# Do you have trouble turning left or right?



## _CJ (May 1, 2014)

While riding my motorcycle on a super tight single-track trail a few years ago, I noticed I had more trouble negotiating tight right-hand turns than left-hand. Nearly 50 years of riding all sorts of things with two wheels, and I never noticed it before. In recent months I've started to notice it on my MTB too. Mostly it's tight/technical downhill switchbacks to the right. Uphill doesn't seem to present the same issue.

I don't know if this has always been there and I just never noticed it, or if this is a deterioration of skills that comes with age, or who knows - maybe I had a micro stroke or something? Maybe it's just a natural effect of being right handed or left handed? I'm somewhat ambidextrous - right handed with some things, left handed with others.


_Admin edit: photo added for newsletter







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## Sanchofula (Dec 30, 2007)

Yes, sometimes I go left when I should go right, and sometimes I go right when I should go left, the problem seems to come and go.

Ask Picard, the general knows all 👍


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## shakazulu12 (Jul 14, 2015)




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## netaron (12 mo ago)

Yes, very normal. Just like being left/right handed. The other thing you'll notice (if you lean your body), your body will also resist to lean on the weaker side. It's something to consciously go out and practice in order to balance both sides. One thing that will help is to steer consciously as well by pressing forward on the appropriate handlebar side to initiate lean, making sure your outside arm isn't negating the inside arm's push, and then relax your inside arm and allow the bike to follow it's set (lean) trajectory and then switch sides making figure 8s. A big college/church parking lot is usually good for this.


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## Scott2MTB (Feb 2, 2015)

_CJ, are you a right foot forward rider? It's typically easier to turn away from your "front foot."


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## Bike Whisperer (Aug 7, 2012)

Scott2MTB said:


> _CJ, are you a right foot forward rider? It's typically easier to turn away from your "front foot."


This is what I noticed, people ride "regular" or 'goofy" and don't switch. I switch constantly though I am naturally "regular" footed with my left foot forward, depending on the corner.


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## Nat (Dec 30, 2003)

I'm good turning either direction. Lead into the turn with your outside foot forward so that your hips are open towards the turn, and you can start pedaling during the turn without pedal-striking your inside pedal on a rock, root, etc.


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## chazpat (Sep 23, 2006)

_CJ, ebikes are NOT motorcycles! 

But no, I've never noticed that.


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## Steel-Onions (Sep 3, 2021)

Scott2MTB said:


> _CJ, are you a right foot forward rider? It's typically easier to turn away from your "front foot."


I ride/coast left foot forward but feel more confident in left hand turns, I think it might have something to do with being almost blind in my right eye :S ....garrrrr


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## Redlands R&C (Dec 14, 2013)

Uphill right turns are tougher for me as well as downhill left turns.
So, yes, I struggle with it.


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## Wabatuckian (9 mo ago)

I'm a lefty and turn right more easily than left.


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## DGUSMC (Jan 29, 2021)

_CJ said:


> While riding my motorcycle on a super tight single-track trail a few years ago, I noticed I had more trouble negotiating tight right-hand turns than left-hand. Nearly 50 years of riding all sorts of things with two wheels, and I never noticed it before. In recent months I've started to notice it on my MTB too. Mostly it's tight/technical downhill switchbacks to the right. Uphill doesn't seem to present the same issue.
> 
> I don't know if this has always been there and I just never noticed it, or if this is a deterioration of skills that comes with age, or who knows - maybe I had a micro stroke or something? Maybe it's just a natural effect of being right handed or left handed? I'm somewhat ambidextrous - right handed with some things, left handed with others.
> 
> ...


Lots of good feedback here on technique - my left/right problem was due to body mechanics that were preventing good technique. 

My left hip was wayyyy tighter than right and my right shoulder has been repaired multiple times such that the simple motion of pressing to lean was much easier on the other side. 

Good news was that both were addressable (and found accidentally) by deep tissue massage. I didn’t realize I had range of motion problems before. 

