RideScore™

What Is RideScore™?

RideScore™ is RideTool's primary metric. It combines three dimensions of your training into a single 0–100 score that answers: are you on track?

The formula weights each component:

RCS (Ride Consistency Score) — 40% of RideScore™
RVS (Ride Volume Score) — 35% of RideScore™
CTL momentum (Getting Fitter) — 25% of RideScore™

RideScore™ = (RCS x 0.40) + (RVS x 0.35) + (CTL_momentum x 0.25)

A high RideScore™ means you're showing up consistently, putting in the hours, and your fitness is trending in the right direction. A dropping score tells you something needs attention — maybe you're skipping rides, cutting volume, or your training load is stalling.

RCS — Ride Consistency Score (40%)

RCS measures one thing: are you showing up?

It looks at how many times you ride per week, compares it to your own typical pattern, and gives you a score from 0 to 100. If you normally ride 3 times a week and you've been hitting that number, your RCS will be high. If you've been skipping rides, it'll drop.

Key point: RCS is relative to YOU, not anyone else. Someone who rides twice a week can have the same RCS as someone who rides six times a week — as long as both are consistent with their own pattern.

RVS — Ride Volume Score (35%)

RVS measures are you putting in the time?

Instead of counting rides, RVS looks at total hours on the bike each week compared to your typical volume. If you normally ride 5 hours a week and you've been hitting that, your RVS will be high.

Getting Fitter — CTL Momentum (25%)

The third component of RideScore™ tracks whether your long-term fitness (CTL) is moving in the right direction. It compares your current CTL to where it was recently and assigns one of five modes:

Comeback — You're back after time off and building momentum. Ring stays green — always forward.
Dialed In — Fresh and fit. Your scores are protected during intentional rest.
Building — CTL is rising steadily. You're gaining fitness.
Maintaining — CTL is holding steady. You're keeping what you've built.
Regressing — CTL is trending down. More time on the bike will turn this around.

Comeback and building score highest. Dialed In holds your score steady during planned rest. Maintaining keeps your base intact. Regressing signals it's time to get back on the bike.

How RCS and RVS Are Calculated

Both scores work the same way:

RideTool looks back 4-8 weeks (depending on how long you've been using it)
It calculates your typical rides per week (RCS) or hours per week (RVS)
Each week gets a score: actual / typical x 100, capped at 100
Your final score is the average across all weeks

Calibration Period

When you're new to RideTool, your scores show as "calibrating" until the system has enough data to establish your pattern. This usually takes about 4 weeks of riding. During calibration, you'll still see scores — they're just marked as preliminary.

TSS — Training Stress Score

The RideScore™ tab also shows your 8-week average TSS per week — a stable measure of your typical training load that doesn't reset every Monday. A trend arrow shows whether last week was above or below your average. Below it, a bar chart shows your TSS trend over the last 8 weeks.

TSS is calculated from power data when available (the gold standard), or estimated from heart rate using the TRIMP formula when you don't have a power meter. Either way, higher TSS means a harder week of training. Your TSS card shows a load category based on your weekly total:

< 150 — Recovery
150–300 — Light
300–450 — Moderate
450–600 — High
600–800 — Very High
800+ — Extreme

Tip: To get TSS from heart rate, set your resting and max heart rate in Account Settings → Athlete Profile, then hit Rebuild Fitness Stats. Without these settings, RideTool uses defaults (resting 60, max 190).

FAQ

Why is my RCS low even though I ride hard?

RCS doesn't care about intensity — it only tracks frequency. You could do the hardest ride of your life, but if you only rode once this week when you usually ride four times, your RCS will still drop. For intensity tracking, check your fitness metrics.

Why is my RVS different from my RCS?

RCS counts rides, RVS counts hours. If you did fewer rides but each one was longer than usual, your RCS might drop while your RVS stays high (or even goes up). Time in the saddle as they say.

How is TSS calculated?

RideTool uses a four-tier signal hierarchy for Training Stress Score, picking the most accurate source available:

Power TSS — from normalized power and FTP (most accurate, requires a power meter)
Power-only TSS — from average watts when normalized power isn't available
hrTSS — estimated from heart rate data using the TRIMP formula (requires HR monitor)
dTSS — estimated from ride duration and elevation gain (always available as a fallback)

Every ride gets a TSS value. If your rides have power data, the score will be more accurate. Adding a heart rate monitor improves estimates for rides without power. Even without either, dTSS ensures your training load is always tracked.

If you recently set your heart rate settings (resting HR, max HR) in Account, hit Rebuild Fitness Stats to backfill improved TSS on your existing rides.