Cycling Nutrition Plan Calculator
Calculate carbohydrate, fluid, and sodium requirements per hour for endurance cycling rides based on duration, intensity, and body weight.
About this calculator
Carbs per Hour responds to Body Weight and Intensity — not to Ride Duration at all. It starts from a sports-science carb range for each intensity band (roughly 30-40 g/hr easy, 40-60 g/hr moderate, 60-90 g/hr hard), takes the midpoint of that range, then scales it by body weight normalized to 70 kg and clamped between 0.8x and 1.3x. Because that scaling factor is bounded, a rider well outside the 40-150 kg input range wouldn't see hourly targets keep climbing or falling forever — the clamp exists so extreme weights don't produce physiologically implausible per-hour numbers. Fluid per Hour and Sodium per Hour follow the same pattern: an intensity-based baseline, scaled by the same weight factor with its own clamp.
Ride Duration only enters once the per-hour rates are set — it multiplies Carbs per Hour, Fluid per Hour, and Sodium per Hour into the ride totals (Total Carbs, Total Fluid, Total Sodium) and into Estimated Total Calories, which adds a flat 15% for fat contribution on top of the 4 kcal/g from carbs. Caffeine Recommendation is a straight 3-6 mg/kg range with no intensity or duration dependence at all. None of this accounts for individual GI tolerance, sweat-rate testing, heat acclimation, or gut training for higher carb intakes — it's a generic starting plan to test and adjust in training, not a substitute for individualized sports-nutrition guidance.
Inputs
Results
Carbs per Hour
54 g/hr
Fluid per Hour
696 ml/hr
How to Use This Calculator
- Enter your Ride Duration in hours.
- Select Intensity: Easy (under 65% FTP), Moderate (65-85%), or Hard (over 85%).
- Set your Body Weight in kilograms.
- Review Carbs per Hour, Fluid per Hour, and Sodium per Hour targets.
- Use Total Carbs, Total Fluid, Total Sodium, and Total Calories to prepare your bottles and pockets.
How the result changes with Body Weight
| Body Weight | Carbs per Hour | Fluid per Hour |
|---|---|---|
| 40 | 40 g/hr | 520 ml/hr |
| 56 | 40 g/hr | 520 ml/hr |
| 113 | 65 g/hr | 780 ml/hr |
| 150 | 65 g/hr | 780 ml/hr |
What each input means
- Ride Duration
- Planned ride duration. Nutrition is most critical for rides over 90 minutes.
- Intensity
- Overall ride intensity relative to your FTP. Higher intensity demands more carbohydrate.
- Body Weight
- Your body weight in kilograms. Heavier riders need proportionally more fuel and fluid.
How this is calculated
Worked example, using the default values
- Identify Input ParametersRide Duration = 3, Intensity = 1, Body Weight = 75 = 3 input(s) provided
- Calculate Carbs per HourCarbs per Hour54 = 54
- Calculate Fluid per HourFluid per Hour696 = 696
- Calculate Sodium per HourSodium per Hour536 = 536
- Calculate Total Carbs for RideTotal Carbs for Ride162 = 162
Engine last updated . Checked against 2 independently-derived tests — how we verify calculators. Built by Paul Gunder, a software engineer, not a licensed financial, medical, or legal professional.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why doesn't increasing Ride Duration change my Carbs per Hour target?
Carbs per Hour is an hourly rate derived only from Intensity and Body Weight — it represents how much you should be eating during each hour on the bike, which doesn't change just because the ride is longer. Ride Duration is applied afterward, multiplying that hourly rate into Total Carbs for the whole ride, so a longer ride raises your total fueling need without changing the per-hour pace.
How does Body Weight affect the recommendations?
All three hourly targets — carbs, fluid, and sodium — are scaled from a 70 kg baseline using your weight divided by 70, then clamped to a bounded range (roughly 0.8x to 1.3x for carbs, 0.8x to 1.2x for fluid and sodium) so very light or very heavy riders still get a plausible number rather than one that scales without limit.
What does the Feeding Schedule recommendation mean?
It splits your hourly carb target into evenly spaced feedings — every 15 minutes at Hard intensity, every 20 minutes at Easy or Moderate — so you know roughly how many grams to consume at each interval rather than trying to eat one large amount per hour, which is harder to digest and easier to forget mid-ride.
Is the Caffeine Recommendation adjusted for ride intensity or duration?
No — it's a flat 3-6 mg per kilogram of body weight range regardless of how hard or how long the ride is. That range reflects commonly cited endurance-sports caffeine dosing, typically taken 30-60 minutes before or during long rides, but this calculator doesn't vary it by intensity or duration the way the carb, fluid, and sodium targets are.
Related Calculators
The questions that sit next to this one — chosen by subject, including calculators filed under a different category.
Training Stress Score (TSS) Calculator
Calculate Training Stress Score from normalized power, ride duration, and FTP to quantify workout intensity and plan recovery.
Cycling & Bike TrainingFTP Estimator
Estimate your Functional Threshold Power (FTP) from common test protocols and calculate Coggan power training zones.
Running & Race TrainingUltra Marathon Nutrition Calculator
Plan calories, electrolytes, and fluid intake per hour for ultra marathon distances. Get personalized nutrition targets based on weight, pace, and conditions.
Sports NutritionRace Day Nutrition Calculator
Plan your race fueling strategy — carbs per hour, fluid, gels, and sodium based on distance, pace, and sweat rate.
TriathlonIronman Nutrition Plan Calculator
Calculate hourly calorie, carb, sodium, and fluid intake targets for Ironman and long-course triathlon racing.
More in Sports, Outdoors & Recreation.