Best Fans For Indoor Cycling: No More Sweaty Workouts!

If you’ve cycled indoors without a fan, you’ll have quickly learned that you need one. But which one?

To help you save time, I’ve tested, researched, and come up with a wide selection of the best fans for indoor cycling, so you don’t have to!

Don’t want to read everything? My favorite is the Wahoo Kickr Headwind Fan. The technology in this thing is impressive. Get more airflow when you work harder? Bliss!

After a few more choices? Keep reading, and stay cool! 💨💨💨

Summary of the Best Fans for Indoor Cycling

Detailed Reviews of the Best Fans for Indoor Cycling

The Wahoo KICKR fan is the only fan in this roundup specifically designed for indoor cycling.

This fan can produce over 30mph wind speed, keeping you cool even during your most brutal efforts.

Not only that, this wind speed is targeted. You got it: targeted for cyclists. The airflow is designed to mirror the shape and position of a cyclist, so it’s getting where you want it to be. This can’t be said for many fans. They aren’t designed with cyclists in mind.

If you like technology, then this appeals to you. The Wahoo KICKR HEADWIND can be controlled by how hard you’re working.

What do I mean by that?

You can directly pair the HEADWIND to your ANT+ speed sensor, heart rate monitor, or smart trainer. Once connected, the fan will increase its speed as your heart rate or speed increases.

You can control the fan speeds using a dedicated app if that doesn’t appeal to you. And if that doesn’t suit you, you can manually control the KICKR HEADWIND using a button. Very accommodating!

Manual controls are buttons with four preprogrammed fan speeds so you can find your ideal airflow.

Overall, the Wahoo KICKR HEADWIND is a fantastic bit of technology, and it’s designed with us cyclists in mind. It’s pricier than the other fans on this list, but it does offer more.

The Vornado 660 fan is designed to sit on the floor or a desk. Now, it might look relatively small, but it’s designed to circulate air in the entire room, being able to move air up to 100 feet.

That sounds impressive, right?

The reality is more like 20 feet, but that should be enough for most indoor cyclists!

The Vornado has four-speed settings, and when you have it on its highest setting, it will provide enough cool air for a large room.

One thing to note is that when it is in its highest setting, it does produce some degree of noise, as you’d expect. It’s not horribly loud, but you certainly notice this.

This type of thing doesn’t bother me when I’m indoor cycling. I just want to keep cool, but it’s worth mentioning!

The Vornado 660 fan works well to circulate cool air in all directions. This means that it won’t direct cool air in one direction. Some people might like this, some might not. You do you! 

Moving onto the build quality, I have to say it’s superb and has a premium feel. Build quality is important as fans for indoor cycling are likely to get a lot of use at high settings in sweaty rooms, so it’s nice to know that the Vornado 660 fan should be more than up to the job.

The SkyGenius mini desk fan offers extremely portable and directional airflow. This fan is designed to clip onto a surface or stand up independently. In that sense, it offers versatility that other fans can’t.

With the SkyGenius fan, you also get the added benefit of battery-powered, so you don’t need to worry about where you will plug it.

In terms of battery duration, you’re looking at around an hour. It will be sufficient for some people, and other riders who prefer longer rides might want to connect it to a power bank so you don’t have to consider battery life.

Charging it is simple: USB charging, just like your smartphone.

The power it delivers is surprisingly decent. I wouldn’t say it will be fantastic if you’re going full gas, but it will certainly offer some relief.

I do like how sturdy this fan is. It’s the type of fan you’ll throw in your luggage to take away when traveling without worrying about breaking.

Overall, if you produce a lot of heat, you might not find this fan alone to do the job. Still, it’s a great addition and will provide you with some excellent additional cool airflow.

Alright, so if you’re looking for something stylish, you’ll want to look at the Honeywell QuietSet tower fan. There’s more to this fan than its looks though.

It features 8 different speeds, so it has decent customizability. If I’m being honest, some of those speed settings aren’t great for indoor cycling.

Settings such as “whisper” and “sleep” won’t provide much cooling when exercising. That said, if you want a multi-purpose fan, it works brilliantly.

The controls are on the tower fan itself, though you also get a remote, so it is ideal for changing it up as your workout intensifies. There is also an excellent storage area for the remote when not in use.

The base on the Honeywell QuietSet is very sturdy, so it shouldn’t go anyway unless you want it to.

I do like that this fan oscillates. However, I rarely use that feature when I’m indoor cycling. I much prefer to have the air blowing constantly in my face. That may not be the same for everybody, so it’s an excellent option to have!

When you crank up the settings, it gets noisy. This doesn’t matter much when indoor cycling, as your trainer will likely make all the noise! Though this may be an issue for you, it is worth considering.

Overall, the Honeywell QuietSet tower fan delivers good performance while keeping you cool while you train.

If technology excites you, then the Rowenta pedestal fan should, too! With this fan, you get two more speed options than you usually get with pedestal fans, but you also get powerful airflow.

One of the most impressive features of this fan is how quiet it is. So, a whisper is around 20 decibels, and a quiet library is about 40 decibels.

Switch this fan on, and it runs at 35 decibels. That’s right, not much more than a whisper and quieter than your local library.

