Riding switch in corners

I have tried switching, it ultimately lead to problems, like saying, "oh ****" i have to pedal now and whatnot, while it worked moderately well for me, it wasnt worth the thought and patience to switch it up. Think about a trail with alot of turns, maybe bermed, but with rocks in-between, you are now rolling the dice in the rock garden instead of the berm, which imo is the worse of the 2. if you naturally can end up left footed, i would at least try it, but if you have to make a conscience effort to do it, id avoid it.

i had a similar problem a while ago, just practised a lot riding berms with my feet up. didn't bother stitching feet. in berms you can lean down with the bike more which is what i found i had trouble with, the main reason you want to drop your outside foot is so you can lean the bike down more than your body, but that's nor really needed on berms.

it was a confidence thing for me more than anything.

I was about to start a thread on this, but thought it might be too geeky for this forum. Being the ski coach that I am, I can geek out on technique all day long. So here goes, I have been told (this may be right or wrong) that your upper body, should be facing inside the turn. I'm not 100% convinced that that is always true, but for now, let's assume that it is. If it is true, it will be easier to face inside the turn if your outside foot is forward. So if that's true, you'd need to have a lead change for every turn to ride most effectively. I'm a left foot forward guy, but have been trying to have a lead change more often. Now, should the pedals be level, or should the outside pedal be down? I don't know. I know that I sashed the piss out of my foot cornering in tall grass that was hiding a rock last year. I know that my pedals will be underground if my suspension is compressed all the way, but I also am pretty sure that I can corner harder if I drop the outside foot on smooth ground.

i switch feet for corners like you said, to get use to it i would just ride switch footed if the trail/jump was mellow, stuck behind someone etc. jumping is still tricky but yeah.

As far as I have seen the top racers in the sport stick with their dominant foot forward in all situations.

Has anyone observed pro's switching up their lead foot for corners?

Switch it up. I like the inside foot to be back, as that feels more natural for weighting the rear tire and controling it if it skids. Also, having the outside foot forward feels more balanced for weighting the front wheel as you lean the bike, since you should also be pushing the bar down with your inside arm. If you have your inside foot forward and you are pushing down with your inside arm on the bar, your inside/outisde balance points are farther apart and harder to cooridinate (inside front with the hand/bar offset by outside rear with the foot/pedal).

Hacktastic recently said something to me about how he tries to steer with his feet. I liked that and have concentrated on it more. I think my cornering has become better and more comfortable, as it keeps the focus lower on the bike, helping keep things more stable. Before, I spent too much energy thinking about turning the bar, which led to me having my center of gravity too high.

Since body position was mentioned above, I'll throw in this tid-bit. At the Summer Gravity Camp a few years back, Katrina Strand gave us the "bellybutton eyeball" trick: imagine there is an eyeball in your bellybutton and turn your body so the eye is looking in the direction you want to go. I think it tie in nicely with the "steering with the feet" technique.

dhkid said:

i had a similar problem a while ago, just practised a lot riding berms with my feet up. didn't bother stitching feet. in berms you can lean down with the bike more which is what i found i had trouble with, the main reason you want to drop your outside foot is so you can lean the bike down more than your body, but that's nor really needed on berms.

it was a confidence thing for me more than anything.

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Tend to agree with this. I'll ride berms with my right foot leading (which is what I would do naturally) regardless of which direction they are, as long as traction is a relative non-issue. The more sketchy the turn, the more separation you want to have between your body and bike, so the outside pedal down does the trick. This also lets you load the tires vertically for more traction. There are definitely some conditions where I'll be somewhere in between, with the outside pedal down somewhat, such as berms where traction is limited or rocky, slow turns where you're going to be clipping the outside pedal if you have it down.

Just what seems to work for me. Definitely worth practicing with either foot forward (figure 8's in a parking lot, alternating feet).

Switch in turns does no bother me, but say when I am hammering out of a section and into another and I took a pedal stroke too many and now I am riding switch through a fast tech section. I find that I get fuked when this happens. I have been practicing when I ride xc and it has become more natural for me. But it seems different when I ride dh. Whats up with that?

Switching feet is tough if you've always ridden "chocolate foot" (good foot forward) but it's a thing worth practicing.

I live where we have a lot of narrow alpine contour trails that sometimes contour with downslope to rider's right, and sometimes contour with downslope to rider's left.

My "good foot" is my left foot forward.

When the downslope goes to rider's right, I have a lot of pedal strikes on my inside (left) pedal and foot unless I switch feet.

