Now that youre knowledgeable enough to open your own fan store, lets take a look at a few notable models considered the best fans for indoor cycling. Much like the Vacmaster, the Headwind is powerful enough to be uncomfortable for all but the hardest efforts in average room temperature environments. Ok, this one is obvious, but still effective. And for longer/harder efforts I have a tall fan without much power that I setup to the side of me to get my side/back. Using the inbuilt thermal energy transfer sensing capabilities, the test results were fed into Cores analysis software allowing us to accurately determine and compare thermal properties. Both are on remote switches. Dont expect a ton of power from this fan (~600CFM), but thats not the point. Before we take a look at the best indoor cycling fans the home appliance kind, not the ones who cheer for youlets get educated. I have a Lasko directly in front aimed at my chest and such that my face/head gets hit at the edge of the blast where the speed is lower. As many of us have experienced, the bodys ability to dissipate heat is limited. The rate at which water leaves through the drain corresponds to the heat transfer to the environment. And while it may cool your back, dont expect your core temperature to get as low as you would with a tower, pedestal, or floor fan. Headband for sweat and gloves for comfort. I used to have one of the Lasko on my back but I felt like it wasnt doing much and competing with the one in front. The fan is much larger overall and with relatively huge blades it looks impressive too. For indoor cycling fans, the speed is slightly more important than the volumeas were not moving around at all, a focused airflow works well. Fans #2, #3 and #4 exhibited a similar effect on cooling (+57%, +55% and +57% respectively) compared to no fan and as a result are fairly comparable.. Installation (if you dont already have one) is super tough, and while they move a lot of air, oftentimes the sheer speed of a standard ceiling fan isnt enough for indoor cycling. Before delving into the results, it is worth remembering my testing was over a single, 30-minute period of steady state efforts for each fan. Training in a well-ventilated area with a lower room temperature is key in creating conditions in which the body can perform adequately. Unless youre hardcore enough to put your trainer or stationary bike out in the snow, theres a good chance that youll be heating up in the first ten minutes and doused in sweat until you stop. The relatively restricted three-position setup is the only negative I could point to in the Cardio54. Zahner likened the heat transfer coefficient to pouring water into a sink and the rate at which the water can drain. I can stay cool enough for anything but on longer indoor rides my chamois can get soaked and at times that is a limiter. Also, bladeless fans tend to be quieter than bladed fans, but not always. Bear in mind that many fans are built to cool an entire room, not necessarily a single person doing something super hot in one part of it. Last but not least I simply had to include the Wahoo Headwind given its status as probably the best-known fan in the indoor cycling space. I then partnered with Swiss company Core, manufacturers of the core body temperature sensor, to test the effectiveness of each fan. Use a ceiling fan in combination with one of the previously mentioned models for better results. Is this what cycling has come to, paying for headwinds? We decided to explore whether calculating each fans heat transfer coefficient could quantify its heat transfer capability. Or to go back to our analogy, I wasnt pouring enough water into the sink. Many of the details in this section are included for reference and comparison to other fans you may be considering. Most riders will agree that a good fan is an absolute must, but with so many different shapes, sizes, types, and prices, it can be difficult to determine which fan is right for you. When the intensity ramps up, the high-speed airflow of the max setting is like a godsend. More often, though, and especially when mismanaged, this heat build-up is detrimental to training at best and even quite dangerous, causing severe heat exhaustion, among other harmful side effects. Keep the wind in your sails, at whatever speed you want, by getting a fan with a remote. Ive turned them on independently and marked their positions with pencil so its dialed if they get moved. Due to the rather short measurement period, this increase in core body temperature was not visible yet, but the effects on average energy transfer were already clear to see. CFM stands for Cubic Feet per Minute and measures the volume of airflow a fan pushes over time. Humans are great at thermoregulation compared to other species. Ask A Gear Guru: Should I Buy Supershoes. Search floor fan, desk fan, or table fan online, and you could be scrolling through the results for a week. As such, it is not designed to generate high wind speeds. If youve been fortunate enough to ride outside this summer and fall, the cold, hard reality of wintertime is slowly approaching, and as the days get shorter, the wind gets windier, and the weather gets gnarly, its time to head back inside for some self-induced trainer quarantining. On a scale of 1-10, I noted my perceived thermal heat stress at the end