Help me understand why my FTP test was so annoying

General Discussion
1

So I tried my first FTP test today (I chose Short FTP Test) and it was supremely annoying to the point where I just stopped and went on a free ride.

When I went to start my FTP was set at 240. As that seemed high, I lowered it and started in ERG mode.

First it wanted me to hold 50w at 90 strokes a minute - literally impossible. Then by the time I got up to speed and needed to produce real watts, I was on my last gear (smallest cog) and just spinning out.

Did I mess up by lowering the FTP?

I did a spin down calibration right before taking the test.

Maybe I should try a ramp test instead?

Thanks in advance

2

Are you sure you were in erg mode? When in erg mode the trainer resistance should change automatically with gear and cadence to produce the specified wattage.

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3

I think maybe the problem was ERG mode combined with lowering the FTP and then me trying to compensate by pushing a heavier gear and then running out of gears/spinning out?

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4

Hi Federico!

ERG mode can take some getting used to if your not used to it. I’ll be happy to provide some guidance on it though.

  • Make sure ERG mode is turned on, there is a check box on the workout select screen when a controllable trainer is selected
  • Keep the gear neutral (as straight as possible)
  • Find a comfortable cadence. Even if the screen says 90RPM, just find a comfortable cadence
  • If you feel the resistance is too low in the intervals leading up to the free ride segment, your FTP is currently too low. you may want to do a ramp test to get your FTP in the general ballpark of accurate, then wait a day or two to do the FTP Test.
    *Alternative to the Ramp Test, is lower your FTP to a point you know is lower then it should be, and then do some free rides around Watopia, and let our system Estimate your FTP based on your free ride efforts. This requires the rides be at least 20 minutes so we can get a CP20 recorded, longer gives it more data to work with for a max FTP. Then doing the FTP Test.

I hope this helps you get your FTP set accurately!

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5

Many thanks.

I’ll try all of that tomorrow. So it sounds like the 240 starting number was calculated from my previous FreeRides?

What do you mean by a neutral gear? Middle of the cassette kinda thing?

6

One more Tip.

Once you get to the 20 minute test part, you can increase the trainer resistance using the incline button on the companion app, or the arrow buttons on the onscreen menu or the ± buttons on your keyboard.

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