CO2 Saved by Cycling Calculator
Enter the car miles you replace with riding, your grid's carbon intensity, and your e-bike's energy use to see the net CO2 you cut each year — in kilograms, trees, and gallons of fuel.
Small rides, real carbon cuts
Short car trips are among the most carbon-intensive miles we drive — the engine is cold, the distances are exactly the ones a bike covers easily, and they repeat every single day. Swapping even a handful of those weekly car miles for e-bike rides adds up to hundreds of kilograms of CO2 a year, and unlike offsets it's a cut you make directly.
See the money side with the Commute Cost Savings Calculator, and how far your battery takes you with the E-Bike Range Calculator.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much CO2 does a car mile actually emit?
An average petrol passenger car emits roughly 400 grams of CO2 per mile from the tailpipe (the EPA puts the US average around 400 g/mi, or about 0.89 lb). Bigger or older vehicles emit more, small efficient ones less. Enter your own figure if you know it; the default reflects a typical car so the estimate is realistic for a mixed fleet.
Isn't an e-bike zero-carbon?
Not quite — but close. Charging draws electricity, and that carries your grid's carbon intensity. The energy involved is tiny: an e-bike uses on the order of 15 Wh per mile, so even on a dirty grid the charging emissions are a small fraction of a car's tailpipe. This calculator subtracts that charging carbon so the saving you see is the honest net figure, not an exaggeration.
What is the grid intensity I should enter?
It's how many grams of CO2 your electricity supplier emits per kilowatt-hour, and it varies enormously — a hydro- or nuclear-heavy grid might be under 100 g/kWh, a coal-heavy one over 600. Regional averages are published by grid operators and energy agencies. A cleaner grid means your e-bike charging carbon is smaller and your net saving is larger.
What do the trees and gallons figures mean?
They're relatable equivalents for the abstract kilograms. A mature tree absorbs very roughly 21 kg of CO2 a year, so dividing your saving by that shows how many trees' worth of annual absorption you're matching. The gallons figure converts the avoided driving emissions using the standard 8.887 kg of CO2 per gallon of gasoline burned. Both are illustrations to make the number tangible.
Estimates only, based on regional-average emission factors and your inputs. Actual emissions vary with your vehicle, grid, and mileage.