 miles, average speed was 16.2 time 1.00 hour, average heart rate 126 bpm max 155 bpm.

According to Garmin Training Center I burned 1272 calories while FitDay calms I burned 767 calories.

We all know that GTC overstates the calories burned but is FitDay calories burned also overstated? For one hour of work it appears to be high.

BTW. I am using the "Bicycling, 14-15.9 mph, racing or leisure, fast vigorous effort" activity.

buddy:deadhorse2:

For far more accurate info on energy expended, put a Power Tap wheel on. You will get some other useful info from training also. In regards to devices like the Garmin 305 or FitDay (which I never heard of), I don't know why they are so far off. Standard "rules of thumb" for calorimetric consumption are far more accurate than these devices. For instance, walking typically burns about 300 calories per hour, etc.

the pure calorie number the Garmin Edge spits out is double, sometimes tripple, all other estimates. ignore it. i found Fitday to be more in line, but it still seemed a bit high. dont get caught up with the exactness of the numbers. they are estimates and they can be very useful in controlling weight.

not sure what your goals are, but my Fitday tips are; over estimate calorie intake and under estimate calorie burn. pick the sedentary lifestyle and remember to enter sleep as an activity. i dropped 70 pounds in 2006. i used Fitday to track everything and run a daily calorie defeciet. good luck to you. later.

There is some variablility depending on what formula the calculator is using, for example, I get different numbers from the training log on Runner's World than I do from Bikejournal.

The Garmin estimate is laughable...way, way too high.

The FitDay estimate is not much better - it works out to 47.4 calories per mile. At your average speed, 36 calories per mile (582 total calories burned) would be a better estimate (unless you weigh 250+ pounds).

I don't like the Garmin bike computers. too much data. too much errors.

All of you guys need a simple Cateye Strada wireless. It gives you all the info you ever need. As a cyclist, I'm not concerned about heart rate, cadence, elevation, GPS and all the rest of that crap. I just want to know the distance, time trip, average speed - that's about it.

I saw a biker with a full Garmin setup riding. He was so excited about it he stopped and showed me all the features of his Garmin with GPS. I almost couldn't stop laughing.