Watts per kg calculator

What watts per kg means

Watts per kg is your power divided by your body weight. Riders call it power to weight. It is the fairest way to compare two riders on a hill, because on a climb you lift your own weight up the slope.

A rider who weighs 60 kg and holds 150 watts has 2.5 watts per kg. A rider who weighs 90 kg needs 225 watts to match them.

What a good FTP is for a beginner

FTP is the most power you can hold for about an hour. On the Coggan chart, many people new to cycling start below 2.23 watts per kg for men and 1.90 for women. That is a normal place to begin. People who ride now and then often sit at about 2 to 2.5 watts per kg.

In watts, the first level runs up to about 178 watts for a man who weighs 80 kg. For a woman who weighs 65 kg, it runs up to about 123 watts. FTP often rises fast in the first months of regular riding.

On a climb, power to weight matters more than raw watts. Couch to Climb gives you a step by step plan to ride a famous climb with no stops, on a smart trainer at home.

About the levels

The numbers are the chart's own. The level names here are kinder words for the chart's labels, which run from untrained to superior. The chart is for FTP, so type your FTP for a fair match. Your average power on a normal ride will be lower.

Where the numbers come from

• The levels are from Hunter Allen and Andrew Coggan, Training and Racing with a Power Meter (VeloPress, 2010). Garmin prints them in its Edge 530 manual.
• The range for people who ride now and then is from Roadman Cycling.
• How much FTP can rise is from Carmichael Training Systems.