of each 30-minute test. These findings are particularly interesting given how they relate to my subjective scoring during the testing. I have one powerful guy infront of my front wheel blasting up at my chest. I felt very little benefit from the barely noticeably wind speed from the 9 desk fan, whereas the two top fans left me almost shivering with the wind chill. I assessed each fan across a series of tests and measures. The much larger blades and power do create an uplift in airspeed compared to the basic fan. The Vacmasters relatively small footprint and shape are an added bonus for those stuck for space. This Black & Decker is a noticeable upgrade from the basic fan above. With that said, you may find yourself setting it on high more than anything else, making the high price tag feel a bit tough to swallow. Wikipedia lists the heat transfer coefficient as theproportionality constantbetween theheat fluxand the thermodynamic driving force for the flow of heat (i.e. I used six individual but identical pairs of Pactimo Ascent Vector bib shorts and Pactimo summer socks, and rode topless throughout to ensure consistency throughout the tests. In first and second place were the Vacmaster Cardio54 and the Wahoo Headwind. Floor fans are also a good choice if you have a temporary setup, as they take up way less space than other fans. First, I selected a generic 9 desk fan, commonly seen in indoor setups around the world. The rate at which you pour water into the sink corresponds to the waste heat you generate within the body during exercise. Nowadays we can enjoy smart trainers, virtual worlds, and even artificially intelligent training plans. We hypothesised that, under our test conditions, the stronger fans assisted the body in maxing out at the same energy transfer level simply because I had reached a steady-state where the body was capable of dissipating 100% of the waste heat it generated for the short duration of our tests. Also bear in mind that a fan with more CFM might do more than simply cool your face or torso, it might also move enough air to get your legs, your back, any papers you have lying around, or whatever. The Black & Decker (Fan #2) is still performing much better than my subjective conclusions conveyed, but it has notably dropped behind the Vacmaster and the Wahoo. Aerodynamics, much like CFM, are much harder to subjectively quantify but can have a bigger impact on performance. Also, be sure to keep an eye on the little ones, as the blades could be a real hazard. I wanted to test if its sheer size still makes it useful for indoor training. In third place in my list is the Black & Decker fan, representing the circulator fan family. The Wahoos heart rate and speed link are neat features, and the speed setting helps boost the immersive feeling of Zwift. I used this fan, along with at least two others, for much of my indoor training during our first COVID lockdown. I positioned the six, specially calibrated Core sensors on specific parts of my body: the side of my torso, back of my torso, my head, upper arm, and thigh. If youre someone who trains indoors a lot, you know that it can take forever to set up your workout space properly and little interruptions during your ride can really take the wind out of your sails (literally). Its the kind of fan you might find in many homes or offices. Even fans with a targeted blast might not be ideal for indoor cycling if the angle and direction of the fan is blocked by your riding accoutrements. As mentioned in our perfect pain cave series, a fan is essential when riding indoors and both my subjective ratings and the Core testing have confirmed this. Its far from cheap, but I guess connectivity and dedicated design dont come cheap. All that said, the Vacmaster, at half the price of the Wahoo and, crucially, with its push-button remote control, edges it into first place for me. Specifically shaped to a cyclists body, this Bluetooth- and ANT+-enabled smartfan can be controlled by the factors mentioned above or manually via a smartphone. Dont need it at my face as I usually wear a headband to soak up the sweat there. Both fans were vast improvements over the 9 and the Black & Decker. Somewhat more interestingly though, Zahner found almost identical results between the Black & Decker, the Vacmaster Cardio54, and the Wahoo Headwind. Outdoors, the cooling effect of air moving over the body compliments this natural ability. In the weaker fan and no fan tests think smaller-diameter sinkhole the lack of cooling assistance meant I could only dissipate part of the heat build-up to the environment, with the remainder contributing to a slowly increasing core body temperature. In this case, the same principles were applied to evaluate and comparedifferent fans as a source of external cooling. Unfortunately, not all fans come with a decibel rating, but unless youre comfortable wearing headphones while you train or (God forbid!) Indoors we lack that natural cooling airflow, and thats where problems arise. The Headwind is the first fan specifically designed for indoor cycling. Small one top right points at face. Whether it be a hard climb on a stiflingly hot day outdoors or a hard indoor session, the heat build-up eventually becomes too much for the body to dissipate. Adjusting fan speed with sweaty fingers on a locked touchscreen device just