General Cycling Discussion - How accurate is calories burned?

I'm curious as to whether the bike computer is giving us a rather good ballpark figure or something way off. I know it doesn't account for winds or gradients/aero/tires. Is there anyway to crosscheck with something else (evidently my other question is, how good at hrm's at doing this?)

Your bike computer tells you calories burned?
My HRM tells me calories burned based on heart rate plus my user settings.
Polar HRM are used around the world by some serious trainers and from what I've read they are very accurate.

Polar hrt monitors are accurate for hrt, but not cals burned it is a ball park only.

Your bike computer tells you calories burned?
Yes, hehe.

My computer is a bike comp as well as hrm and it does give me calorie estimate. It always comes out much much lower than a generic caculator so I don't know how it figures it out?

Nope. None of these instruments are accurate unless you were tested in a performance laboratory setting, where they can accurately test you for your caloric expenditure at specific heart rates. Otherwise, if you're using your heart rate monitor or bike computer, you're just getting a generalization based on a population they entered into your computer. Everyone is individual, and to treat us as though a cross section of a population is supposed to match up to thousands (or even millions) of people is ridiculous.

Koffee

Nope. None of these instruments are accurate unless you were tested in a performance laboratory setting, where they can accurately test you for your caloric expenditure at specific heart rates. Otherwise, if you're using your heart rate monitor or bike computer, you're just getting a generalization based on a population they entered into your computer. Everyone is individual, and to treat us as though a cross section of a population is supposed to match up to thousands (or even millions) of people is ridiculous.

Koffee

There you have it, I'm getting tested.

Please do- you can find out at what heart rate you're burning fat as calories, and what heart rate you're burning carbs as calories, and from there, you can adjust your training for whatever your weaknesses are. It's one of the critical things you need to have done if you're training.

Koffee

Interesting.. got any specific places in mind.

Operator, you are one of the luckiest persons on this forum right now, because one of the most influential health and fitness experts in the world lives and lectures right there in Toronto, Canada. He is Tudor Bompa, and he is the Professor Emeritus, York University, Toronto, Ontario. If you can get in at York University, do so. He is highly regarded for his knowledge, and is the father of periodization training, which is used today by professional athletes everywhere, including coaches such as Chris Carmichael. Give York a call and start from there with finding someone in your area to test you.

Koffee