Bike power zone calculator
Five bike power zones from your FTP, a 20-minute test or a ramp test.
Your zones will appear here.
How to get your numbers
20-minute test
Ride 15-20 minutes easy with 3 x 1 minute at high cadence, then 5 minutes hard and 5-10 minutes easy. Now ride 20 minutes all-out but evenly paced, and enter the average power of that 20-minute segment, not the whole ride. Your FTP is 95% of it.
Ramp test
Ride 10 minutes easy, then 1-minute steps that get harder each minute until you can't hold the power. Enter your best minute. Your FTP is 75% of it. It's simple to pace, so it suits newer riders.
What you'll need
A power meter or a smart trainer that reads power. Use the same one each time, so your numbers compare.
Got your numbers? Put them on your Garmin, Wahoo or COROS
Only do hard tests when you're fit and well. If you have a heart condition or any doubts, check with your doctor first.
How this is worked out
The zones
Each zone is a percentage of your FTP, and these are the zones we coach with. Zone 1 is up to 55%, zone 2 is 55 to 75%, zone 3 is 75 to 90%, zone 4 is 90 to 105%, and zone 5 is above 105%.
The sum
Watts = FTP x percentage, to the nearest watt. With an FTP of 240 W, the top of zone 2 is 240 x 0.75 = 180 W.
FTP from a test
FTP is the power you could hold for about an hour. We take it as 95% of a 20-minute test's average power, or 75% of a ramp test's best minute.
Why other calculators differ
There is no single standard for training zones. Calculators differ in how many zones they use, where they draw the lines, whether a percentage is of speed or of pace, and what test they count as threshold. Two can both be sensible and still give noticeably different numbers. Pick one set and stick with it, so your training stays consistent.