For those that have done both, how have they compared? Have you found them comparable? One more accurate than the other? Any insights would be appreciated.
I’ve only once done both tests within about a week of each other. came out within 1w (ramp test first, 20m test second).
I’ve done about a year on TR using the 20 minute test protocol and about a year using the ramp protocol and didn’t notice a big difference. The only thing I didn’t like was in the plans they just straight up swapped out a tough testing session for the ramp test (testing is still training). So I would always follow up a ramp test with a sweet spot 45 minute session, something like Tunnabora -5 or Ericsson -4. That was at TR’s recommendation somewhere on their site or forum, can’t quite remember.
I’ve done more traditional testing, Trainer road 20 and now the over the past year. I get great results and it’s less mentally taxing IMO
For me results from ramp test matched my 20 minute test and the ramp test was so much better as the pain only lasted a few minutes as opposed to the 20 minute test where somewhere shortly after 5 minutes I start dreading it.
Thanks guys!
It may depend on what type of athlete you are. I haven’t done the Trainerroad ones, but have done both on Zwift. I’m more of an endurance guy, and that favors the 20 minute test, where I can sustain my power for a good chunk of time. I found I was around 10 watts higher on the 20’ test as opposed to the ramp test in terms of estimated FTP. That said, I’ve also done longer tests, which are more accurate. I also don’t put too much into FTP tests - what sort of power can you do day-in, day-out over a variety of rides - that gives you a better idea of FTP than any one test.
I’m 205 pounds at 6-2. I’ve been a TR user since they first launched. I road ride some, MTB a lot, and have been a power meter user on most of my bikes for many years. I’ve done the Leadville Trail MTB 100 race and a few other interesting things since 2011 or so.
I can pretty easily do 15-20% higher on the ramp test than I can a 20 minute test. I recently asked about this in the main TrainerRoad thread here and TR does NOT think it’s “normal” for us bigger riders. My theory at first was that bigger folks like me can output higher power levels for shorter periods, but now that I think about it more, I think it’s more because I’m a heavy guy that is mostly a mountain biker. We just have a lot more places where if you want to stay on the bike and not walk, you HAVE to be able to jack to pretty high power levels for short bursts.
The first ramp test I did I thought “cool, my FTP is higher than I thought!” And I re-set my TR FTP to the new number. The next TR workout I did almost killed me in about 15 minutes before I had to turn the power down. Thought it was maybe just a bad day, so I ignored that. Next TR workout was the same. Turned the FTP back down to closer to my last 20 minute test and was fine.
Anyway, I’m typically more a “can go all day, but am never fast” type rider/runner. So I’ve even sometimes felt my FTP from the 20 minute test might be a tad high (that is to say I need a smaller than 95% multiplier from my 20 minute power average). So it shouldn’t be surprising that an even shorter FTP test is even more off.
–Donnie
It may depend on what type of athlete you are. I haven’t done the Trainerroad ones, but have done both on Zwift. I’m more of an endurance guy, and that favors the 20 minute test, where I can sustain my power for a good chunk of time. I found I was around 10 watts higher on the 20’ test as opposed to the ramp test in terms of estimated FTP. That said, I’ve also done longer tests, which are more accurate. I also don’t put too much into FTP tests - what sort of power can you do day-in, day-out over a variety of rides - that gives you a better idea of FTP than any one test.
I’m definitely more of an endurance guy but this year I’ve seriously bonked some 20 minute tests for whatever reason. I know one of the arguments in favor of the ramp test is the shortened time it’s painful and that it doesn’t take as much out of you as the 20 minute minute test. Obviously, the accuracy is always the big question which ties into your final statement. It’s that day to day riding that can give you a clearer picture. I had bonked 2 ftp tests but after the 2nd failed one my coached bumped up my ftp as I was consistently hitting my all my bike workout targets somewhat with ease so I was definitely improving it’s just the tests I couldn’t nail. I’ve definitely read more than a few TR users who don’t even test they just bump up their ftp a few watts every so often and see how the new few weeks of workouts feel.
15 watts lower on the ramp test for me. Despite my size I’m more of a diesel. 125 lbs.
I’ve done both also and found I needed to up the result from the ramp test to 78% of 1 min power. This seems to be close to my 20 min test result. I attribute this to anaerobic contribution on the ramp test… of which I have relatively none.
i’m not a mountain bike rider but am a larger rider (260) and also got an over the top high reading from the ramp test vs 20 minutes
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It may depend on what type of athlete you are. I haven’t done the Trainerroad ones, but have done both on Zwift. I’m more of an endurance guy, and that favors the 20 minute test, where I can sustain my power for a good chunk of time. I found I was around 10 watts higher on the 20’ test as opposed to the ramp test in terms of estimated FTP. That said, I’ve also done longer tests, which are more accurate. I also don’t put too much into FTP tests - what sort of power can you do day-in, day-out over a variety of rides - that gives you a better idea of FTP than any one test.
I’m definitely more of an endurance guy but this year I’ve seriously bonked some 20 minute tests for whatever reason. I know one of the arguments in favor of the ramp test is the shortened time it’s painful and that it doesn’t take as much out of you as the 20 minute minute test. Obviously, the accuracy is always the big question which ties into your final statement. It’s that day to day riding that can give you a clearer picture. I had bonked 2 ftp tests but after the 2nd failed one my coached bumped up my ftp as I was consistently hitting my all my bike workout targets somewhat with ease so I was definitely improving it’s just the tests I couldn’t nail. I’ve definitely read more than a few TR users who don’t even test they just bump up their ftp a few watts every so often and see how the new few weeks of workouts feel.
Ramp tests seem to favor sprinters and people that can put out a lot of power for a short period of time. I am primarily a Crit racer in the summer and train for that event. I can do the ramp test on the trainer in November and come up with a number that I can’t use for any of the FTP based workouts - I die about 3/4 of the way through most - but it is an impressive number.
15 watts lower on the ramp test for me. Despite my size I’m more of a diesel. 125 lbs.
Same here, about 15 watts, 132 lbs.