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Zone 2 Calculator for Cyclists

Zone 2 is 56–75% of your FTP, or 69–83% of your threshold heart rate. Enter your numbers to get your exact range and a sensible weekly split. Wondering whether Zone 2 or sweet spot is the better use of your time? Read Zone 2 vs sweet spot.

Your numbers
Watts
bpm
h
Your Zone 2
123–165W
114–137 bpm69–83% of threshold heart rate

That’s 56–75% of your FTP. It should feel easy enough to talk in full sentences. If your heart rate keeps climbing on a steady ride, ease off toward the lower end.

Easy riding per week4 h 48 min
Hard riding per week1 h 12 min
Sweet spot, for comparison194–207 W

Weekly split uses the 80/20 polarized model by time. Sweet spot is 88–94% of FTP.

What Zone 2 is

Zone 2 is steady, easy riding: Andy Coggan’s Endurance level, at 56–75% of FTP. Physiologists place it at or just below your first lactate threshold (LT1), the point where blood lactate starts to rise above resting levels. It feels like a pace you could hold for hours while still chatting.

Zone 2 isn’t magic. A 2025 review in Sports Medicine found no good evidence that it is better than harder riding for building mitochondria. Its real value is volume: you can ride a lot of it, day after day, without the fatigue that harder work brings.

Three ways to find your Zone 2

  1. Power (best): 56–75% of FTP. Don’t know your FTP? Use the FTP calculator and FTP test guide.
  2. Heart rate: 69–83% of threshold heart rate, or about 60–70% of max heart rate if that’s all you have.
  3. Feel: you can talk in full sentences. If you can only manage a few words, ease off.

On long rides, heart rate tends to creep up even at the same power. If it keeps rising, drop toward the lower end of your power range.

Frequently asked questions

How do I calculate my Zone 2 power?+

Multiply your FTP by 0.56 and by 0.75. Those two numbers are the bottom and top of Zone 2 (Coggan’s Endurance level). With an FTP of 220 W, Zone 2 is about 123 to 165 W.

What heart rate is Zone 2?+

If you know your lactate threshold heart rate (LTHR), Zone 2 is 69–83% of it. If you only know your maximum heart rate, 60–70% of max is a common rough guide, but it is less precise because max heart rate varies a lot between riders.

Should I use power or heart rate for Zone 2?+

Use power if you have it, because it responds instantly and doesn’t drift with heat, caffeine or fatigue. Heart rate is a useful second check: if it keeps climbing during a steady ride, you are probably at the top of Zone 2 or above it.

How do I know I’m really in Zone 2 without any numbers?+

Use the talk test. In Zone 2 you can speak in full sentences and breathe through your nose most of the time. If you can only manage a few words, you have drifted into tempo.

How much Zone 2 should I ride?+

Many well-trained endurance athletes do roughly 80% of their training at low intensity and 20% hard. Studies in trained cyclists found that kind of polarized split improved fitness more than threshold-heavy training. If you ride fewer than about five hours a week, keep some harder sessions in, because easy volume alone won’t do much at low volume.

Sources

Training by heart rate? If you have a heart condition or take medication that affects heart rate, check with your doctor first.