After a horrifically painful session in which my IT band was so tight the therapist wondered if my legs were different lengths, etc., he was able to get it to finally loosen (not leg length but a completely locked psoas muscle), I literally felt like could corner for the first time. 

A second session dealing with range of motion in the shoulder ended up solving the push/pressure issue on making a well executed turn (again, didn’t realize I had this problem), and again I realized what other people have been talking about all along, the ability to freely move the bike under you. 

So, if you have a body that’s been badly served by whatever, high school/college sports, carrying silly things in far off lands, etc. in the absence of good physical therapy - perhaps consider a range of motion test session with a good PT company/person. 

It hurts solving long standing muscular tension issues, but my God, what a difference it makes.


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## ZX11 (Dec 24, 2020)

The theory with motorcycles is that the throttle is in a more awkward position to the body when tight turning right. Right turns then become harder while being smooth no the throttle and covering the front brake. Throttle hand still giving awkward signals to you when on a bicycle in a right turn with lots of bar deflection, perhaps?


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## Tallboy723 (4 mo ago)

Nat said:


> I'm good turning either direction. Lead into the turn with your outside foot forward so that your hips are open towards the turn, and you can start pedaling during the turn without pedal-striking your inside pedal on a rock, root, etc.


Man I’ve been doing it wrong. I lead with the foot for the turn I’m making. Right foot forward when leaning right and visa versa. But lately I’ve been trying to have my foot at the top stroke for the way I’m leaning. So right foot at the top stroke of the crank when leaning right. Just been trying different feet position to see what I like best. But going straight I ride right foot forward.


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## Nat (Dec 30, 2003)

Tallboy723 said:


> Man I’ve been doing it wrong. I lead with the foot for the turn I’m making. Right foot forward when leaning right and visa versa.


 If you do it that way you’re twisting your body across itself and can get bound by your torso flexibility. The more tight and technical the turn the more this makes a noticeable difference. On smooth flow turns you might not notice any difference



Tallboy723 said:


> But lately I’ve been trying to have my foot at the top stroke for the way I’m leaning. So right foot at the top stroke of the crank when leaning right.


 That seems to be a common roadie method. Weighting the outside foot helps lower your center of gravity to make the tires stick I guess, but doing it on a bumpy trail can make your saddle jam up into your ass so you lose the natural suspension from your legs.

Try the outside foot forward method for a bit. If you’re not used to switching feet it’ll feel super awkward for awhile. It takes practice.


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## goofyarcher (Jul 12, 2020)

Wabatuckian said:


> I'm a lefty and turn right more easily than left.


(left is easy ) I think most of us do, from little kids we learn left,, skating, Nascar, running track ... by the way have you ever heard the GPS in a NASCAR Prepare to turn left, turn left, Prepare to turn left, turn left, Prepare to turn left, turn left, Prepare to turn left, turn left,


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## Nat (Dec 30, 2003)

goofyarcher said:


> I think most of us do, from little kids we learn left,, skating, Nascar, running track ...


lol I avoided all three of those things


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## r-rocket (Jun 23, 2014)

*Do you have trouble turning left or right?*



yes


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## EatsDirt (Jan 20, 2014)

Nat said:


> If you do it that way you’re twisting your body across itself and can get bound by your torso flexibility. The more tight and technical the turn the more this makes a noticeable difference. On smooth flow turns you might not notice any difference
> 
> That seems to be a common roadie method. Weighting the outside foot helps lower your center of gravity to make the tires stick I guess, but doing it on a bumpy trail can make your saddle jam up into your ass so you lose the natural suspension from your legs.
> 
> Try the outside foot forward method for a bit. If you’re not used to switching feet it’ll feel super awkward for awhile. It takes practice.


I find the saddle can interfere with the freedom to lean turning into my back foot… so clocking it high/forward (lowering outside pedal) helps. Turning into your front foot this isn’t ever an issue.

Slack bike, saddle dumped, and minimal float clipless all might contribute to my preferences.