It took me a couple seasons but now I'm happy with either foot down or forward, though it's still more natural for me to ride left-foot-forward.

ebarker9 said:

There are definitely some conditions where I'll be somewhere in between, with the outside pedal down somewhat, such as berms where traction is limited or rocky, slow turns where you're going to be clipping the outside pedal if you have it down.

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yeah, i find that too. but after working a lot on cornering with my feet level i found my self dropping my outside foot ever so slightly, (not in the 6 o'clock position) more like 8 o'clock or 4 o'clock if its the leading foot on looser stuff. kinda came naturally for that in between stuff....

It is ironic this thread popped up since I was watching the Gee and Greg’s foot positions while they negotiated the sloppy Maribor course.

When I was new to DH racing I was fortunate enough to attend one of Shaum’s riding clinics and after riding behind me he said I should keep my dominate foot forward and concentrate on laying the bike further into my inside leg while slightly turning my hips into the turn. At the time we were riding small tight 1’-2’ high berms.

I’m still learning and corners are my weak spot though I do drop my outside foot for rough off camber sections, sweeping flat turns and large high speed berms to insure the tires hook up.

I tried switching my feet around it didn’t work for me but I’m sure it’s about personal preference and not so much about right or wrong.

J

your analysis is flawed unless you know what the run-in to each corner looks like. coming in from a long straight-away provides the oportunity to put your best foot forward, whereas coming into the corner from another turn (s-turn) may not allow for such an oportunity and the leading foot in the photos above was a result of the previous corner they had just exited. other than coming into the pictured turns from other turns, there could be a host of other factors: drops leading into the turns, missed timing of planned foot position, ambidexterous riders, a turn following the pictured turn that the rider setting up for (s-turn, again).

For any given isolated turn, there is an optimal cornering technique. For a course where you have to navigate getting into and out of the turn as fast as possible, some choices/sacrifices need to be made. The fastest of the fast are then ones who have the skill to adjust for the assembly of individual corners and obstacles in the fastest combination for the entire section.

how about - just ride your bike, have some fun! and stop thinking about things so goddamn much!!!

aaahhhh, switch, I'm an idiot. Thought you guys were super badass and rolling into corners backwards.

It is my observation that the pros don't switch their feet and almost never even drop the outside foot, except in flat drifty corners.

doesn't it depend on what we mean by "switch your feet"?

I've spent stupid amounts of time watching DH race vids and I have seen ratcheting of foot positions.

my earlier post was a suggestion for getting a feel for one's bike and what works best. I don't mean to say that someone should put their wrong foot forward and ride that way all the time. besides, I'm just some e-rider spouting e-technique on the e-webz. what do I know?

I do know this: generally it's good to be dynamic, not static... to flow with the terrain, not against it... while keeping your head fairly steady and looking down the track/trail.

mandown said:

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Dope a$$ video!

This video taught me everything I know. I also learned how to corner by chasing this guy on the devinci pinkbike team down MSA. Almost all the corners are flat there. He was cornering so hard it was unbelievable. Just remember kids, Trust your Tires.

scottishmark said:

how about - just ride your bike, have some fun! and stop thinking about things so goddamn much!!!

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Micro sectioner

lol

ditto what Mark said, I can ride either foot forward - go jumping a lot, learn to jump switch, then learn to switch foot back and forth in midair then you won't ever even have to think about your feet.

ebarker9 said:

Tend to agree with this. I'll ride berms with my right foot leading (which is what I would do naturally) regardless of which direction they are, as long as traction is a relative non-issue. The more sketchy the turn, the more separation you want to have between your body and bike, so the outside pedal down does the trick. This also lets you load the tires vertically for more traction. There are definitely some conditions where I'll be somewhere in between, with the outside pedal down somewhat, such as berms where traction is limited or rocky, slow turns where you're going to be clipping the outside pedal if you have it down.

Just what seems to work for me. Definitely worth practicing with either foot forward (figure 8's in a parking lot, alternating feet).

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to me.... inside pedal close to the ground and outside knee into the top tube!!! and just that bit quicker to get into the 1st bit of the sequence...

redride said:

to me.... inside pedal close to the ground and outside knee into the top tube!!! and just that bit quicker to get into the 1st bit of the sequence...

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that is the most wrong place for it. you will never see any racer doing that.

mandown said:

that is the most wrong place for it. you will never see any racer doing that.

