Heart Rate Zone Calculator
Enter your age to get your maximum heart rate, threshold HR, and five cycling training zones in beats per minute. Know your real max? Use it for sharper numbers.
Leave blank to estimate from your age.
The basics
Cycling heart rate zones explained
Estimate from your age
Your maximum heart rate is set mostly by age, so a quick estimate — 208 − 0.7 × your age — gets you close. From there, threshold heart rate (LTHR) sits around 88% of max, and your five training zones are defined as bands beneath it. That’s enough to start pacing rides by heart rate today.
The five heart rate zones
Z1 Recovery and Z2 Aerobic build your endurance base and should make up most of your riding. Z3 Tempo is steady, moderately hard work. Z4 Sub-Threshold sits just under your limit and lifts your threshold, while Z5 Supra-Threshold is the short, hard efforts above it.
Test for your true numbers
Age formulas are a starting point, not gospel — real max HR varies by 10-15 bpm between people of the same age, and threshold HR shifts with fitness. A short field test gives you accurate values. In Ride Cave, setting your LTHR builds these zones automatically and every workout can target them.
Frequently asked questions
How do I calculate my heart rate zones for cycling?
Start from your maximum heart rate — estimated from your age or measured — then set zones as a percentage of your threshold heart rate (LTHR), which is roughly 88% of max HR. This calculator does that for you and returns five training zones in beats per minute.
What is a good maximum heart rate?
Max HR is mostly a function of age, not fitness, so there is no "good" or "bad" value. The common estimate is 208 − 0.7 × age (Tanaka), but individuals vary by 10-15 bpm, so a measured max from a hard effort is more accurate.
Should cycling heart rate zones use max HR or threshold HR?
Threshold-based zones (a percentage of your lactate threshold heart rate, LTHR) track training intensity more accurately than raw percentage-of-max, which is why Ride Cave and most structured plans use them. If you know your LTHR, use it directly for the most accurate zones.
How accurate is an age-estimated max heart rate?
The age formula gets most people within about 10-15 bpm. It is a solid starting point, but for precise zones do a short field test — a 20-30 minute all-out effort — and use your measured numbers instead.