I purchased a new Headwind this week, but after turning it on for the first time I was disappointed with how loud it was. The problem was the loud whine noise it produces on the 25% and 50% setting.
I sent a video to Wahoo and they responded with:
Due to the nature of the HEADWIND being a high power fan, optimised for high speeds, the motor noise can be quite overwhelming when running in its lower setting. This is due to the motor being designed for full power and running at 25% of this can cause noise.
I’m surprised there’s little mention of this whine noise so I’m wondering what am I missing? Are most people running it on the two highest settings? Possibly I’m over sensitive or I’m just too used to my silent Meaco fan.
I had similar doubts after I’d purchased mine.
Got similar response that the low power sound is ok, so I stopped bothering.
Most of us use some kind of earphones during workouts and a fan noise isn’t an issue then.
I don’t know, @nblackburn. I have one, and I mean it’s loud-ish? But I don’t get a “loud” whine. Maybe it’s too subjective a question for me to answer. At lower settings, there is certainly a low buzz or hum, which - yes - is covered by the airflow noise above say - 50%. But I also have a big, 15" steel contractor fan, and my Headwind is WAY quieter than that.
Guess I agree w @anon44544457 to an extent - when I’m into it, I can’t really say I notice anything about the Headwind other than the airflow changes in auto mode.
That’s a shame. Is it possible for you to return it to the retailer and get something else instead?
I have the Vacmaster Cardio 54 which is a lot cheaper than the headwind. No major motor noise but obviously a lot of air turbluance noise when you’re in the airflow which gets louder on the higher settings.
Meaco fans are awesome and super quiet - we have a couple in the house - I don’t think you’ll find a workout type fan which is a quiet as that though.
@CPT_A Yes it’s like a very loud hum, which gets drowned out when you go up to 75% speed.
@JohnK Yes I was very disappointed as I like the Wahoo ecosystem. I wanted a smart fan to link to my heartrate but I’ll just stick with my Meaco for the moment. I bought it directly from Wahoo so I can return it. I understand there might be a version 2 Headwind at some point…
Another Headwind owner here. I also get a noticeable hum/buzz once connected to my HRM, but as others said, once a workout starts and I’m usually wearing earbuds it’s a non-issue for me. I also run a small table top fan on my left and a larger Honeywell floor fan on my right and when they’re on, the sound blocks out anything from the Headwind.
@nblackburn I haven’t really noticed that but I also wear noise canceling earbuds and have the fan on a rubber mat.
I use the HRM setting which works great. I recommend a range of around 90 to 100 bpm on the low end and something like 135 on the high end. I didn’t want to go too high as HRM will lag the power I am putting out (and the related body heat).
Average efficiency is around 25% during intense exercise with the rest of our energy released as heat.
I bought a headwind, then returned it for a buzzing noise on low settings. To me, my unit sounded like the noise was coming from a power transformer. It was quite loud. They had a demo unit in the store, that did not have that annoying sound at low settings, though the new unit I bought had the noise. I returned the unit - and ended up buying a different brand fan.
I think the recent CEO interview alluded to potential fan update in the future. I hope they are learning that customers care about electrical and mechanical noise, and that they improve both their quality control and designs to prevent these issues.
I have this low transformer like hum on mine too and always regretted not returning it. It disappears when the intensity ramps up though. I got a cheap vac master I use as my main fan now. The headwind points to my back and I only use after the vm is more or less full blast it with really intense efforts or racing.