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...because it's basically impossible. If your inside pedal's down you'll just ground it as soon as you try to tip the bike in

epic said:

I was about to start a thread on this, but thought it might be too geeky for this forum. Being the ski coach that I am, I can geek out on technique all day long. So here goes, I have been told (this may be right or wrong) that your upper body, should be facing inside the turn. I'm not 100% convinced that that is always true, but for now, let's assume that it is. If it is true, it will be easier to face inside the turn if your outside foot is forward. So if that's true, you'd need to have a lead change for every turn to ride most effectively. I'm a left foot forward guy, but have been trying to have a lead change more often. Now, should the pedals be level, or should the outside pedal be down? I don't know. I know that I sashed the piss out of my foot cornering in tall grass that was hiding a rock last year. I know that my pedals will be underground if my suspension is compressed all the way, but I also am pretty sure that I can corner harder if I drop the outside foot on smooth ground.

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I like to have my outside foot forward, I feel like it helps me point with my hips/belly button and eyes.

mandown said:

that is the most wrong place for it. you will never see any racer doing that.

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maybe its the other way around... hhehe...

I've been practicing techniques over the last year or so and inside-foot-forward mixed in with outside-foot-down (or sub-leveled) in flat corners has worked best with me. I don't always do it as sometimes you just can't set up quick enough. If that's the case, I go best-foot-forward since I'm most comfortable with that. With most things, to each their own.

You have to leave your comfort level sometimes to really see if something works or doesn't. If you have a trail where there's nothing but turns and you're familiar with the trail, try some new things. You never know until you try!

I allways talked about my technique on the first page but just wanted to add that some pros defly switch feet, maybe not hill or fabien, but a
good handfull do. And who ever mentioned the belly button thing.. Yes yes best thing I've ever learned about biking that was just need to be said

Yeah, never tried the belly-button thing...consciously, at least. I do try to face in the direction I'm planning on going, so I might already be doing that naturally??

Good topic and definitely one of the reasons I still read/post on this forum. Thanks for visiting the topic and for everybody's input.

Another point to add to all of this is that, especially in flat turns, having the outside pedal down with your weight on it facilitates being able to put your inside foot out for balance/to weight the front tire.

mandown said:

your analysis is flawed unless you know what the run-in to each corner looks like. coming in from a long straight-away provides the oportunity to put your best foot forward, whereas coming into the corner from another turn (s-turn) may not allow for such an oportunity and the leading foot in the photos above was a result of the previous corner they had just exited. other than coming into the pictured turns from other turns, there could be a host of other factors: drops leading into the turns, missed timing of planned foot position, ambidexterous riders, a turn following the pictured turn that the rider setting up for (s-turn, again).

For any given isolated turn, there is an optimal cornering technique. For a course where you have to navigate getting into and out of the turn as fast as possible, some choices/sacrifices need to be made. The fastest of the fast are then ones who have the skill to adjust for the assembly of individual corners and obstacles in the fastest combination for the entire section.

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2nd this as Mark Dh said.

I know Rennie was getting crap about this some years back, might have been Peaty giving him chit about it jokingly lol.

I'm a natural right foot but as a kid my dad made me kick a rugby ball with my left foot until it became my more consistent side I played centre mostly and could kick off either side depending on which side of the field I was running, then I played football [soccer for u US boys] and was put on the left wing as I was the only natural unnatural left footer who could dribble and shoot with both feet, it was not natural but learnt till it became natural, I loved the left side and it always guaranteed me selection.

I think if ya could analyze the pros like mandown said the best adapt to the situation plan for the worst hope for the best, I mean Sam Hill removes his tearoffs at full speed in rock gardens for christ sake lol. Its just a state of mind, no different from learning any other technique, jumping scrubbing.

Its a good skill to learn, until this thread I actually had to think which foot put forward and I can't answer it not that it makes much diff I still like a noob after 2.5years off the DH bike coming back from injury, hell I ride my Wetsreams in the dry when its steep, much to everyone's teasing all good though, go switch it up, tech is all good when things are going good but DH throws things up, ya need to be flexible like mandown says and handle it as it comes

Hey fellow geeks. Have you watched the Windham Dirt TV vid. Tons of slo-mo to geek out with. I was noting which riders are countered, which ride square and which rotate in. Two of the most countered riders were Blinky and Kieran Bennett. Gee looks to ride really square, Minnarr rides countered in some turns, square in some, rotated in others.

I'm not sure how this advice of pointing your belly into the turn really holds up. It looks like it applies more in big-bermed corners and less on flat turns?