If you're in the UK, have spoken to anyone in the UK, or watched any news pertaining to the UK this week, you'll be well aware that we're all hiding indoors away from the heat.
That giant fiery ball in the sky that we so long for throughout the other 11 months of the year has finally shown its face, and now we don't know how to cope. But naturally, like true Brits, we do what we can to muddle through.
Compared to the general population, there's a subsection of cyclists that, in my opinion, are pretty well equipped at staying cool when the mercury rises, and that's the indoor cycling crowd; Zwifters, TrainerRoaders, MyWhooshers, FulGazzers and the like. Our hobby literally entails finding ways to keep cool while we ride our bikes.
Over the years, I've had dozens of products, hacks and techniques pass across my desk to help in this aim. I've had various fans, core body temperature sensors, continuous misting devices, I've even had cycling kit with small pockets into which you can put ice packs. And I've learned techniques such as a wet towel draped around my neck and a damp cap on my head to help with evaporative cooling.
But of all those and more, there's one I'm using right now as I type this that is doing an excellent job of keeping me cool, and that's the Wahoo Kickr Headwind fan that I've had since 2019. And luck would have it, it's currently on sale among the Amazon Prime Day cycling deals with 15% off!
Get 15% off the Wahoo Kickr Headwind fan with next-day delivery at Amazon
What is the Kickr Headwind?
To put it simply, the Kickr Headwind is a fan, but to leave it at that would be to sell it miles short.
More specifically, it's a smart fan specifically designed for indoor cycling.
In that context, it can be connected to your workout to automatically adjust the wind speed between four levels based on your riding speed (in a virtual world, of course), your heart rate, or your power output.
But it can also be controlled manually between four wind speeds via buttons on the front of the fan itself, or you can select the speed as a percentage of max (meaning 100 different options) via the Wahoo smartphone app.
And speaking of the max, it can send wind across your room at up to 30mph. That's four times faster than the £600 Dyson AM07.
It delivers air in a fairly narrow direction of travel as it's designed to maximise coverage over the shape of a cyclist. But this means it's really good at moving air across a room from a distance, or in my current case, down my hallway and into my office.
Does it have any downsides?
It's worth noting that the Kickr Headwind isn't a silent fan by any means. It's quieter than the floor-standing industrial fan I also have at home, but louder than the higher-end Shark or Dyson fans.
It also won't oscillate like many of the aforementioned brands' models or those intended for generic at-home use.
Its fold-out rear feet let you adjust the angle, but only from a simple low- to high- angle. There's no finite angle adjustment, and I often find myself reaching for a few books to prop up the front or back legs to adjust the angle when I want to direct the airflow to a specific height.
Wahoo Kickr Headwind vs Elite Aria
I also have the Elite Aria indoor cycling fan at home, and on comparing the two against each other in today's conditions, it's clear which is the better unit.
The Aria does a similar job of cooling you in close quarters when riding a bike. And it's got a smaller footprint, so when cycling, I can actually put it on the desk next to my laptop, meaning it's usually less than three feet away from my face.
But it doesn't have the same total power or narrow field of airflow as the Kickr Headwind. This might seem like a good thing for moving air around the house more broadly in a heatwave, but I've found it simply means it moves less air in total, and circulates air around a smaller area when used in an open-plan space.
