Unsupported Dumb Trainer to Smart Trainer - Ramp Test

Training
1

I am currently on a dumb, unsupported trainer and I’m about to make the switch to a smart trainer. Using my current setup, my FTP is set at 99. I’m not sure how accurate this is as I am on an unsupported trainer after all. I think it is a low estimate.

I’m going to do an FTP test when I get my new smart trainer set up. Do I need to adjust my FTP before I take the ramp test?

2

Hi. Shouldn’t make great deal of difference as will just mean test goes on longer/ is shorter if current ftp is off.

Might be worth having a bit of an estimate though - are you a man or a woman? How old? How lomg been training? Do you know ftp of any friends and are you similar/bit weaker/bit stronger then them? 99w is quite low but all relative to size/age/gender etc

I’d be tempted to put it at about 180-200w if male and see how you go

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3

For new users, TR sets the default FTP based on 2.0 watts per kilogram.

So, take your weight in kilograms and multiply by 2.0 and use that for your FTP

  • Ex: 2.0 w/kg X 68 kg = 136 watts

You can do this and adjust the 2.0 w/kg if you think you are higher or lower than that.

In general, setting a lower FTP is probably preferred and will just make the test a bit longer.

4

I’m a 28 year old male. I’ve been riding for 6 years and training for about 2 now. I’m about 73 kg, so I might set my FTP to 146 as Chad suggests.

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5

2 w per kg is good start point, however 28yr old male, riding 6 yrs, training for 2 - likely to be underestimate…However as Chad says above - better estimate bit low and just make test last bit longer. I’d imagine ftp will be over 200 though given history and age

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6

TR set my FTP @142 for my first ramp test.

45 minutes later…

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7

Outliers… they exist.

8

Use VAM from outdoor rides to estimate your power for a given time period. That will allow you to get a pretty decent ball park for your FTP. Eg if you have power from VAM for an 8 minute hill climb, take that power number and multiply by 0.9 to estimate FTP.

https://www.cyclingpowerlab.com/VAM.aspx

9

I just wanted to follow up with what I did:

I manually set my FTP to 150 and did a ramp test that lasted 36 minutes and resulted in an FTP of 227.

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