Originally Posted by
Seattle Forrest
Keep in mind the reason power meters work so well for calories is that the variation between cyclists in efficiency is really small.
You are right. An untrained cyclist burns more calories in an activity though because of wasted motion that has little to no effect propelling the vehicle. Force x distance = work remains true for calories actually expended moving the vehicle some distance. For that, a powermeter is indispensible. It's the economy of motion that a trained cyclist has refined for higher efficiency. This is why a powermeter & a heart rate moniter in isolation only give estimates, but together yield a much more accurate picture of the demand actually being placed. An athletes efficiency or lack of it in a given task will be shown by the oxygen use &/or distribution within the athletes body. I miss the days Strava said I burned a thousand calories an hour.
Speaking of peer-review...This thread is doing a pretty good job of tearing this study apart!