Floor fan for Turbo training

Herbsman

Hello.

Is this fan any good http://www.screwfix.com/p/18-high-veloc ... rome/54056

Apparently it can shift 7260m³/hr. Is this enough for turbo training?

Kind regards

Herbs

t.m.h.n.e.t

It's fine but one of these

Herbsman

I can just picture myself riding in front of that on full power. Holding on to the bars for dear life, legs trailing behind me

Rule74Please

why do you need a fan????

Just suffer away

Herbsman

Rule74Please wrote:

why do you need a fan????

Just suffer away

Idiot.

Herbsman

Sorry, that was a bit harsh. I apologise for calling you an idiot.

I will try to explain why a fan is required.

Temperature limits performance. If you are too hot during training you simply cannot train as hard as you are physically capable. Using a fan helps to stop you from getting too hot, thus enabling you to train harder. Or something.

Down the Road

Stop reading and ride more

Many of us have spent hours and hours sitting on a turbo training in just shorts and sweating buckets. When the puddle looks like a river it is time to stop. Too hot What do you not train ion the summer?

t.m.h.n.e.t

Herbsman wrote:

Sorry, that was a bit harsh. I apologise for calling you an idiot.

I will try to explain why a fan is required.

Temperature limits performance. If you are too hot during training you simply cannot train as hard as you are physically capable. Using a fan helps to stop you from getting too hot, thus enabling you to train harder. Or something.

Around 75% of the energy created by muscle contractions goes to waste as heat. Blood then moves to the surface of the skin to trigger sweat glands in attempt to cool you down.

The process only wastes energy that would otherwise be used to smash up a Sufferfest dvd :P

Alex_Simmons/RST

Down the Road wrote:

Stop reading and ride more

Many of us have spent hours and hours sitting on a turbo training in just shorts and sweating buckets. When the puddle looks like a river it is time to stop. Too hot What do you not train ion the summer?

When you actually measure power output during indoor sessions, you will understand why inadequate cooling is sub-optimal for training.

Even in summer outside, you are riding with a 30+km/h wind over your whole body, providing some cooling relief.

Alex_Simmons/RST

Herbsman wrote:

Hello.

Is this fan any good http://www.screwfix.com/p/18-high-veloc ... rome/54056

Apparently it can shift 7260m³/hr. Is this enough for turbo training?

Kind regards

Herbs

I would say it'd be "adequate" but maybe not quite powerful enough in some circumstances (I would recommend nearly double that airflow capacity). Much depends on your physical size, expected power output and environmental conditions (e.g. is you training cave naturally cool/cold or does it get hot?).

The larger and more powerful you are, the more cooling air flow you will need.

P_Tucker

I'd recommend getting a second fan with a remote control. Its bloody useful to be able to easily cut down the airflow when you're soft tapping between intervals - and AFAIK (which isn't very far) not many industrial type fans have remote controls. John Lewis make a nice one.

Herbsman

I agree with that. Even my current fan - which isn't very powerful - makes me too cold during recoveries.

Herbsman

Down the Road wrote:

Stop reading and ride more

Many of us have spent hours and hours sitting on a turbo training in just shorts and sweating buckets. When the puddle looks like a river it is time to stop. Too hot What do you not train ion the summer?

Don't be so bloody stupid.

Turbo trainers are invaluable when time is limited, or when local roads are unsuitable for a particular training session.

If you don't like turbo trainers then DON'T FU*KING USE ONE!

bigpikle

Its worth noting with floor fans that if you have a sweat towel over the bars, or one of those bike thong things, you cut out the cooling effect from the fan! I used to have a desk fan, with a big sweat towel to protect the bike etc, but cant do that now with the floor fan in front of the front wheel

Down the Road

Herbsman wrote:

Down the Road wrote:

Stop reading and ride more

Many of us have spent hours and hours sitting on a turbo training in just shorts and sweating buckets. When the puddle looks like a river it is time to stop. Too hot What do you not train ion the summer?

Don't be so bloody stupid.

Turbo trainers are invaluable when time is limited, or when local roads are unsuitable for a particular training session.

If you don't like turbo trainers then DON'T FU*KING USE ONE!

Spent many useful trining sessions with turbo trainers. Yes I would prefer to be outside but aknowledge that this is difficult in January.

Never needed a fan and have never noticed a power drop off when on the turbo (yes had one that measured power almost 10 years ago)

Given there are no long climbs in england they are invaluable to simulate a long climb. Especially if you put the front wheel at a 15% gradient.

My point on riding in summer was due to heat not time.

P_Tucker

Down the Road wrote:

Herbsman wrote:

Down the Road wrote:

Stop reading and ride more

Many of us have spent hours and hours sitting on a turbo training in just shorts and sweating buckets. When the puddle looks like a river it is time to stop. Too hot What do you not train ion the summer?

Don't be so bloody stupid.

Turbo trainers are invaluable when time is limited, or when local roads are unsuitable for a particular training session.

If you don't like turbo trainers then DON'T FU*KING USE ONE!

Spent many useful trining sessions with turbo trainers. Yes I would prefer to be outside but aknowledge that this is difficult in January.

Never needed a fan and have never noticed a power drop off when on the turbo (yes had one that measured power almost 10 years ago)

Given there are no long climbs in england they are invaluable to simulate a long climb. Especially if you put the front wheel at a 15% gradient.

My point on riding in summer was due to heat not time.

