My first FTP test seemed a little odd

Bugs and Support
1

I’ve been riding my Kickr Shift since December every couple of days and I took my first FTP test.

For the first 10 minutes there seemed to be zero resistance, and my legs could barely pedal fast enough to go over 120 watts. No amount of mokeying with the gears changed anything (unhelpfully, the UI doesn’t show gears).

Then I moved my hands up to the metal and suddenly resistance kicked in, but it seemed random. It went up and down without touching the gears, and I was on a flat course (6 Train, NYC). The resistance rapidly dropped so low that I could barely turn the pedals without standing on them, then they jumped up to zero resistance for a while. The gears sometimes worked, but the response felt sluggish.

Are FTP tests supposed to hit users with random amounts of resistance? Are the rubber handles somehow sensitive to grips? If so, I haven’t noticed it until now and I’m level 25.

It evened out in the last 5 minutes, so I’m wondering if there’s a setting I haven’t noticed yet. This is also my first workout (I do group rides exclusively), so I could be doing something wrong.

If anyone has pointers, I’m happy to learn from an elder. :slight_smile:

2

go to Zwift Insider and put FTP into the search engine - lots of good stuff will turn up

3

Hi @John_Staats

Welcome to the forums! I’m Haziel from Zwift, and I truly appreciate you reaching out with your inquiry. I understand that you’re looking to learn more about the FTP test, and I’m here to help.

The workouts you’ll encounter are structured around intervals with specific power targets, typically measured in watts or as a percentage of your FTP (Functional Threshold Power).

Zwift uses visual cues, like colored blocks on a graph, to show the intensity of each interval, so as you mentioned you can feel the change between each block some are easy and others will challenge you.

If you’re looking for more detailed information, I highly recommend checking out this article about FTP Tests. It could provide some valuable insights for you.

Please take a look at this article, and if you have more questions, don’t hesitate to contact us.

4

Surely you mean the resistance ramped up so much you could barely turn the pedals?