Anyone Purchased one of the HeadWinds, yet? I wonder if anyone across the pond can give a good review or comparison to the recommended Lasko. We sadly can’t get the Lasko in the UK.
Already have a 18" floor fan which is okay, which gives 3650m³/hr (according to web site) . Additional to that, I have a Honeywell fan, which is crap. So, it’s either get another 18" Floor fan or a Headwind - Wahoo quote a 30MPH (I guess this is right next to it) - no idea what that equates to. Plus, its a very narrow beam of air, so I wonder if that’s the same as the Lasko. A few reviews report that the HeadWind’s power reduces over a little distance, too…
I don’t have a Headwind, I have 2 of the Laskos. I can’t directly compare, but from watching the videos by @GPLama and DCRainmaker, I think they would perform very similarly, in that they produce a high amount of wind in a narrow column. The Headwind costs a lot more and has the variable speed function, which I think is useless personally. Once I’m in my workout, I just get hotter and sweatier. If I had the Headwind set to some kind of metric, it would start out low for about 5-10 mins then just be on full power for the rest of the workout. So, with the Lasko I just turn it to full to begin with and go for it. If my garage is really cold, I might just do the warmup without fans and then turn them on after 10 mins. I’ve never ever wanted to change the fan speed mid-ride. Maybe others are different, but I just don’t see the value ($250 for the Wahoo and $70 for the Lasko).
I know Lasko aren’t sold in the UK, so make sure you check this thread out:
I’ve measured the Lasko max performance as blowing at 38mph. I use just one of these fans, placed directly in front of my front wheel so it’s air stream hits my head and torso. With this setup, sweat evaporates right away. No sweat drips. I don’t even need a trainer mat or towel.
If you can’t get your hands on a lasko, look for carpet dryer fans. They are the same kind of design as the Lasko (blower fans) and are usually cheaper. The angle of their air stream is not as easily adjustable as the Lasko, but with a few books or boards of wood underneath, you can get the angle you want.
Yeah, I checked that thread out before and it’s sort of covering what I already know. I really was reaching out for a comparison to what is being recommended, but sadly not available in the UK. Since both the Headwind and the Lasko is available in the States, just wanted an opinion
It does look like the Lasko uses a funnel to power the air into a narrow point of air, which I’m guessing is similar to the Headwind.
I’m almost agreeing with the value to HR/power link, although I may use it for recovery of low intensity rides. It is a lot of money for just a Ant+/BT link - I’m guessing that’s where the price is
It may be that the headwind is the best option, they’re nice looking and have a small footprint. I think I would want 2 though and £400 is very expensive.
I did see this which may be another option. A bit cheaper than the Headwind and likely would displace more air over a larger area. You may get away with something like this directly in front of your bike facing up and need only one.
FWIW, I find the variable speed nature of the fan a great feature. The fan on full speed is too much when warming up, or when doing an endurance ride. So it’s nice to have it blowing slower at these times. But when I hit some higher power intervals, nice that the fan automatically adjusts its cooling to how hard I’m working.
True, but I have $150 in my pocket for something else
I’m sure there is a market for people that want the automatic adjustment. I just personally don’t think I would benefit from it, so I don’t want to pay for it. My garage is insulated so doesn’t get below about 60, I can endure 5 mins of cool before I warm up, or set the fan to a low setting if I’m doing a recovery ride or just unclip one leg for 5 secs if I need to adjust.
Most fans overstate the CFM they put out (some by over 2x). So it’s hard to rely on the CFM numbers quoted. A better way I’ve found is to go by the power of the motor, or the electrical power consumed by the fan. For a blower fan, look for about. 1/4hp motor (180W), and/or about 320 electrical watts (1.4 Amps at 230 Volts).
The Lasko has about a 1/7 hp motor. But the design of the Lasko is more efficient that other carpet dryer/blower fans I’ve tried. So would go with at least 1/5hp motor for a non-Lasko blower fan.
Cheers buddy! I’ve ordered the Xpower! Had a look on YouTube and looks fairly good, non pivotable, but has fixed angle of changes.
You’ve saved me a fair bit of dosh today - thanks a bundle
At some point I may get a Lasko or Wahoo fan, but I’m still mainly using an Air King. This used to be the fan the TR guys recommended before the Lasko. It’s big and quite noisy, but it does move a ton of air. I normally sweat a fair bit but the Air King evaporates everything. I’m using the 18 inch version.
Be interesting to hear from someone that switch to a Lasko or Wahoo from the Air King for a comparison.
