Originally Posted by
WhyFi
It really depends on the desired intensity and expected duration of not only the climb but of the rest of your ride, as well. Your FTP is your hour-ish power, so go from there.
My "climbs" are pretty short, so I usually ride them above FTP, unless I have a long day ahead of me. In flat/rolling terrain, I'll often aim for 90% or so for fast-paced rides of up to 3-4 hours. For endurance rides, I'll start out more conservatively.
Just feel it out - it won't take long.
My normal rides are also short climbs so they are above ftp as well but a few times a year we do these six mountain climbs near by and I’ll have to sustain a constant grade of maybe 4% to 8% then down hill and then repeat it works out to little over a century the hardest thing for someone like me is pacing myself. I also have group rides where I’m up front all day or maybe solo endurance ride and would be nice to know a comfort zone if I don’t want to suffer too much that day for what ever reason. I have an idea with watts I guess I just need more time with it