Cycling power zones (FTP) calculator
Give your FTP, or the average power of a 20-minute test, and get your cycling power zones in watts, the same six bands our cycling and triathlon plans use, with watts per kilo if you add your weight. An FTP of 250 W, for example, puts endurance rides at 140–190 W and threshold at 240–265 W. Zones are rounded to 5 W, close enough to hold on the road.
How it works
Each zone is a share of your FTP, functional threshold power: roughly the most you could average for about an hour. Without a known FTP, a 20-minute test stands in for it, at 95% of the test's average, because you can hold a little more for 20 minutes than for an hour. Watts are rounded to 5, and W/kg is watts divided by your weight in kilos.
The zones are only as good as the FTP. An old test, a test on a different trainer or power meter, or one paced badly, shifts every zone. If threshold intervals feel impossible or easy, trust the effort words and retest.
- Recovery (Z1): easy spins and the day after a hard session.
- Endurance (Z2): long rides and most of your riding hours.
- Tempo (Z3): steady rides with a purpose, and race effort for the longest events.
- Sweet spot: long, repeatable intervals just under threshold; see sweet spot.
- Threshold (Z4): intervals of roughly 8 to 20 minutes at or near FTP.
- VO2 (Z5): hard efforts of three to five minutes that raise your ceiling.
Power zones by FTP
Endurance, sweet spot and threshold in watts for FTPs from 150 to 400 W, rounded to 5 W.
| FTP | Endurance (Z2) | Sweet spot | Threshold (Z4) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 150 W | 85–115 W | 130–140 W | 145–160 W |
| 175 W | 100–130 W | 155–165 W | 165–185 W |
| 200 W | 110–150 W | 175–190 W | 190–210 W |
| 225 W | 125–170 W | 200–210 W | 215–235 W |
| 250 W | 140–190 W | 220–235 W | 240–265 W |
| 275 W | 155–205 W | 240–260 W | 260–290 W |
| 300 W | 170–225 W | 265–280 W | 285–315 W |
| 325 W | 180–245 W | 285–305 W | 310–340 W |
| 350 W | 195–265 W | 310–330 W | 335–370 W |
| 375 W | 210–280 W | 330–355 W | 355–395 W |
| 400 W | 225–300 W | 350–375 W | 380–420 W |
Questions
- How do I test my FTP?
- The classic test: warm up well, including one hard five-minute effort and ten minutes easy after it, then ride 20 minutes as hard as you can hold evenly. Your FTP is about 95% of the average power. A ramp test on a smart trainer is shorter and easier to pace and gives a similar number for most riders. Indoor and outdoor results often differ by a few percent, so test where you do most of your structured riding.
- What is a good FTP?
- Watts per kilo says more than watts alone, above all on climbs. As a rough guide, around 2 W/kg is typical for someone new to riding, around 3 W/kg for a regular club rider, and 4 W/kg or more for a strong, well-trained amateur. Age, sex and years of riding move these a lot. The FTP that matters is yours, and whether it is going up.
- How often should I retest my FTP?
- Every six to eight weeks during a training block, and after a long break. Retest sooner if your sessions start to feel too easy or impossible to finish, because zones from an old FTP are either holding you back or burying you.
- What is the difference between sweet spot and threshold?
- Sweet spot is 88–94% of FTP and threshold 95–105%. Sweet spot is hard enough to build real fitness but easy enough to ride in long blocks, such as two 20-minute efforts, and recover from by the next day. Threshold is harder: shorter intervals that lift the FTP itself. Long-event training leans on sweet spot; threshold sharpens the top end.
Build a century or fondo plan with these zones
Put your FTP into the plan builder and every ride comes with its target watts, from the same zones as this page, plus the effort it should feel like.