complicates the process. Though indoor training has become decidedly more fun in the last few years, its still really really hard and really really sweaty. While pedestal fans work well, they can be slightly limiting if you want your airflow to hit your core and the stand is too high and unadjustable. The Air Mover is a very powerful fan and the addition of remote speed adjustment makes for easy adjustment of the airflow as required. However, being designed for cyclists means any oversights another fan may be forgiven for are harder to look past on the Headwind. I like air moving over my face but not at full on Lasko force. One thing I think would be great would be some way to get a focused beam of air right on my seat/chamois that would keep things down there dry. Additional fans dont add anything for me, and I dont want full blast in my face. Repeats of old races were about as interactive as indoor riding got. This battery-powered fan is not only portable (battery not included, though), but it cools you a claimed 28 times more than air alone by channeling water up into the fan either via a hose or a 5-gallon bucket. I first noted and measured each fans price, speed settings, wattage use, ease of use, noise level, size, wind speed, and measured CFM to determine the easily distinguishable characteristics of each fan. Again, longer or more intense tests might have produced further separation or closer alignment between any of the fans. As Zahner explained, heat transfer coefficient is used in mechanical engineering to quantify how well a surface can transfer heat. The advantage of using this coefficient is that it incorporates both differences in skin temperature as well as differences in heat transfer. Lasko type / Cleva at torso only. The Wahoo Headwind was a close second, so it makes sense both of these produced similar results with the Core sensor testing. Lots of volume and no speed? This makes it clear now why the better fans max out if the drain is large enough to drain all the water you put in, even increasing the pipe diameter will not let more water through. Second best is a 20" floor fan, but mounted on the wall and angled down. When training indoors, we want, as much as possible, to replicate the same cooling airflow we get over the body when riding outdoors. The circulator performed much better than anticipated in the testing with the current protocol. Gallery: What data screens do Tour de France riders have on their head units? When going on drops I get the upper body covered, but its not hitting the face. If you have an awkward space or crowded trainer desk you might find it a little challenging to get the right angle for airflow onto your body. For instance, if youre looking for the best fan for Peloton, Echelon, or home SoulCycle, youll likely be dealing with a big screen right in front of your face/body. I have it at handlebars level, about 1.5m away (bit cramped space unfortunately). As previously mentioned, Cores research and development engineer, Michele Zahner, could only identify the fans by the numbers one, two, three, and four. I have tried running both at the same time and the fan mounted on the wall doesnt seem to add much. Bonus: The mister is great for outdoor events, and the battery works with the Ryobi tool ecosystem. Ok, the price tag is a little shocking, but this fan has it all: excellent aesthetics, decent cooling, air purification, and even heating. Looking then at the heat transfer coefficient we can see the no fan and Fan #1 tests are still rooted to the bottom of the results. Core regularly conducts similar tests with some of the most elite athletes in the world such as the Olympic gold medal-winning Norwegian triathlon team and sports clothing brands to assess the cooling capabilities of their fabrics. Undoubtedly we could have easily determined whether the storm-like air movers such as the Vacmaster and Wahoo are better for indoor training than a 9 desk fan without a full day of testing. With a claimed 35dB output, this pedestal fan is super quiet, but still puts out nearly 2,500CFM at the highest setting (35dB is at low). So not only does this indicate the speed of the air coming out of the fan, but it also tells you how much air is being moved. Furthermore, used as an air circulator as intended, in combination with any of the top two fans on this list, it can ensure the room will stay fresher, while the fans we are about to look at can focus on keeping you cooler. The airspeed and cooling effects were much less than you might anticipate given the sheer size of the fan. On average, the use of a fan led to 52% higher heat dissipation from the body than not using a fan. These are an excellent option if you want the fan at face height but dont have a spot to place a floor fan up high. When we exercise, we accumulate heat within our body. RELATED: Triathletes Guide to Indoor Training. While it was fine for short easy rides in cooler conditions, it simply cant offer the airspeed or channelled airflow to create any real cooling effect when the hammer goes down. The box fan is aimed at my legs not because they necessarily need special cooling but because it gives me a great way to modulate the amount of cooling in combo with the Lasko by turning them on or off. We picked these four fans specifically because 1) they represent the fan types I most