I recently purchased a CycleOps indoor trainer and saw two different chocks for the front wheel of the bike I'll be using. One just elevates the wheel enough to level the bike, the other has multiple positions to raise the front of the bike by several degrees. Being there is no actual climbing taking place, the amount of force to spin the rear wheel will not change. The only change I can see is the rider's orientation on the bike and then only by a few degrees. The salesperson was adamant that the significantly more expensive riser was a training advantage and you could even stack them.

Am I missing something? Is there an actual and significant advantage to elevating the front wheel a couple of inches on a stationary bike?

Apparently, if you raise your front wheel you do change your position on the bicycle into more of a climbing position and you work different muscles ... climbing muscles.

Or so I've been told.

Meh, when I use a trainer (rarely as I prefer rollers) i set the bike level.

Save some money and use phonebooks or anything.

Correct. Those are the only changes. What people will argue over is what difference those few degrees make.

When I was training for a hill climb I would put the front wheel on a cinder block to simulate the angle of the hill. But there's nothing magic about it.

Thanks everyone. The salesperson kept talking about "increasing the intensity".

What machka and caloso said. I have an old CTS Climbing training DVD that specifically recommends raising the front wheel during the session to simulate your position on the bike while climbing.

Damn, I so want to have a salesman try that on me.

"You're saying raising the front wheel will increase the intensity of my trainer session?"

"Absolutely. With the front wheel raised, you'll be getting a much better workout!"

"So, if I lower the front wheel, my workout will get easier?"

Right.

This offseason I put the front block in the closet. Felt awkward at first but what I want is more pressure on the triceps and traps, the muscles that aggravate me the most when in the first month of spring riding. We'll see if it works.

I will try raising my front wheel on my next indoor training session. As I want be better climber in 2015 on my CX. I found out last year, I was pretty good using the right gearing on my mtb on group rides.

Raiding the front wheel for me helps significantly when training for climbing, as I tend to scoot back in the saddle quite a bit and use my hamstrings a lot for climbing. Perhaps if you're biased in using your quads more when you climb raising the front wheel may not be as beneficial.

I found it to be easier and was able to pedal one gear higher with the front wheel raised 2-3 inches. Changing your angle is one thing but the lack of uphill resistance and balance at that angle is another in my unprofessional opinion.

This works on the road too. Running a smaller front wheel makes you go faster because it's like going down hill all the time.

How can you tell when a salesman is giving you a bunch of BS?

When his lips move...

I used to use two two by fours stacked together. That was Ok but my training really improved when I nailed them together. This winter I got a nashbar plastic and rubber riser thingie. I should really slay on the group ride now.

I've got a rubber for my riser thingy too...

I
don't want to know about your sick fantasies!

Nothing fantastical about it!

But back to wood: that's the best ticket. But use good, dry red oak. There's more kJ in oak than fir, everyone knows that.