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## Mac_89 (Mar 24, 2021)

Yeah I ride right foot forward or "goofy" so right turns are awkward. On descents if I consciously think about weighting the outside foot and dropping the right elbow it makes them easier imo, but uphill right switchbacks are very clunky.

On boring fitness rides I like to practice riding "switch", so left foot forward for me. It's amazing how weird it feels, but it helps train other muscles and coordination.


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## kosmo (Oct 27, 2004)

Great, now this is going to get into my head. Thanks for nothing! 🙃


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## _CJ (May 1, 2014)

Scott2MTB said:


> _CJ, are you a right foot forward rider? It's typically easier to turn away from your "front foot."


Yup, right foot forward in most cases. But like I said, same issue on the moto with no pedals to align. Foot alignment might be something to play with I guess. It's just strange that it never used to be an issue. Could just be as simple as skills deteriorating with age and riding technical stuff less often I guess.

I also wonder if this has something to do with the dropper post. Trouble turning right seems to coincide with buying a bike that has a dropper. Something about the seat being lower screwing up whatever technique I used before without even thinking about it?


.


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## Scott2MTB (Feb 2, 2015)

_CJ said:


> Yup, right foot forward in most cases. But like I said, same issue on the moto with no pedals to align. Foot alignment might be something to play with I guess. It's just strange that it never used to be an issue. Could just be as simple as skills deteriorating with age and riding technical stuff less often I guess.
> 
> I also wonder if this has something to do with the dropper post. Trouble turning right seems to coincide with buying a bike that has a dropper. Something about the seat being lower screwing up whatever technique I used before without even thinking about it?
> 
> ...


Having the seat lower should be helping, not hurting. It gives your body more room to move (assuming the saddle is down). And as for moto vs mtb, I haven't ridden moto since I was a kid so I can't really speak from experience, but possibly the throttle thing might play into it - or even the fact that since you've noticed that it feels better to turn left on the MTB with your stance open to the left (right foot forward), you notice how much more awkward it feels when you don't have that option.


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## Nat (Dec 30, 2003)

Mac_89 said:


> On boring fitness rides I like to practice riding "switch", so left foot forward for me. It's amazing how weird it feels, but it helps train other muscles and coordination.


When I first started riding switch it felt totally wrong and impossible but I kept practicing and now I’m _almost_ ambipedal. I’m still not 100% comfortable jumping switch. Working on it though.


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## beastmaster (Sep 19, 2012)

_CJ said:


> Yup, right foot forward in most cases. But like I said, same issue on the moto with no pedals to align. Foot alignment might be something to play with I guess. It's just strange that it never used to be an issue. Could just be as simple as skills deteriorating with age and riding technical stuff less often I guess.
> 
> I also wonder if this has something to do with the dropper post. Trouble turning right seems to coincide with buying a bike that has a dropper. Something about the seat being lower screwing up whatever technique I used before without even thinking about it?
> 
> ...


Hip and shoulder alignment are important. Body separation from the bike is important. Allowing the bike to lean way over into a turn, setting up the turn early and by going wide (outside) so you can apex early to carry speed. All of this is very similar to riding a carving ski.

Body separation from the bike is something harder to do and control when I am tired. Core workouts are important to keep the strength up.

Whether one foot or the other is front with level pedals, it is still possible to turn the hips into or towards the corner; shoulders should come around at the same time as the hips, not before. I used to turn with the bars, but now I turn with my feet, hips, and leaning the bike over while staying over it, not inside of it or outside of it. Gotta get the power down through the tires.

I am running lower and lower tire pressures. I find it helps all of this stuff too. Plus I get more immediate feedback from the tires with them running a little lower pressures. I find a harder tire more easy to slide. I don't mind that but I want to know when it will happen and how. Controlled drift. 

Another little thing I do that comes out of skiing, is rolling my feet a little into the turn. It seems to help initiate the turn more fluidly.

