Ramp Test Protocol Enforcement / Cheating?

General Discussion
1

I got a new power meter on my bike so thought I’d do a ramp test to baseline my FTP with it.

I just about managed to get through the 300w minute (averaging 309w) but when that finished I blew up as I started the 320w minute. So I backed off and the Zwift ‘End Test?’ question popped up. After a 5s breather I spun up again to 180w but then had to stop again for 10s+ to catch more breath. I was 20s-30s through the minute by this point so I just dug super deep and went for another minute at 325w+ average for a zwift-claimed FTP of 241w (325 x 0.75)

But a friend of mine said this breaks the ramp test protocol and will give an inaccurate result. You’re not supposed to backoff / stop at all for any kind of recovery/breather. The test is supposed to stop as soon as you blow up.

Is that true? If so should Zwift only post the ‘End Test?’ message for just say 2-3 seconds? Or even at all (just end the test as soon as you stop pedalling / power goes to 0, even for 1 second) ?

Thoughts ?

2

Your friend is correct.

This may help.

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2 Likes
3

Thanks! I think what threw me is – Zwift asks you if you want to stop the test … rather than just stopping it when you blow up (as per the proper ramp test protocol). Not a big deal in itself but I wonder how many folks have misunderstood this and ended up with a higher FTP as a result …