Finding Your Threshold Pace

To calculate your threshold pace, you need to find the highest intensity you can sustain for about 60 minutes. Since riding at your absolute limit for an hour is mentally and physically exhausting, most cyclists use a shorter test—like a 20-minute all-out effort—and then multiply that result by 0.95 to estimate their threshold.

Think of your threshold as your "diesel engine" speed. It’s that point where your legs start to burn, your breathing gets heavy, but you can still keep going if you grit your teeth. Knowing this number is the secret to making sure your hard rides are hard enough and your easy rides are actually recovery.

The 20-Minute Power Test

This is the gold standard for most riders. You’ll need a power meter or a smart trainer for this one.

Warm up: Spend 15–20 minutes spinning easy, including a few 1-minute hard efforts to wake up your legs.
The Test: Ride as hard as you can for 20 minutes. You want to finish feeling like you couldn't have gone one second longer.
The Math: Take your average power for those 20 minutes and multiply it by 0.95.
Example: If you averaged 250W, your threshold (FTP) is 238W.

The Ramp Test

If the idea of a 20-minute suffer-fest sounds miserable, try a Ramp Test. Many indoor training apps like Zwift or TrainerRoad have these built-in.

How it works: You start at a very low power and the resistance increases every minute.
The Goal: Keep pedaling until your legs literally stop turning.
The Math: Take the power from your best (last) full minute and multiply it by 0.75.
Example: If your final minute was 320W, your threshold is 240W.

Calculating by Heart Rate

If you don't have a power meter, you can use your Heart Rate (LTHR). This is just as effective for setting your training zones.

The Test: Do the same 20-minute all-out effort mentioned above.
The Math: Look at your average heart rate for the last 15 minutes of that 20-minute effort.
Why this works: It takes a few minutes for your heart rate to "catch up" to your effort, so the last 15 minutes give the most accurate reading of your threshold.

The "Talk Test" (No Gadgets Required)

If you’re out on the road and want to know if you’re at threshold right now, try to speak a full sentence.

Below Threshold: You can speak in full sentences comfortably.
At Threshold: You can only manage 3 to 4 words at a time (e.g., "Pass... the... water").
Above Threshold: You’re gasping for air and can't speak at all.

Why this matters for YOUR training

Once you have this number, you stop guessing. If your threshold is 200W, you know that a "Sweet Spot" workout should be right around 180W.

Without this number, you’ll likely ride too hard on your easy days (staying tired) and too easy on your hard days (not getting faster). Pick one of these tests and do it this week—it's the quickest way to level up your cycling.

Summary

20-Minute Test: Average power x 0.95.
Ramp Test: Max 1-minute power x 0.75.
Heart Rate: Average HR of the last 15 minutes of a 20-minute max effort.
The Goal: Use these numbers to set your zones and train with purpose.