This all sounds good, so you might be wondering about energy consumption. Well, the Rowenta fan features an energy-saving mode, which should at least help keep your bills down.

You can have it so this fan oscillates and gives coverage with a 16” diameter head. There are 5 blades. When in use, it delivers up to 2436 Cu. Ft/min of airflow – impressive stuff!

I mentioned the speed settings. There are 5 of them. 3 usual settings and two that are unique. Turbo boost for those moments when you’re trying to set a PR on Alpe du Zwift and Silent Night mode when you want things very quiet.

The Rowenta comes with a remote, so you can change settings while riding.

Overall, this pedestal fan is a good option for cyclists who would like to use their fan for things other than indoor cycling. The added powerful airflow should keep you cool when cycling but portable enough to use in different rooms, too.

How To Choose The Best Indoor Cycling Fan

There are plenty of things to consider before buying an indoor cycling fan. So, let’s look at the important stuff!

Type Of Fan

The first thing to think about is what type of fan you want.

I initially had a fan that I wanted to use in other rooms when it got hot. Consider whether you want to do the same, as that will change the type of fan you want to buy.

These are the most suitable types of fans when it comes to indoor cycling:

• Desk fans
• Pedestal fans
• Tower fans
• Floor fans

Something to keep in mind is that cycling fans aren’t suitable, and they aren’t that good at keeping you cool anyway. 

USB fans won’t be powerful enough, so avoid those.

Desk Fans

Desks fans are a popular choice with cyclists as they are inexpensive and relatively quiet. That said, if you opt for one of the cheaper models, they can be pretty noisy.

Another thing to remember is that desk fans aren’t as powerful as pedestal or tower fans. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t consider them. Desk fans still provide some relief and have positives.

Firstly, desk fans are compact, so they’re portable. This means that if you don’t have a huge amount of space, they aren’t going to infringe on that.

They are also effortless to direct, so you can aim where you want the airflow to go (straight in my face, thank you very much!).

Of course, this directed airflow can be a downside, as it could mean that you need more fans to generate enough air to keep you cool.

Pedestal Fans

I would place pedestal fans in the middle of the desk and tower fans. Pedestal fans can usually oscillate, meaning the airflow spreads to a larger area. This can be great for indoor cycling.

Pedestal fans are popular for many reasons: they’re adjustable, affordable, and versatile. They also don’t tend to generate too much noise. 

One thing to keep in mind is that some models won’t be stable enough, so be sure to check this out.

Tower Fans

A tower fan wins the prize for best-looking fan, and for some people, that’s important, especially if it will be on show in your home. 

Tower fans also don’t generate much noise either, so you can have a conversation in the same room with someone, and it does not interfere – great news! 

It’s all sounding awesome for the tower fan right now.

However, unless you spend a decent sum, you will find that they aren’t as powerful as a pedestal fan. So, a tower fan may not be your answer if you’re going for maximum power.

Floor Fans

Take a desk fan and enlarge it to be placed on the floor. That is basically what a floor fan is.

The big difference is that floor fans are usually very powerful. In some instances, they are actually too powerful for small spaces!

Floor fans are super portable, so you can move them around as you wish. I use one in my workout space. If I’m on the indoor bike, I aim it to blast my face (and it definitely does). If I’m on the treadmill, blast my face on that.

The downside to floor fans is that they can be pricey and produce a fair amount of noise.

Remote

Okay, so take it from me: this is worth considering.

Does your fan have a remote, or will you have to get off your bike whenever you want to adjust it?

My advice, get a remote.

And another handy feature to keep around your indoor bike is a phone holder!

Noise

If you can get a quiet fan, that will be better for you. However, the most silent fan may not be the best for you, so there will be some compromise somewhere.

Tower fans tend to be the quietest, and floor fans are likely to generate the most noise. Having said that, that’s not always true and does vary depending on the model.

One way to find out before you buy a fan is to check the decibel readings on the manufacturer’s websites. Or check out the summary table above!

Other Things To Consider When Buying A Fan For Indoor Cycling

Not all of this will apply to everyone, as it depends on your setup and needs.

• Weight and size – Especially important if you want to move your fan around
• Power consumption – Inflation, anyone? Bills aren’t getting any cheaper.
• Design – if your fan is going to be on show, you might want it to look nice!
• Ease of cleaning – You’re probably going to sweat on it. Don’t be an animal. Keep it clean! And while you’re at it, get a floor mat and keep that clean too!

Frequently Asked Questions

Final Verdict

There is a roundup of the best fans for indoor cycling!

There’s more to fans than I first thought, and finding the right one isn’t as straightforward as it may seem. Do your research, and you’ll stay cool, even when you’re at full gas.

Personally, I’m a big fan of the Wahoo Kickr Headwind Fan. You can tell it was designed for indoor cycling. It ticks off every need we have. I love knowing it will give me more airflow when I kick up a gear. 

What does your indoor training setup look like?

Other indoor cycling reads:

• How To Record Indoor Cycling With Strava
• 8 Tips for Maintaining Your Indoor Bike Trainer
• How To Use Indoor Cycling To Lose Belly Fat