[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"public-library:en-GB:workout:cycling-ramp-test":3},{"slug":4,"sport":5,"category":6,"level":7,"intensity_unit":8,"modified_at":9,"author":10,"head":11,"equipment":14,"sources":17,"content":21,"facts":193,"blocks":497,"related":519},"cycling-ramp-test","cycling","test","beginner","watt","2026-10-25","Pierre Halloo",{"title":12,"description":13},"Ramp test: protocol and the 75% FTP rule","The ramp test step by step: a harder step every minute until you crack, then FTP = 75% of your best minute. About half an hour on the turbo.",[15,16],"smart_trainer","power_meter",[18],{"citation":19,"url":20},"TrainerRoad, Ramp Test: protocol and FTP calculation (TrainerRoad support documentation)",null,{"h1":22,"summary":23,"purpose":34,"execution":65,"feel":87,"mistakes":94,"not_for":131,"faq":138,"evidence":184},"Ramp test: find your FTP one step at a time",{"type":24,"children":25},"root",[26],{"type":27,"tag":28,"props":29,"children":30},"element","p",{},[31],{"type":32,"value":33},"text","The ramp test estimates your FTP with nothing to pace: power rises by 6% of FTP every minute until you crack. Your FTP is 75% of your best minute. About half an hour, and a good choice for a first test.",{"adaptation":35,"for_whom":42,"when":58},{"type":24,"children":36},[37],{"type":27,"tag":28,"props":38,"children":39},{},[40],{"type":32,"value":41},"This test doesn't make you fitter: it measures. It takes you up to your maximal aerobic power, the highest power you can hold for a minute at the end of the ramp, then works out your FTP from it with an average factor of 75%. Because the ramp mostly taxes the top end of your aerobic engine, maximal aerobic power is what it measures best; FTP is an estimate drawn from it, not a direct measurement. The ratio between the two varies from rider to rider, which is why two different tests can hand you two different FTPs.",{"type":24,"children":43},[44],{"type":27,"tag":28,"props":45,"children":46},{},[47,49,56],{"type":32,"value":48},"Any rider with a smart trainer, including for a first test. It is the easiest test to get right: the power is set for you, so there is nothing to pace, you just hang on. Don't know your FTP yet? Enter an estimate: the steps are based on it, and the ramp climbs high enough to cover a guess that's too low. If you are very punchy, or more of a diesel, the ",{"type":27,"tag":50,"props":51,"children":53},"a",{"href":52},"\u002Fen-GB\u002Flibrary\u002Fcycling\u002Ftest\u002Fcycling-ftp-test-20min",[54],{"type":32,"value":55},"20-minute FTP test",{"type":32,"value":57}," will suit your profile better.",{"type":24,"children":59},[60],{"type":27,"tag":28,"props":61,"children":62},{},[63],{"type":32,"value":64},"At the start of a training block, or every 4 to 6 weeks: a common guideline. It is short enough for a weeknight, but still do it fresh, after one or two easy days. Stick with the same turbo and the same test each time: a ramp result and a 20-minute result don't compare directly. Once your FTP is updated, every watt target moves with it.",[66,73,80],{"type":24,"children":67},[68],{"type":27,"tag":28,"props":69,"children":70},{},[71],{"type":32,"value":72},"5 easy minutes at 45–55% of FTP. Short on purpose: the first steps of the ramp are easy enough to finish the job. Use the time to check that ERG mode is on and your trainer is reporting power.",{"type":24,"children":74},[75],{"type":27,"tag":28,"props":76,"children":77},{},[78],{"type":32,"value":79},"One-minute steps, starting at 50% of FTP and rising by 6% of FTP every minute: with an FTP of 250 W, each step is 15 W. The first ten minutes or so are easy; don't use them to push on, let ERG mode set the power. As it gets hard, keep your cadence up: in ERG, a cadence that collapses makes the resistance crushing. Keep going until you can no longer hold the target. If your current FTP is right, that happens around 133% (100 ÷ 75); the ramp goes up to 158% to leave headroom. Note your best minute, usually your last full one.",{"type":24,"children":81},[82],{"type":27,"tag":28,"props":83,"children":84},{},[85],{"type":32,"value":86},"10 very easy minutes at 40–55% of FTP, as soon as you crack: no bonus step for pride. Then the maths: your FTP is 75% of your best minute. 