If you don't get too hot on the turbo, I suggest you try pedalling harder. I'm rubbish, skinny and I have two fans on full blast even when I'm turboing away in January when I can't get on the road because of snow.

ShutUpLegs

Has anyone suggested pedalling more softly?

fish156

P_Tucker wrote:

I'd recommend getting a second fan with a remote control. Its bloody useful to be able to easily cut down the airflow when you're soft tapping between intervals - and AFAIK (which isn't very far) not many industrial type fans have remote controls. John Lewis make a nice one.

Easier to get a remote control socket. Around £6 at my local supermarket.

P_Tucker

fish156 wrote:

P_Tucker wrote:

I'd recommend getting a second fan with a remote control. Its bloody useful to be able to easily cut down the airflow when you're soft tapping between intervals - and AFAIK (which isn't very far) not many industrial type fans have remote controls. John Lewis make a nice one.

Easier to get a remote control socket. Around £6 at my local supermarket.

Yeah, but the John Lewis fan has 3 different power settings. Lets see your socket do that.

P_Tucker

ShutUpLegs wrote:

Has anyone suggested pedalling more softly?

Down the Road might do, if it were actually possible

Herbsman

Down the Road wrote:

Herbsman wrote:

Down the Road wrote:

Stop reading and ride more

Many of us have spent hours and hours sitting on a turbo training in just shorts and sweating buckets. When the puddle looks like a river it is time to stop. Too hot What do you not train ion the summer?

Don't be so bloody stupid.

Turbo trainers are invaluable when time is limited, or when local roads are unsuitable for a particular training session.

If you don't like turbo trainers then DON'T FU*KING USE ONE!

Spent many useful trining sessions with turbo trainers. Yes I would prefer to be outside but aknowledge that this is difficult in January.

Never needed a fan and have never noticed a power drop off when on the turbo (yes had one that measured power almost 10 years ago)

Given there are no long climbs in england they are invaluable to simulate a long climb. Especially if you put the front wheel at a 15% gradient.

My point on riding in summer was due to heat not time.

Ok well sorry for my incendiary tone. Let's be friends.

Herbsman

Alex_Simmons/RST wrote:

I would say it'd be "adequate" but maybe not quite powerful enough in some circumstances (I would recommend nearly double that airflow capacity). Much depends on your physical size, expected power output and environmental conditions (e.g. is you training cave naturally cool/cold or does it get hot?).

The larger and more powerful you are, the more cooling air flow you will need.

Well, I had a go at a 2 x 20 minute aerobic endurance session yesterday and the fan wasn't as 'adequate' as I expected. Just like the bloke sitting in front of it, it was not putting out sufficient power even on the highest setting. I would buy a more powerful one but the problem is I don't want to spend more than £50 really. I've seen some more powerful ones on ebay (235 cubic m/min = 14100 cubic m/h) but they're £100 - that's more than three times the price of the fan from Screwfix and not quite double the power, and as much as my turbo cost! Should I just buy two Screwfix fans?

phreak

This is just a theory so don't shoot me down here, but does it matter?

When I used to train for swimming we'd often wear shorts over our trunks to create more drag, thus making it harder. We'd be going slower than we would normally but the intensity was the key rather than the speed.

If getting hot cuts down your speed, it shouldn't really cut down the intensity of your session should it?

doyler78

phreak wrote:

This is just a theory so don't shoot me down here, but does it matter?

When I used to train for swimming we'd often wear shorts over our trunks to create more drag, thus making it harder. We'd be going slower than we would normally but the intensity was the key rather than the speed.

If getting hot cuts down your speed, it shouldn't really cut down the intensity of your session should it?

The speed drops in response to the lower intensity on the turbo so the 2 are intimately related assuming there is no drift in the turbo itself (for those that would throw that bit back). The intensity drops because you are overheating and therefore the body needs to cool itself so it diverts its energy to doing that so as to stop you killing your self - self preservation

As regards the wearing double shorts for the extra drag I'd simply ask myself is there something swimming which limits creating the same intensity just by swimming hearder in the fist place. Why the need for an artificial constraint?

phreak

Aye, quite possibly. As I said, just a theory I've read research showing the effect of heat, or more precisely of a cold drink, on performance when riding outside, but you could be trying as hard when hot as you do when cool, but you'd just be going slower when overheated. That was what I was pondering because if heat plays a part then effort doesn't have to equal speed does it?

Herbsman

Jesus wept.

doyler78

Herbsman wrote:

Jesus wept.

So did Judas and then killed himself

bisoner

Herbsman wrote:

Hello.

Is this fan any good http://www.screwfix.com/p/18-high-veloc ... rome/54056

Apparently it can shift 7260m³/hr. Is this enough for turbo training?

Kind regards

Herbs

I use the exact same fan in conjunction with an open/closed back door depending on how hard I am working.

Alex_Simmons/RST

phreak wrote:

This is just a theory so don't shoot me down here, but does it matter?

Yes, it does.

When you overheat, you are forced to train at a lower power than you could otherwise do. Which means a reduced training stimulus.

Herbsman

P_Tucker

phreak wrote:

Aye, quite possibly. As I said, just a theory I've read research showing the effect of heat, or more precisely of a cold drink, on performance when riding outside, but you could be trying as hard when hot as you do when cool, but you'd just be going slower when overheated. That was what I was pondering because if heat plays a part then effort doesn't have to equal speed does it?

And you could "try" just as hard at carrying bricks or a particularly difficult maths problem, but those aren't going to make you better at cycling either FFS.