often see riders using and 2) we all want to know if the dedicated fans are worth the extra money. Ive already mentioned the lack of remote, but I would also like to see Wahoo include fan speed control in its Elemnt head units. As such, it would be impossible to review and rate every fan on the market. Though its sold as a floor fan, this monster can also be mounted on a wall and has a wide range of manual rotation. Sticking with the basic skin temperature, energy transfer, and core temperature data, Zahner found the 9 desk fan to be the least effective. In this analogy, heat transfer coefficient would correspond to the diameter of the drain pipe. However, taking the first step in front of the Black & Decker at full power I was somewhat underwhelmed. A good fan is essential for indoor riding, but what makes a fan good? The Black & Decker fans intended use is for air circulation purposes. Given the desk fan is the smallest on the test, with the lowest wind speed, this is hardly surprising. Depending on the setup of your room, this could mean a fan with a stand or a smaller fan that can be placed on a shelf (or a combination of fans). Im very limited on room behind my trainer though. the temperature difference, T) or in our case, heat flux (heat transfer) divided by skin temperature minus air temperature, expressed in watts per squared meter kelvin: W/(m2K). Moving on to the tests from the Core sensor data and the results are not quite so clear-cut. The Cardio54 Gym Floor Fan is a workout-specific offering from the vacuum cleaner and fan specialists, Vacmaster. While there arent a ton of bladeless fans out there, the best indoor cycling fan for your home situation may be ones with safety in mind. For this reason, I included a large circulator fan from Black & Decker. While Wahoo doesnt provide CFM measurements for this fan (they would likely be low as the fan only moves a very specific amount of air the size of the athletes body), obviously 30mph is a good midrange for what youd feel outside. A Deep Dive Into The New Quintana Roo X-PR, A Deep Dive Into The New Ventum One Tri Bike, Meet the French Artist Transforming Tri Helmets into Masterpieces, Riding with a Power Meter Will Supercharge Your Training, Three Easy Ways to Improve Your Indoor Cycling Power. Upon completing all tests I exported all the sensor data and training files, including power and heart rate data, to Core for analysis. The Vacmaster Cardio54 and the Wahoo Headwind stand as clear leaders in the heat transfer coefficient results and are still almost inseparable as was the case in the initial results. This fan seems to have a somehow more focused airstream. This is a popular option as it can be aimed in any direction, is often very powerful, and offers some very quiet models. I have Lasko type only and find it works best for me pointing at torso. For access to all of our training, gear, and race coverage, plus exclusive training plans, FinisherPix photos, event discounts, and GPS apps, Lastly, I took numerous subjective measures of each fans performance during the testing and over longer-term general trainer use. Maybe its focusing on cooling the body parts that need it the most?. The safest option by far is to get a bladeless fan, but be sure it pumps out enough air to properly cool you. Think: A floor fan jammed onto a spike. Each test was numbered 1-6 (four with fans, two without) to ensure Cores research and development engineer Michele Zahner didnt know the identity of each fan when analysing the data. The max speed could have me almost shivering at low ride intensity or when just getting warmed up, so the potential for improved cooling during the hardest efforts is there. Dysons purification filter is unmatched and this fan is WiFi compatible, so you can change settings via your smartphone and even monitor your training areas air quality with a handy LCD screen on the fan or in the app. Or maybe youre one of the millions of Peloton, Echelon, or home SoulCycle converts finding the challenge of an inside ride at home. I generally do the first 5 minutes with no fan, then add in the box fan, then turn on the Lasko at around 10 minutes or so. Indoor training has changed radically over the past decade. The latest and greatest in indoor training tech from Eurobike 2022, Elite's new Aria is the smartest and most adjustable fan we have seen. Room temperature and humidity were closely monitored using a Govee ambient sensor to ensure conditions remained stable through the test. In contrast to skin temperature and heart rate, energy transfer is much less sensitive to fluctuations in ambient temperature. The narrow rectangular opening channels the gale-force-seven wind speed directly at the rider. With specific protocols and managed correctly, this increased heat andcore body temperaturein training canresult in performance gainson race day. This is great for slightly cooling a big room or circulating air for another reasonlike drying out a wet areabut it might not be the best fan for indoor cycling as it probably wont make much of an impact on your core temperature. Train smarter, race faster, and crush your tri goals. One word of caution though, double the fans means double the power usage, and no one is a fan of higher electricity bills. This keeps the air on me, and only me, whether Im up on the bullhorns or down