spelger

i'm reading a lot about using a fan to help with sweating. the use of a fan is not going to change that. if you are working hard you will sweat no matter the temperature. the fan is all about cooling, doing the job of evaporating sweat like the wind would do when out on the road. you can sweat all day long but if it does not evaporate you will not cool and you will fatigue much sooner. i am in a garage in the 40s and i still run a fan. i start it on setting 1 and move up from there pretty quickly. if i forget to increase fan speed i am noticeably lethargic.

nomadmax 

genejockey 

It would be a hell of a fan if it cooled you so well that you didn't sweat! Perhaps if humans were equipped with finned heat sinks........

Eric F 

I felt largely the same way until I started using the Zwift app with a "smart" trainer. For me, the social aspect of riding is a big factor. On Zwift, I can ride in a virtual world with other real riders in real time. Sometimes I prefer it to riding alone IRL. During the week, the schedule of my job and family mandates that my only time for riding is in the evenings. I'm not a fan of riding in the dark and/or cold, so my indoor setup is very valuable to my fitness routine.

gthomson

Regarding the importance of the fan to cool the body down and whether it helps to prevent sweating brings up the question, why do I not sweat any where near the same amount riding in real life? Only on the hottest days of the summer do I actually notice I am sweating while riding. Stopping is a different story and that's usually when the sweat starts to pour. Does the wind evaporate it all or does moisture get more absorbed outside then inside ? If so, amazing.

genejockey 

On hot days out here, it's usually also low humidity. I don't notice sweating but I do notice the accumulation of gritty patches on my skin, like at the temples, for example. And on rides like that I lose 5 or more pounds sometimes, so clearly I was sweating and it was evaporating. My usual Zwift session, with fans, I lose about 2 lbs or more in a 60-90 minute session.

spelger

if sweat is evaporated at the same rate as it is produced does that mean you do not sweat? just because you cannot see it does not mean you don't sweat. you sweat the same amount (give or take). on some rides when i weighed myself before and after i have lost over 4 lbs but my clothes and skin both were relatively dry, expect for my bandana under my helmet and cap which is protected from the wind. that is like 1/2 a gallon of water.

caloso

It seems pretty clear to me that we sweat, but don't experience sweating, when it's hot and low humidity because it evaporates instantly. Especially when we're riding. spegler knows what I'm talking about.

DeadGrandpa

I actually had to Google Zwift. All I know about modern trainers comes from the Peloton commercials, but it looks like they really fill a need, especially for folks with a lifestyle like yours. So, do you have fans producing suitable windage while you train?

Eric F 

My earlier fan comment about a tailwind was a joke. I use a 22" multi-speed floor fan set to the left and in front of my front wheel, pointed up at my chest and face. It does the job for me.

surak

The answer is in the article I previously mentioned. Highlights the vast differece in air movement experienced outdoors vs indoors.

gthomson

Good article and brings to light the importance of that fan! It still amazes me how much sweat gets wicked off the body when riding outside and how much it doesn't when Zwifting! I have a small turbo fan that I blast in my face and upper body but maybe need to level up. The other strange thing which I know is not good is I don't drink a ton when I'm riding. I know that's bad and I have to remind myself to drink when I'm out on longer rides but it's a struggle for me and not sure why.

During the day, working at my desk I probably drink 2 litres every day.

Marylander

Here on the east coast we sweat almost as much riding outside. I wonder what low humidity feels like. I'm just glad I don't live further south.

spelger

here in Reno it fluctuates between 20% and 40%. only my head drips because i wear a ball cap and bandana underneath and not much windage there. the rest of me feels like nothing much. but based on rides i did years ago i would routinely lose about 4lbs due to sweating, not to mention the weight of water i took in.

mr_pedro

Our body's cooling mechanism when hot is to bring blood close to the surface of the skin and let evaporating sweat extract heat.
Problem is that blood is also responsible to bring oxygen to the muscles for power production.

So if we are hot, there is less blood available to go to the muscles and our muscles get less oxygen, which means we can't perform as well.
Now to stay cool it means we must make the sweat evaporate on our skin. A big puddle of sweat on the ground is a bad sign, because if it is not evaporating on the skin it is not cooling us down. That is where the the fans come in.

I started with just the normal fan, that can be seen now at the back on the ground. Then I got the small yellow blower aimed directly at my face. I was still not content, so now I got big brother on the foreground. That might be the only one I need going forward. Especially since I started putting it next to me on the ground pointed straight up at body and face. I can now finally do Sweet Spot and FTP intervals without the puddle of sweat on the ground.

Dirk de Chablis

In the days of old I would alter temp and humidity depending on where I was racing, sometimes this would include putting the heating on to the max, buckets of boiling water and restict my ribcage with cling film to reduce my oxygen intake while doing 800w efforts and 600w recovery as a five hr session. These days I have a fan on and the widow behind me open, without a fan I lose about 1.5kg of fluid. A fan helps your body regulate and also doesn't put it under excess stress

Barry2 

The Kickr Headwind Fan binds to my Kickr Bike and does that automatically. Faster you ride, the harder it blows.
It will also bind with a HR monitor and increase cooling with HR.

But.. it's not an inexpensive solution.

Barry

caloso

We sweat, but since it evaporates instantly, you don't feel it on your skin and it's easy to underestimate your hydration.

genejockey 

Yeah. Even yesterday, when the average temp for my ride was around 61 degrees, I ended up after 3 1/2 hours with gritty salt deposits on my temples and down the sides of my face. Lost 4#, so that's a bit more than 1#/hour. On the trainer, I average 1# every half hour.

onecf

I use a ceiling fan on HIGH and a small oscillator on the floor, also set on HIGH. Temp in the room usually set at 69-71 Fahrenheit.

scottfsmith

I use a Dyson Pure Cool TP01. It is pointed right at me in front on a stand only a few feet away. The main advantage of this unit is it has A/C. My guess is the cooling is similar to a window fan, with less of the feeling like you are in a wind tunnel.

Marylander

I hate reading back and seeing that what I wrote came out differently than I intended. The real point I was wanting to make is that I would like to know what it's like to be in a place where sweating is actually functional. With the humidity we have here you sweat but it doesn't evaporate so much, so you're just left soggy. At least it's better when riding a bike than it is with running. I've been in a dryer environment but just briefly and it was "winter" (in Chile).