All of the movements happen together, in synchronicity. It generally begins with my feet, moving immediately into my core (hips and shoulders), line selection by setting up early and wide, and finally leaning the bike over while balancing over the top (this is one really good reason for a dropper post too as I am less likely to get in the way of the bike moving around).

But what do I know? Haha! This is what I have learned more recently from some really good riders.

One last thing. Practice, practice, practice. You can add speed, but better to get the forum correct first and then push speed a little bit at a time. Once you are smooth you can work on speed while being smooth.


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## Tallboy723 (4 mo ago)

Nat said:


> If you do it that way you’re twisting your body across itself and can get bound by your torso flexibility. The more tight and technical the turn the more this makes a noticeable difference. On smooth flow turns you might not notice any difference
> 
> That seems to be a common roadie method. Weighting the outside foot helps lower your center of gravity to make the tires stick I guess, but doing it on a bumpy trail can make your saddle jam up into your ass so you lose the natural suspension from your legs.
> 
> Try the outside foot forward method for a bit. If you’re not used to switching feet it’ll feel super awkward for awhile. It takes practice.


If this is the key to proper turning and berms then no wonder I suck at them. So many things in life when making turns you lead with the same side foot for the direction you are turning. Just thought it would equate to biking. I also ride with my left foot fwd. I may have previously said I ride right foot fwd.


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## Nat (Dec 30, 2003)

Tallboy723 said:


> If this is the key to proper turning and berms then no wonder I suck at them. So many things in life when making turns you lead with the same side foot for the direction you are turning. Just thought it would equate to biking. I also ride with my left foot fwd. I may have previously said I ride right foot fwd.


FWIW, I've been observing pro racers and I haven't noticed them switching feet. They're pros and I'm not, so there's that.


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## Tallboy723 (4 mo ago)

Nat said:


> FWIW, I've been observing pro racers and I haven't noticed them switching feet. They're pros and I'm not, so there's that.


Yea some of the turns and berms come at you so fast you don’t have time to switch foot positions


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## _CJ (May 1, 2014)

beastmaster said:


> Hip and shoulder alignment are important. Body separation from the bike is important. Allowing the bike to lean way over into a turn, setting up the turn early and by going wide (outside) so you can apex early to carry speed. All of this is very similar to riding a carving ski.
> 
> Body separation from the bike is something harder to do and control when I am tired. Core workouts are important to keep the strength up.
> 
> ...


I've been riding MTB's for over 30 years, including a few years racing at a national level, and I've never really needed to practice this stuff, or even think about technique, it just came naturally.....but now, this thing with turning right. It's strange.

Appreciate the tips though. I'll have to spend some time screwing around with doing these things consciously and see what works.

.


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## tdc_worm (Dec 10, 2008)

ZX11 said:


> The theory with motorcycles is that the throttle is in a more awkward position to the body when tight turning right. Right turns then become harder while being smooth no the throttle and covering the front brake. Throttle hand still giving awkward signals to you when on a bicycle in a right turn with lots of bar deflection, perhaps?


ive been blaming my right hand turns on exactly this. Bad habits inherited secondary to the complexity and hand position required to control throttle, work front brake, and lean into a right hand turn from years of riding mx. I catch myself tensing up all the time on slow, technical RH switchbacks. I start to steer the bars and lean back over the rear wheel while death gripping, rather than leaning the bike, riding over the front wheel and relaxing.


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## Nat (Dec 30, 2003)

Tallboy723 said:


> Yea some of the turns and berms come at you so fast you don’t have time to switch foot positions


True

This last season, I can't remember where it was exactly, but on one section of a trail there was a right-hand berm followed by a tabletop jump, followed by a left-hand berm, all tightly spaced. I entered left foot forward, rolled through the right-hand berm, hit the jump, then did a half pedal stroke in the air to land right foot forward to set myself up for the left hand berm. I'd never done that before and felt like a F-ng hero.


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## mlx john (Mar 22, 2010)

TL;DR

Don't turn unless you really have to.