340 W over your last full minute gives an FTP of 255 W.",{"type":24,"children":88},[89],{"type":27,"tag":28,"props":90,"children":91},{},[92],{"type":32,"value":93},"The first ten minutes feel like a warm-up that won't end, then each step bites a little more than the last. The final two or three minutes are maximal: breathing ragged, legs burning, and a strong urge to stop a minute early. Guide: 10 out of 10 at the end. If you stop with something left, your result underestimates your FTP.",[95,104,113,122],{"title":96,"body":97},"Stopping too early",{"type":24,"children":98},[99],{"type":27,"tag":28,"props":100,"children":101},{},[102],{"type":32,"value":103},"The whole result hangs on your last minute. Bailing out a step early knocks a full step off your best minute, and your FTP comes down with it. Keep going until you genuinely can't hold the power.",{"title":105,"body":106},"Letting your cadence drop",{"type":24,"children":107},[108],{"type":27,"tag":28,"props":109,"children":110},{},[111],{"type":32,"value":112},"In ERG mode the trainer holds the power whatever happens: slow down and the resistance rises to make up for it, and you grind to a halt within seconds. When it hurts, spin faster, not slower. The turbo, for its part, never gets tired.",{"title":114,"body":115},"Turning ERG mode off",{"type":24,"children":116},[117],{"type":27,"tag":28,"props":118,"children":119},{},[120],{"type":32,"value":121},"Unlike the 20-minute test, ERG mode is on your side here: it sets every step. Without it you have to chase each target by hand, and the test loses what makes it simple.",{"title":123,"body":124},"Comparing it with another test",{"type":24,"children":125},[126],{"type":27,"tag":28,"props":127,"children":128},{},[129],{"type":32,"value":130},"A ramp FTP and a 20-minute FTP don't come from the same calculation. If your FTP 'drops' when you switch tests, you haven't necessarily lost fitness. Stick with one test to track your progress.",{"prerequisites":132,"avoid_if":135},[133,134],"A smart trainer in ERG mode, or a power meter and a head unit that shows each step.","Being comfortable with a few minutes of maximal effort: the end of the ramp is not up for negotiation.",[136,137],"You did a hard session yesterday.","You are ill, coming back from a break, or unsure about your health: get medical advice before a maximal effort.",[139,148,157,166,175],{"question":140,"answer":141},"How do you calculate FTP from a ramp test?",{"type":24,"children":142},[143],{"type":27,"tag":28,"props":144,"children":145},{},[146],{"type":32,"value":147},"Take your best one-minute power, usually your last full minute, and multiply it by 0.75. 340 W gives an FTP of 255 W. You don't need to finish a step: what counts is your best minute, whether or not it lines up with a full step. The 75% factor is an average, not a constant.",{"question":149,"answer":150},"Why does the ramp test give a different FTP from the 20-minute test?",{"type":24,"children":151},[152],{"type":27,"tag":28,"props":153,"children":154},{},[155],{"type":32,"value":156},"Because it mostly measures your maximal aerobic power, then estimates FTP from it with an average factor. A punchy rider, who can hold a very high minute, often gets an FTP that's too high; a diesel, one that's too low. The 20-minute test, closer to riding at threshold, suits those profiles better.",{"question":158,"answer":159},"Should ERG mode be on during a ramp test?",{"type":24,"children":160},[161],{"type":27,"tag":28,"props":162,"children":163},{},[164],{"type":32,"value":165},"Yes. It sets the power of every step, so there is nothing to pace, only to hold. The catch: if your cadence collapses, the resistance shoots up. Keep spinning briskly to the end, and stop when you can no longer hold the target power.",{"question":167,"answer":168},"How long does a ramp test take?",{"type":24,"children":169},[170],{"type":27,"tag":28,"props":171,"children":172},{},[173],{"type":32,"value":174},"About half an hour: a 5-minute warm-up, the ramp, then a 10-minute cool-down. The ramp lasts as long as you do. If your current FTP is right, you crack at around 133% of it, after roughly 15 minutes of steps; the full session, up to 158%, runs to 34 minutes.",{"question":176,"answer":177},"How often should you redo a ramp test?",{"type":24,"children":178},[179],{"type":27,"tag":28,"props":180,"children":181},{},[182],{"type":32,"value":183},"Every 4 to 6 weeks, or at the start of a block: a common guideline, not a rule drawn from studies. Because it's short, it's tempting to do it more often; better to repeat it in the same conditions (time of day, trainer, level of fatigue) so your results compare.",{"level":185,"text":186},"practice",{"type":24,"children":187},[188],{"type":27,"tag":28,"props":189,"children":190},{},[191],{"type":32,"value":192},"A format popularised by online training platforms, TrainerRoad in particular, which describes a 5-minute warm-up followed by one-minute steps that get harder and harder, with the rule FTP = 75% of your best minute. The step size isn't published: the 50% start, the 6% FTP steps and the cool-down are Wattson choices. No independent study validating the 75% factor was found, and the ratio between maximal aerobic power and FTP varies from rider to rider. Other tests use other factors: 95% of the 20-minute average for Allen and Coggan, 90% over 8 minutes for Carmichael. Bottom line: very widely used, easy to repeat, moderate confidence in the FTP 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