Botched Ramp test I think

I misunderstood and thought the workout would stop on it’s own, I guess I was supposed to stop manually? I struggled through like 4 minutes barely turning pedals, FTP came out 241, I’m currently 263 and feel good completing the workouts at 263, I feel 241 would be too easy. Is the 241 score because I kept struggling through at a very low watt/cadence for 4 minutes? I’m talking barely turning pedals at a certain point, Haha! I guess I’ll try again tomorrow to see for sure but if anyone knows let me know! Thanks

The formula is approximately .75 * (highest 1 min power), so you might be able to look at the workout and set your own FTP. This would beat taking another test.

Email support@trainerroad.com and they will make sure you get the proper FTP.

you can calculate your ramp test results by hand…

let’s say your last completed ramp step was 340W…then you held on for 45 seconds into the next ramp step which was 355W. Your ramp test result would be:

[340W + (355W-340W)*(45/60)]*0.75 = 263W

The trick for you will be picking the spot where you felt like you were no longer holding the target power for the ramp step.

All that math is unnecessary.

Just find the best 1-minute power for the workout and multiply that number by 0.75 to get your estimated FTP.

There are some other calculations that can come into play if you spike too much at the end, but if you have a normal ride, the 0.75 multiplication is usually correct.

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Ha! Well, first of all, only if you consider that a lot of math! :roll_eyes: It’s pretty simple…just prorate the step size. If you made it half way through the step, add half the step size. If you made 1/3 through the step, add 1/3 the step size.

Second, if you want to ignore the extra 5,6,7,8,9 watts of FTP in that last partial ramp step…you only cheat yourself. :rofl: Oh my gosh. What a patronizing thing to type. I feel like a high school guidance counselor.

But, anyhow, if you want to calculate ramp test results, that’s how to do it. If you wanna just SWAG it that’s OK, too. You’ll probably enjoy your over/under workouts a LOT MORE than I’ll enjoy mine. :smirk:

Not sure how you can take such offense to 5 simple words? They weren’t meant in any negative way, as you seem to have taken them.

They are just meant to indicate that the total equation you are showing is unnecessary because of how TR made the test and calculation:

  1. The basic TrainerRoad calculation is based on the simple 1-min power x 0.75 to get FTP.
  2. This works and effectively includes any and all parts of a power step, assuming that the person is still pushing power that raises the 1-minute power data point.
  3. Because they did it that way, that does not ignore any extra watts in any part of a ramp, no matter how long or short.
  4. It has been this way from the very start of the ramp test beta process. The only thing that has changed is the actual multiplier value. It started at 0.78 and got reduced to 0.75 as they reviewed tests and following workouts.

These examples show the basic calculation and results, without any extra data gathered or used in the equation.


  1. This is the reason I said the other math is not needed. It is a simple equation where all you need to do is use the PR chart, grab one value (best 1-m pwr), and run the calculation.
  2. The other parts of your equation may yield the same answer, but with more work.
  3. My whole point was that TR made it super simple and all you need to do is find one number from the test. There is no need to do the additional work to prorate steps for the step differentials, no matter what point you end the test.
  4. Importantly, there is absolutely no SWAG involved.
  5. I have used the TR values for great success, even for over-unders.
  6. This is exactly how TR calculates the FTP, it’s not my personal take on it in any way.
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I thought that it didn’t matter what power you do after your 1 minute peak, you could carry on going at 50W for 10 minutes if you wanted. The 1 minute peak remains unchanged and will give you your calculated FTP.

Have I missed something?

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You are correct. The only thing that really matters is the best 1-minute power.

Anything after that is irrelevant to the FTP value. The only exception is that of you somehow put in a big power spike near the end, they do some magic to level it a bit.

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Thanks everyone, I guess my FTP actually is 241 then… My 263 was calculated on Zwift, but not sure I wanna drop the workouts to 241… I’ve been doing sweet spot pretty well at 263 for two months and feel good. I think the Zwift test did not take 75% but not sure… either way I’ll hit it again tomorrow just to be sure, I already did by workouts for the week so this is just extra anyway.

Did you perform the 20 minute steady-state test in Zwift, or take their automatic update from a race or hard ride?

It was definitely a Zwift test, I’ll have to check back to see what type, but I remember it being longer than 20 minutes for sure… Thanks for the help man! Do you think I should stay at the lower FTP?

I’m not offended. So rest easy.

@monts, if it was me I would just pick one of the numbers and jump into the workouts. You’ll soon know if it’s too high or low. Based on this just adjust it manually and then smash the test next time.

Hi Chad this 1 min power is when doing the Ramp test correct ? or can you take a 1 minute Personal record and apply this formula ?

Right, this only applies for the ramp test. Someone’s fresh 1 minute power could be completely different. The ramp test formula is calculated using your prior depletion.

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It has to be the best 1 min effort from the ramp test rather than your 1 minute power PB.

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Thanks, i thought so !

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As stated correctly above, the best 1-minute power MUST be from a Ramp test.

It is NOT acceptable to use the value from any other ride or workout.

There is deliberate purpose to the structure of the ramp test process and the value as captured from the best 1-m power.

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What happens if you sandbag the steps up to the last minute and then you “gun it”? I guess this is the power spike you refer to in this thread.

Would you end up with a higher estimated FTP that likely overestimates your actual FTP?