On longer rides, does it help to have a fan aimed at the bibs to avoid sweat build up? At over 3 hours I start to feel very fatigued in the rear end and were wondering if this can be somewhat improved by keeping the bib dry?
more fans/air flow = good
Fan #2 for me is 45° back on my RHS pointing at my hip. Does the job.
so did any of you notice any difference on 3+ hours rides when introducing second fan?
I’ve been using two fans for years, and I think it really helps. One is directly behind me, directed at my back/glutes, and the other is situated at about the 10:00 position so it hits the front of my torso (and kind of my neck/face). Both tower fans.
It’s all about (RH) relative air humidity. You can put a jet turbine in front of you, but it won’t do anything… lower RH to 35%/40% and you are going to barely sweat with the smallest of the fan out there.
For a 5.5 hour ride on Zwift I used an air conditioner and IIRC I had 4 fans. Chilled drinks as well. Worked well but still quite a slog. Changed bibs, socks, and shoes around midway. Feet were soaked.
I noticed a difference on all rides when I added a second fan!
Hi @ZwiftyRick, thank you for posting!
I’m Fernanda, from Zwift.
I want to put my two cents on this post, and help you improve your rides if possible! Let me assure you that boosting the air around your body when cycling indoors is going to take your rides to the next level, especially if you are completing long rides, that increase your cardiac output and merit reducing fluid losses through sweat, while you are stressing the heart more, you are not increasing your absolute FTP.
Taking this into consideration adding another fan will help you replicate the outdoor feel, and also keep you cold during the long rides, allowing you to change the amount of power you can produce, for well. The location of the fans depends on every rider’s needs, but one in the side-front and one in the back will help to replicate outdoor air movement, keep in mind that if you find yourself dripping sweat during anything other than maximal efforts, you need to improve your fan setup.
Hope this helps you in your decision!
Totally agree. Relative humidity determines whether your sweat evaporates or drips off. For longer Zwift sessions in the summer I use air conditioning to drop the RH to 50-60%. Lower is only possible if the outside air is bone dry. Temperature is also a factor and preferably as cool as possible. In the winter I use an air dryer. Sometimes two fans.
Francis, living in North Carolina, sadly, the air is never bone-dry outside …lol… so I added dehumidifiers. It’s ridiculous the amount of water pulled from the air on a daily basis! The benefit is two folds: on one hand you don’t drip off sweet which ruins everything; on the other, and most importantly, by keeping RH low, one eliminates the typical gym smell and mold incentivized by high humidity levels…
Most home gyms (at least in the US) are placed in regular rooms with standard drywalls (not recommended for high humidity levels) you won’t believe how much mold get trapped there… this thing once cost me a fortune to fix.