Ramp test finish

Hi, fairly new user here. I have just done a ramp test and when I was done I didn’t stop the test for a bit and I was just wondering if that would affect the result at all, or not ?

Sorry to say but the test is ruined. Start over, or go crop out your final peak minute power and multiply by .75

edit: nvm im wrong

Emoji missing? Because I hope that’s a joke. There is no need to go to that effort.


There is absolutely no “harm” in pedaling further past the peak in the Ramp test. You could theoretically keep going as long as you want, and that won’t change the calculation at the end of the test, when you finally stop pedaling.

It will still find the max 1-minute power automatically (it’s not pinned to the point that you stop pedaling). Then it will perform the 0.75 multiplication on it’s own, which will give you an FTP value. That value is fine to use, no matter how long you pedal after blowing up.


@Anton, if you post a link to your Ramp test (assuming your TR account is Public), we can review it to validate your results.

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I thought for some reason it just took your final minute, not your peak minunte. Oops, that’s embarrasing.

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I hope he’s not halfway through his repeat ramp test :joy:

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@mcneese.chad

Is there anything in the software to prevents someone riding in resistance mode from going way beyond the target power? E.g. target power is 300 watts, rider decides to go 400 for a minute, then gets a recommended [inflated] FTP of 300w, by effectively skipping 5-6 steps in the ramp?

I’ve been doing all my ramp tests in erg mode, so I wouldn’t know.

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There is some more advanced magic / math behind the scenes. I’ve heard that it looks for “spikes” and such and will adjust differently (from the regular 0.75 multiplier) if there are oddities in the test.

I can’t speak to the exact example you mention, but it may well catch that too. We’d need a TR rep with more direct knowledge to address that for certainty.

The “baseline” FTP estimate for the ramp test is computed from peak 1-minute power. The software also looks at some other factors (five-minute power?) to correct this figure if the person deviated from the protocol. (You can actually see this in Jonathan’s most recent ramp test.) IIRC, it’s really engineered around preventing a rocky final minute (like a kick up at the end) from compromising your results. I’m sure you could cheat it with the appropriate protocol. If, for example, it checks that your best five-minute power is equal to your estimated FTP (it should be), you could get 5% higher by skipping all of the steps and just doing 105% of your FTP for four minutes followed by 140% of your FTP for one minute.

I wouldn’t say there’s a lot of value in intentionally tricking the ramp test into giving you a number higher than your FTP, though…

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That leads to the “vanity FTP” where the “owner” ends up dropping workout intensity of every workout 10% :stuck_out_tongue:

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I believe someone asked Nate about this exact thing on a TR podcast, he said it doesn’t affect the result. In fact, I think all of us are hard pressed to properly hit the “end test” button immediately after we hit the wall. Personally I’m gasping for air and backpedaling for a good 5-10 seconds immediately after hitting my limit.

Thanks for the replies and no, thankfully I didn’t do the test again !
I think my account is private but I am reassured now anyway, just a little disappointed that my FTP has only gone up 3 points after my first month on TR.

There is far more to training than FTP. You may well be gaining in other areas where that test does not indicate. Keep a broad perspective when evaluating your fitness against the training.

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I’m 99% sure there is something in the software that accounts for this. In my most recent ramp test, my final 1 minute interval was 407 average with a target power of 404. I shut it down right at the beginning of the next ramp. So, you’d think my FTP would be calculated as 305 (75% of 407). It was calculated as 303 (which is 75% of the target 404). I don’t think it’s coincidence.

Not a big difference, but my guess is that the FTP is calculated based on the lower of:

  • the highest average minute
  • the “target” wattage during the time that you got your highest minute.

That’s just my guess, but it seems like a logical way to prevent “cheating” the test. If it works that way, you get zero benefit from overshooting the wattage target over the course of your highest minute.

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I had a ramp test this morning to start out SSBLV1. My final completed minute target power was 356, actual 377, NP 375. The resulting FTP was 277, which is between 75% of the target and actual (target would have given me 267, actual ~283). So, final recommended FTP was closer to being based on actual power during the final minute than target. I didn’t intentionally game it, I was just at a cadence that was working well for me for the selected gear at that point. Kind of wish I’d tried to go another minute, because the next target was right about the same power as what I had just done (target was 372).

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FWIW I’ve been using TR for about 1.5years and my FTP is 10W up from where i started. However my 4hr power is up about 30W and all my short power numbers are up considerably. Trust the process and the ftp will bump up

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Even if it is all about FTP (and it isn’t as others have said), to put it another way, gaining 3 watts a month will put you at +36 watts in a year’s time, (+72 watts in 2 years?!) sounds good to me!

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All good points and when you put it like that it does sound like progress. I feel encouraged enough to start the payments…

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