in aero position. However, if you increase the water input, jamming will occur at some point even for the larger diameters. Zahner looked at the average energy transfer for the final 10-minute periods of each test. Indeed, it is significantly better than the fans I have previously used for an entire winter of indoor training. I also have a 20" box fan on one side that it aimed at my hips and legs. As such, we wanted to determine the variation, if any, in key response metrics from fan to fan and the benefit of any fan versus no fan at all. The fan has no visible or external moving blades or parts. While there are a million shapes and sizes, weve listed a few common types below to help you find your best fan for cycling indoors: This style is a good choice for athletes looking to ride inside as its shape matches the profile of a cyclist. Beyond that, we plan to conduct follow-up Core testing at higher intensities or longer test durations on the top three fans to clarify the cooling potential during these harder efforts. Much like wind speed, we can subjectively measure weight quite easily. That said, I felt noticeably hotter for the same effort in the same environment when using the circulator. Many triathletes will train inside because theyve got little ones at home that need to be monitored while they crank out a gnarly threshold workout. All joking aside, the Wahoo Headwind includes several trainer-friendly features. The small remote clips directly to the handlebars or trainer desk for quick and easy on/off and speed setting adjustment. Ive got 2 fans, one Lasko like (the UK one) and one 20 floor fan, both at the floor level and pointed at me on each side of the front wheel. I personally like the Laskos at 10 and 2 oclock pointing up mostly at my torso. Lets start with my subjective analysis. If the sink is not capable of draining all the water you put in, the water level (= body temperature) will rise. This is a good choice if youre able to still be outside or in an environment that you can get wet, but wont work at all for something like your living room. Starting with the most obvious results, Zahner found the data clearly shows using any fan is much better than no fan. What the Black & Decker lacks in airspeed it makes up for in CFM. While not the biggest fan on our test, the shape and weight of the Headwind mean it will require a dedicated storage place; something to keep in mind if you are working out in a confined space. By taking the room temperature from our Govee sensor and applying the formula to our data we start to see a separation in fan performance. The higher the average energy transfer bar the better the cooling. So strong is the airflow, I most often kept the fan off, or on the lowest setting, until well into my spin when I had completely warmed up. That is the question, Wahoo acquires RGT virtual cycling platform, folds into new Wahoo X subscription, Wahoo releases Powrlink Zero pedals and Rollr trainer. I was wondering if raising one of them would be better for cooling or if I should point one to the legs as they are both now targetting the face+torso. In third place in my perceived testing scores was the Black & Decker, leaving me feeling hot and thus scoring a five. At 1,801 ft/min the Black & Decker has more than treble the CFM of the Vacmaster in second place. The body has a natural ability to dissipate this heat through conduction, convection, radiation, and evaporation through sweating. While the first three features may seem obvious, heating actually isnt the worst thing to have at the start of a chilly garage-bound workout. So important is keeping cool that I put fans as thenumber one essential accessoryin myperfect pain cave series. Does anyone know whats the optimal fan position to optimize cooling? We had planned to conduct follow-up testing and will do so in future, but that has been significantly delayed by my current injury. Based on my subjective rating for each fan during the testing and over a longer period of indoor riding, I believe follow-up testing with longer or more intense riding might further separate the fans, but more on this later. As already mentioned, the sheer number of fans on offer makes it impossible to test them all. Unsurprisingly, the 9 desk fan fared quite poorly in this measure, scoring only slightly better than no fan at all. Its not so long ago a blank wall was the most common form of trainer entertainment. Yes, the Headwind adapts automatically, but I prefer to adjust the speed manually and touchscreens do not play ball with my sweaty paws. I have my lasko pro fans at 10 and 2 and lasko cyclone (my first fan, its large but not good) at 12 oclock . Second place for me goes to the Wahoo Headwind. As previously mentioned, some of the fans on test are representations of countless other very similar, sometimes identical, fans on the market. The first 10 minutes of the Cardio54 and Headwind tests were actually uncomfortably cold as I tried to warm up with the top two fans on full power. While designed to continuously measure core body temperature, the Core sensor is also suitable for measuringtheeffectiveness of insulating or cooling properties of clothing. I opted for exercise-specific options to fill the final two spots in the test. This fan puts out a staggering amount of air (3,100-3,400CFM) and comes in at under $100.