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How about them phone books.

cgres123cgres123
in General Training Discussions
I was thinking about this yesterday as I read someone's post about something and they said " got to get some phone books to elevate the front wheel of my bike ".

 

So I'm out doing a run thinking about this. With my trainer it came with a plastic device shaped like a star with 3 slots to place my front wheel for stability and there is a height difference of an inch or so.

It in other words will keep you level , one with an incline , one with a decline. I do notice the difference when I use this device as I know anything different will cause  different stress on your body ever so slightly.

So I'm thinking about the other member and his post about phone books for an incline.

 

What happens if you do put the front end of your bike up 6 to 12 inches.

 

What is the benefit of doing this other than changing the stress on your body.

 

The trainer will not get any harder mechanically as just shifting the gears is what increases the tension.

 

Anyone have any thoughts on this positive or negative. On the outside looking in all the magazines or online we all want just a little more of an edge. Is this something or just a waste of time ?

Comments

  • Al TruscottAl Truscott

    With your bike in the trainer, the rear wheel is off the ground to some degree, right? So the elevation of the front wheel, whether by star wedge or phone book, is meant to bring the whells back to level, so you are not going "downhill"

  • rklingrkling
    As Al said, the usual idea with something to prop up your front wheel is to get your bike level. However, you can mimic hill training to some extent (if that's your intended purpose) by elevating the front wheel more than the back. The idea is, with hill climbing, you typically scoot back a bit on your seat and utilize your glutes more. There's also a shift in your pedal stroke as you push a bit more on the downstroke. So, it does change the stress on your body a bit. I don't know that something like that is really necessary unless you are training for an uphill race. As John said, better to just go out and ride hills.
  • cgres123cgres123
    Well so much for that idea. Not so easy to go outside and chase hills as the weather is to cold for my blood. Thx all !
  • Coach PatrickCoach Patrick
    x2 re John; variety option only.
  • William JenksWilliam Jenks

    I have elevated my front wheel of my TT bike in the trainer so that I can actually see something (the TV) more than the floor or the electrical outlets on the bottom of the floor. It does distribute your weight a little differently, so it's not the same as riding level as far as your arms supporting your front end, but it is the same angle of the body (obviously). I don't think it serves any other purpose (e.g., hill simulation).  If you're going hard enough to lighten the load on your butt, whether you're tilting up or down, you'll scoot "up on the rivet" anyway.



    this is my latest experiment in the endless cycle of "Do I train on the TT bike or the Road Bike in the pain cave?"



    Hypothesis is that the angles are more important than the weight distribution as far as reproducing what goes on outside.

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