Left Foot Forward, tight left switchback dominant

RIGID

RIGID

Member
I didn't find this in the Skillz sub-category Cornering threads so I'm posting it as a new topic.
I find that when I hit some tight steep switchbacks or techy tight corners I can pretty much can handle it when going left. I know you're suppose to drop the outside foot but on steep tech. that's not going to happen.
When going right, I'm not as smooth and tend to dab at times.
I wonder if the Right Foot Forward crowd feel the same way having more confidence going right?
Any dual slalom folks out there? I know they have berms but they must have that secret sauce.
There's a couple of sections I wouldn't mind hitting with more conviction.
 
Cyclotourist said:
Try keeping feet level and leading with the foot going into the turn. So left turn, left foot forward, right for rights.

Right foot dominant (goofy footed) will feel more comfortable going right (frontside).
Left turns with left foot out front is just weird!
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There one section at TnA that a quick "S" and my buds fly through that catching some air during the transition. It's so quick they don't swap from goofy to regular foot. They said to lead with the inner knee pointing to the direction you want to go. Oh well, practice, practice, practice!
 
RIGID said:
There one section at TnA that a quick "S" and my buds fly through that catching some air during the transition. It's so quick they don't swap from goofy to regular foot. They said to lead with the inner knee pointing to the direction you want to go. Oh well, practice, practice, practice!
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Leading with the inner knee is the same idea. But inner foot out front gives you a solid platform and pivots around the center of gravity a bit as well. YMMV :)
 
Watch the pros in DH. They rarely switch feet in quick turns.
Interesting that you do better left foot forward on left turns. Technically, your hips are closed to the direction you are headed. Turning right, your hips are open to the direction you are going.

That said, I suck both directions so WTF do I know!
 
Interesting just been thinking about this too...

@herzalot interesting totally make sense about the hips being closed... I am a left foot forward ... Better left turner as well... For me with that inside foot forward it is easier / more natural for me to push down that left bar and get the bike leaned over ... But hips wise my best turns I have to make that conscious effort to look at the exit and rotate shoulders and hips which not always natural easier for my old man non flexible frame. But sometimes I will rip a quick turn just as you described.

Quick turns I stay footed... On some longer S turns like meadows I may change footing

@RIGID curious which section top .. new middle... Or rocky bottom..

In the end I suck too or more accurately I am not consistent...except for those fleeting rare moments... I always think of the coach at Whistler ...

"I could work on my turns every day... And still have room to improve"
 
@bvader It's the middle section right after the split and before the chunk. There's a snappy right to left that if done well it looks quite graceful. I don't think there's enough time to change footing at speed. It looks like people have been cutting through to avoid the right but it has now been roped off so your gonna have to take that line again.
 
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RIGID said:
I didn't find this in the Skillz sub-category Cornering threads so I'm posting it as a new topic.
I find that when I hit some tight steep switchbacks or techy tight corners I can pretty much can handle it when going left. I know you're suppose to drop the outside foot but on steep tech. that's not going to happen.
When going right, I'm not as smooth and tend to dab at times.
I wonder if the Right Foot Forward crowd feel the same way having more confidence going right?
Any dual slalom folks out there? I know they have berms but they must have that secret sauce.
There's a couple of sections I wouldn't mind hitting with more conviction.
Click to expand...
I have been working on cornering for a few months now, not consistently but when I think about it. I have subscribe to Ryan Leech's training technics lessons and something during the cornering lessons that really help was learning to ride switchfooted. It is really uncomfortable at first but seems to help a lot for situations like you are talking about. Also, one of the biggest takeaways I have learned was forcing yourself to ride with your weight more forward into turns, the results are huge. If you are an old school geometry has-been like a lot of us, we are so used to riding weight back, today's bikes are designed to ride with your weight forward on cornering, drops, jumping, etc.

www.ryanleech.com; The Cornering Continuim
 
As a former poster (and racer...) on this site frequently yells at me, "Point your elbow, Dummy!" :Roflmao :p

I am a right foot forward guy... But I can handle left hand switchbacks a lot easier than rights. Does that make me double goofy? :p But... Following the elbow advice, moreso than worrying about foot placement, I've managed to figure out just about all of the switchbacks that I ride frequently. Ken Burton, for example, has 23... followed by 4 more on the Gabrielino.
 
Definitely stronger on left switchbacks then right... Why is that?
I tend to note my left foot forward on left turns and right on right turn switchbacks. I am no guru of this but I somehow seem to mostly succeed at making the tight switchy stuff. I'm assuming we are talking downhill.
I do okay on climbing them as well. Many here are better, but I think that just comes down to having the raw climbing power to muscle through a switchback climb and the ability to shift your weight in the transition.

I think @SS Barby is correct. I ride with him a LOT. John is definitely a better cornerer than I am and he often drops me in sweeping and tight switchbacks. We have talked a lot about cornering while on the trail.
Anybody can fly fast in a straight line, it's the corning skills that win races and dare I say KOM's? [#wormsforthecan]
 
I am no good on tight downhill switchbacks, but I swap my front foot all the time on most downhills. If I leave one leg back too long it sometimes starts cramping, so I swap them. This is particularly common for me on the Luge. Perhaps I should start focusing on one or the other.

Next time I ride San Juan I intend to session any of the switchbacks I don't clean until I figure them out. I will have to give the elbow trick a try.
 
mtnbikej said:
Countersteer
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Like @SS Barby mentioned above... learn to ride switch footed and weight more forward (like MX). Also, do ALL of the braking before the corner (this is the hardest thing for me). Braking in/through the corner will cause your bike to stand up, causing you to lose momentum, dab and or potentially highside off the bike. I started focusing on this a while back and it has made a huge impact on my cornering and riding off camber tight ST. On switchbacks I put the inside foot forward and outside elbow up and pointing through the turn. Helps bigly for me. On off camber singletrack I ride with the forward foot on the low side and the back foot on the high side. And, switch as needed keeping the back pedal on the high side of the trail. I can ride tight twisty off camber ST a lot faster this way, having the backfoot on the high side. A lot less pedal strikes and not so worried about plowing into the side of the hill if I have a forward foot on the high side.
 
Gee I have never put any thought into this. I am sure I raise the inside pedal as to not strike any of those nasty gems we have in our turns. I don't like pedal strikes while leaning into a corner. So call me up-down not left-right. I like to do a tail swag to shift the rear towards the outside of the turn when the corners are not so great on the out-ramp.
Happy not thinking of style points trails
 
pperrelle said:
I'm goofy footed and ride right foot front most of the time. But, I am able to turn left easier than right on tight turns. On the bottom of SJT, I clean the left hand switchbacks easily but have to think about the right hand ones.
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Right turns with right foot forward are backside in surf/skate parlance.
 
I guess my theory is going down the drain, Lol!!!

All great advise. @SS Barby and @Redman thanks for the tip. I take it practicing to ride switch footed is like being ambidextrous which can be advantageous in any sports i.e. basketball, soccer...hacky sack.
I'll also go back to some of the areas I think I need to improve more and have the riders that make it look easy watch my technique to make me "Flow like Water".
 
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Redman said:
Are you sure about that? Right foot forward is goofy footed. Right turn standing goofy foot is frontside.

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Your frontside goofy footer is going left on his gigantic plank. If he took off straight, he made a frontside bottom turn to the left. But he may have taken off backside right to stuff the other guy who had deeper position on the left and then made a sweeping turn back left. Sneaky bastard!
 
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