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## weeksy950 (Jan 11, 2012)

goofyarcher said:


> (left is easy ) I think most of us do, from little kids we learn left,, skating, Nascar, running track ... by the way have you ever heard the GPS in a NASCAR Prepare to turn left, turn left, Prepare to turn left, turn left, Prepare to turn left, turn left, Prepare to turn left, turn left,


Not if you're not American


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## mtwitch19 (Oct 27, 2021)

I've noticed the (turning right) issue too. I wondered if it has to do with my eyes. My left eye has had some issues and now I'm pretty functionally blind there. I can see shapes but not details. It has affected my depth perception to some extent as well. Something to work on.


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## beastmaster (Sep 19, 2012)

_CJ said:


> I've been riding MTB's for over 30 years, including a few years racing at a national level, and I've never really needed to practice this stuff, or even think about technique, it just came naturally.....but now, this thing with turning right. It's strange.
> 
> Appreciate the tips though. I'll have to spend some time screwing around with doing these things consciously and see what works.
> 
> .


Even the best of the best practice their game. Its important, especially over time.

Everyday you get up you are a different person. Our sleep patterns might be off or evolving. Our nutritional needs might have changed or be different from other times. Because of how these two huge elements contribute to our physical beings, everyday we have different reaction times, balance, muscle twitch speeds, endurance, etc, etc. None of that includes our emotional of rational states either. Practicing things while experiencing all of these variables means your abilities have build in dexterity. The sort of athletic framing might help, especially considering your history with wheeled sports.


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## Shinscrape (5 mo ago)

Yes I usually crash to da left


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## _CJ (May 1, 2014)

mtwitch19 said:


> I've noticed the (turning right) issue too. I wondered if it has to do with my eyes. My left eye has had some issues and now I'm pretty functionally blind there. I can see shapes but not details. It has affected my depth perception to some extent as well. Something to work on.


Getting older, my eyesight isn't what it used to be. Still 20/15, but I do need readers now.


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## Steel-Onions (Sep 3, 2021)

I also prefer left handers on a moto as i can keep my right foot over the rear brake more confidently


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## Pickers (9 mo ago)

Nat said:


> If you do it that way you’re twisting your body across itself and can get bound by your torso flexibility. The more tight and technical the turn the more this makes a noticeable difference. On smooth flow turns you might not notice any difference
> 
> That seems to be a common roadie method. Weighting the outside foot helps lower your center of gravity to make the tires stick I guess, but doing it on a bumpy trail can make your saddle jam up into your ass so you lose the natural suspension from your legs.
> 
> Try the outside foot forward method for a bit. If you’re not used to switching feet it’ll feel super awkward for awhile. It takes practice.


Thanks @Nat that makes perfect sense! I 'm RH'ed and noticed that the other week on a (for me) technically tight trail - I consistently struggled to turn right cleanly vs. left turns. I would turn in right with my right foot forward, probably unconsciously thinking of being carful not to overlap my front wheel.
Cheers!


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## Ratt (Dec 22, 2003)

Trouble with the left turns. I might have missed it but how do I fix this?

Regular foot and feel like i could do a bar drag turning right but a tight left feels really awkward, especially pumping the exit. I surf/wakeboard/skate/snowboard goofy foot but ride regular, which I find weird. 

I've only been to a hand full of bike parks but it seems 95% of hips go to the left which means counter-steer to the right which works out for me, no chance of over-rotating and turning it into a whip.


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## kosmo (Oct 27, 2004)

Steel-Onions said:


> I also prefer left handers on a moto as i can keep my right foot over the rear brake more confidently


Same (although I'm currently without dirt bike). Side note: I've never been able to make the leap of faith to a Rekluse clutch, but some of the guys I used to ride with used them, along with little two-finger brake levers on the left grip. They were so fast, being able to feather the rear brake anywhere, anytime, with much better feel than a pedal that you push with a thick-soled moto boot.


