diff --git a/lib/src/onehz/workout/calories.dart b/lib/src/onehz/workout/calories.dart
index dbf4a1c..b5855b7 100644
--- a/lib/src/onehz/workout/calories.dart
+++ b/lib/src/onehz/workout/calories.dart
@@ -91,6 +91,16 @@ class Calories {
   /// 60 s/min × 4.184 kJ/kcal.
   static const double workoutDivisor = 251.04;
 
+  /// How long one HR sample may stand in for when the next one is late.
+  ///
+  /// Named rather than left as a default-parameter literal because it is not
+  /// only this package's business: a caller scoring a bout live, sample by
+  /// sample, has to give up at the same point as the re-score of the same
+  /// stream, or the two disagree by whatever a dropout ran over. A default
+  /// argument cannot be referenced from outside, so the two copies of `150.0`
+  /// drifted apart by construction.
+  static const double defaultMergeGapCapS = 150.0;
+
   static CalorieCoeffs resolveCoeffs(String sex) {
     switch (sex.toLowerCase()) {
       case 'male':
@@ -210,8 +220,9 @@ class Calories {
   }
 
   /// Estimate (kcal, kJ) for a workout bout. Each sample is weighted by the
-  /// ELAPSED time to the next sample (capped at [mergeGapCapS] = mergeGapS, 150 s),
-  /// so a sparse stream is counted over real seconds.
+  /// ELAPSED time to the next sample (capped at [mergeGapCapS], which defaults
+  /// to [defaultMergeGapCapS] = 150 s), so a sparse stream is counted over real
+  /// seconds.
   ///
   /// [hrTsSec]/[hrBpm] are the bout's HR samples (timestamps in SECONDS, same
   /// length). [hrmax]/[restingHr] anchors (null → 220 / 60 fallback, flagged
@@ -223,7 +234,7 @@ class Calories {
     required WorkoutUserProfile profile,
     double? hrmax,
     double? restingHr,
-    double mergeGapCapS = 150.0,
+    double mergeGapCapS = defaultMergeGapCapS,
   }) {
     final weightKg = profile.weightKg > 0 ? profile.weightKg : 70.0;
     final heightCm = profile.heightCm > 0 ? profile.heightCm : 170.0;
diff --git a/lib/src/onehz/workout/workout_detect.dart b/lib/src/onehz/workout/workout_detect.dart
index 79f4556..86e969a 100644
--- a/lib/src/onehz/workout/workout_detect.dart
+++ b/lib/src/onehz/workout/workout_detect.dart
@@ -414,7 +414,17 @@ class WorkoutDetector {
           profile: profile,
           hrmax: effMaxHR,
           restingHr: restHR,
-          mergeGapCapS: mergeGapS,
+          // The published cap, not this class's split threshold. They are the
+          // same number today, but they are not the same quantity, and the cap
+          // really can bind inside a detected bout: [bridgeGapS] is twice
+          // [mergeGapS], so _bridgeRuns stitches an HR-free dropout of up to
+          // 300 s into one bout. A bout straddling a ~252 s dropout measures
+          // 324.62 kcal capped against 349.44 uncapped — 7.1%. Restating one
+          // constant as the other would mean a later move of the cap silently
+          // rescored auto-detected bouts against a value the live gauge and
+          // manual_session no longer use, which is the whole reason both sides
+          // read the same constant.
+          mergeGapCapS: Calories.defaultMergeGapCapS,
         );
         kcal = cal.kcal;
         kj = cal.kj;
diff --git a/test/onehz/workout_test.dart b/test/onehz/workout_test.dart
index 5bb45d9..7fc683b 100644
--- a/test/onehz/workout_test.dart
+++ b/test/onehz/workout_test.dart
@@ -352,6 +352,74 @@ void main() {
     });
   });
 
+  test('a bridged dropout is billed at the published cap, through detect()', () {
+    // The reason detect() reads Calories.defaultMergeGapCapS rather than its own
+    // mergeGapS: bridgeGapS is TWICE mergeGapS, so _bridgeRuns stitches an
+    // HR-free dropout of up to 300 s into a single bout, and the cap really does
+    // bind inside one. Everything else about the cap is tested against
+    // estimateBoutCalories directly, which cannot observe that the detector
+    // passes the right constant.
+    const gapS = 252; // > the 150 s cap, < the 300 s bridge window
+    final hrTs = <int>[];
+    final hrBpm = <double>[];
+    for (var t = 0; t < 600; t++) {
+      hrTs.add(t);
+      hrBpm.add(150);
+    }
+    for (var t = 600 + gapS; t < 1200 + gapS; t++) {
+      hrTs.add(t);
+      hrBpm.add(150);
+    }
+    // Motion has to stay above the gate across the gap or the runs never merge.
+    final gTs = <int>[];
+    final gx = <double>[], gy = <double>[], gz = <double>[];
+    for (var t = 0; t < 1200 + gapS; t++) {
+      gTs.add(t);
+      gx.add(t.isEven ? 0.0 : 0.6);
+      gy.add(0);
+      gz.add(1);
+    }
+
+    const profile =
+        WorkoutUserProfile(weightKg: 75, heightCm: 178, age: 30, sex: 'male');
+    final out = WorkoutDetector.detect(
+      hrTs: hrTs,
+      hrBpm: hrBpm,
+      gravTs: gTs,
+      gx: gx,
+      gy: gy,
+      gz: gz,
+      maxHR: 190,
+      restingHR: 60,
+      profile: profile,
+    );
+
+    expect(out, hasLength(1), reason: 'the dropout must be bridged, not split');
+    final session = out.first;
+
+    // Score the same samples both ways. The detector must match the capped one.
+    double score(double cap) => Calories.estimateBoutCalories(
+          hrTs,
+          hrBpm,
+          profile: profile,
+          hrmax: 190,
+          restingHr: 60,
+          mergeGapCapS: cap,
+        ).kcal;
+
+    final capped = score(Calories.defaultMergeGapCapS);
+    final uncapped = score(gapS.toDouble() + 1);
+
+    // Not exact: detect() prices its own bout window, which the run boundaries
+    // trim by a sample or two against the raw stream scored here — worth a few
+    // tenths of a kcal. The capped and uncapped figures are ~24 kcal apart, so
+    // a 2 kcal tolerance still tells them apart by an order of magnitude.
+    expect(uncapped - capped, greaterThan(20.0),
+        reason: 'if these converge the assertions below prove nothing');
+    expect((session.caloriesKcal! - capped).abs(), lessThan(2.0));
+    expect((session.caloriesKcal! - uncapped).abs(), greaterThan(20.0));
+  });
+
   group('Calories (Keytel + Harris–Benedict)', () {
     test('male/female coefficients differ; active > resting', () {
       // 10 min @ 150 bpm, 1 Hz.