I am by no means a fit cyclist and been generally happy seeing ftp rise from low 200s to 260 ish over 6 months. However, after a race or two this week its jumped to 290+. Did work hard dont get me wrong but…
Strikes me that this is very wrong.
Do people generally reset the ftp when this sort of thing happens. Ftp test 3 weeks ago set it at 265 or so
Hi @Paul_Lineham, welcome to the forums.
What trainer do you use? If it is accurate and calibrated, then it could be legitimate? What is your w/kg at an FTP of 290?
It’s an elite directo.
Will check tonight after work re measurements.
@Paul_Lineham
Did you get the indication of an FTP rise at the end of an activity via Zwift’s automatic detection? According to an article in Zwift Insider about how Zwift does this: “Your FTP value is calculated at the end of your ride as 95% of your highest 20-minute average power.”
If you put in a particularly stellar performance during a race, that estimation by Zwift is a possibility, even if it seems huge. If you’ve been putting in the work and actually feel much stronger at the moment, that’s great.
If you aren’t comfortable with that value, it’s worth running through the calibration protocol for your Elite trainer – as @Mike_Rowe1 alluded to – and then taking the same FTP test that you’ve done previously (when you’re well rested, as I’m sure you know already) to put your mind at ease. You can always manually modify your FTP value in Zwift and Zwift Power, if you desire.
Let’s not forget that, in the end, our FTP numbers are abstract values. Different test methods (Zwift estimation versus Zwift FTP ramp test versus a full hour FTP test) will inevitably return different numbers because they measure performance differently, even on the same equipment. If you can exclude the likelihood of the equipment that you’re using having lost accuracy, use the test of your choice to consistently track the changes in your abilities. Ride on!
Hi Paul.
Looking at your profile on Zwift power you hade to good 20 min power efforts lately:
12 sep 287w = FTP 270w
19 sep 299w = FTP 284w
So I would think that is close to correct.
BUT: those were short races and tot in a controlled situation. I prefer a controlled situation (ie FTP test) or a hour test. Try some workouts and see if it is in the correct ball park. FTP only matter in workouts.
Ta all for feedback.
Will check the trainer and take advice. Thanks
If you are taking your bike on and off the trainer regularly you are going to want to calibrate it each time in the MyETraining app before riding on Zwift.
p.s. ride the bike for 10mins before attempting calibration as the trainer needs to warm up a bit to get a more accurate reading.
You wouldn’t have to be what you might consider a ‘fit’ cyclist to get to 290w if you are, how to put this politely, on the larger side. If you’ve been riding for 6 months plus and are, say, up towards 100kg, then it’s ~3.0wkg which is plenty believable for somebody taking it serious enough to do multiple ftp tests and races.