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## Crankout (Jun 16, 2010)

_CJ said:


> I've been riding MTB's for over 30 years, including a few years racing at a national level, and I've never really needed to practice this stuff, or even think about technique, it just came naturally.....but now, this thing with turning right. It's strange.
> 
> Appreciate the tips though. I'll have to spend some time screwing around with doing these things consciously and see what works.
> 
> .


And if it's in your head, it will feel more awkward than it should. Kind of like overthinking the walking descent down a staircase.


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## Pickers (9 mo ago)

mlx john said:


> TL;DR
> 
> Don't turn unless you really have to.


Mr. Myer! Love that show 😂


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## KThaxton (Jun 4, 2009)

My wife and I have both talked about a favored turning direction for years.




Steel-Onions said:


> I ride/coast left foot forward but feel more confident in left hand turns, I think it might have something to do with being almost blind in my right eye :S ....garrrrr


Lol!, I ride left foot forward, more confident in left hand turns.....but I am blind in my left eye.


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## _CJ (May 1, 2014)

So I got out for a ride today that included a few technical downhill righthand switchbacks, and tried to pay attention to foot orientation. It seems my natural position is "goofy" - right foot forward while just riding along. On left hand turns, where I have no issues, I naturally drop my right foot down to the bottom, but on right handers I keep my right foot forward. I experimented with doing left foot forward for right hand turns, but found left foot down worked better. Then I tried left foot down and right foot off the pedal...and that was really bad.

Who would have thought I'd have to re-learn this crap later in life.  


.


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## Nat (Dec 30, 2003)

Do you have hemiparesis???


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## Tallboy723 (4 mo ago)

_CJ said:


> So I got out for a ride today that included a few technical downhill righthand switchbacks, and tried to pay attention to foot orientation. It seems my natural position is "goofy" - right foot forward while just riding along. On left hand turns, where I have no issues, I naturally drop my right foot down to the bottom, but on right handers I keep my right foot forward. I experimented with doing left foot forward for right hand turns, but found left foot down worked better. Then I tried left foot down and right foot off the pedal...and that was really bad.
> 
> Who would have thought I'd have to re-learn this crap later in life.
> 
> ...


Yea recently I’ve been trying to have my foot at the top stroke for the direction I’m turning or leaning. So right foot at the top stroke for right hand banks or leans. And visa versa. Of course for turns in quick succession I just go with what feels most comfortable and not focusing on foot position. Otherwise I make a conscious effort.


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## milehi (Nov 2, 1997)

No and never thought about it. I'm a regular foot in all boardsports but also ambidextrous. I can shave my face and hammer a nail with either hand.


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## Xgecko (Oct 12, 2019)

So I’ve been. Skateboarding almost as long as I’ve been riding a bicycle. I can still skate a half pipe an not cripple myself and therein lies the rub, left is frontside for me, and I can barely frontside smithgrind, never mind air. Left turns are the “thing” I work on every ride and yet I still feel awkward every time I need to make a technical left turn


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## KThaxton (Jun 4, 2009)

It must be something similar to doing 360's on a bike or any other type of sport....I always hear talk that these riders always have an innate favored rotational direction.


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## I'm Dave (May 12, 2016)

Pretty normal I believe. I'm right foot forward and tight left handed turns are more "difficult" for me.
Oddly, I much prefer wall rides on my "weak" side and not sure why that is.


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## Nat (Dec 30, 2003)

I'm Dave said:


> Pretty normal I believe. I'm right foot forward and tight left handed turns are more "difficult" for me.
> Oddly, I much prefer wall rides on my "weak" side and not sure why that is.


oh god, don't get me started on wall rides. When it's a legit wall (as opposed to a wood berm), I can't even initiate the feature if it goes right. I think most wall rides go left for some reason? Maybe it's just me noticing those. Dunno.


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## ElTortoise (Jul 27, 2015)

I've always struggled with a tight (nearly 180) right turn on a down hill switchback trail. Turns in either direction climbing isn't an issue unless it's really steep and/or loose.


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