That puts you in a small category of rider (as I teach about 1,000 riders per year in person). The front foot turn isn't missing for all riders, but is for most. Nice advantage that you have a comfy front foot turn to start! -Simon
@@Fluidride I put this video into practice yesterday (and the recent steep descents one, and your tip about releasing the front brake for more control) and it made a real difference to my ride! This is easily the best coaching channel on TH-cam. PS. Great to have you back Simon!
All this is crazy reverse for people with their dominate foot forward. Intuitively (to me at least) it's easier to open your hips towards your back foot with all that open space, versus across your body/front leg. IE I'm right foot forward, right foot dominate - my left turns are leaps and bounds better than my right turns. My hips lock up when I go right. It seems like turning opposite your dominate leg is easier and more intuitive regardless of which is forward. The foot you're driving with being the determinate factor. Thanks for the vid!
Really varies from rider to rider, but after teaching nearly 1,000 people in person per year for many years, the back foot turn is easier for most. Of course if you are riding with your dominant foot in the front, that can change things. You are in a group of about 10% of riders that feel this way. I always tell riders like you that this is an inherent advantage as the back foot turn is easier to learn to perfect for most riders. Having a strong natural front foot turn is a great starting point! Most riders put their stronger leg in the back, which I'd guess is to support them on descents. BUT, there are some amazing world cup pros who are right foot forward. As a matter of fact, more than half of top World Cup descenders are right foot forward, while only about 30% of the riding population is. I think they are feeling what you are. Good stuff. -Simon
@@Fluidride I think I have to agree with CoffeeBike. I'm right foot forward and right foot dominate and I feel like I'm more comfortable in a lefthand turn. ...I'm kind of wondering if these turns have more to do with your dominate foot not being on the outside of the turn regardless of stance (normal or goofy).
You guys are the best! So happy to see you back. This tutorial is exactly what I needed and have not been doing. I've learned to cheat by switching stances but can't switch fast enough depending on the trail. You break things down so well, so logical, and so effective. Thank you!
Just great! I was wondering about that for long time and just this month I figured out - when I move forward my left turns got better. Now I got this explained! Thank You!
Love this channel. Best coaching advice by far. Any chance you will be covering back foot turns as well, . As others here have stated back foot turns are also my weakest side. Any help here would be appreciated. Keep up the good work.
Always skateboarded or snowboard goofy foot. I ride right foot forward but my left hand turns are more comfortable then right handed turns 😂. Easier to get the bike leaned over for some reason. My cornering knobs on the left side of my tires always have wear and my right side knobs don’t have nearly as much.
Yeah, I'm bad at this too. I'm a righty, and I don't know why but whenever I take right turns, there's always that fear of falling over. I'm slowly making it better by ratcheting it with the right foot forward. That way also helps me make narrower turns which is good coz I love climbing.
That’s reassuring right away to say not to switch feet, cause I feel when I try to switch feet I over think everything and it feels unnatural. But when I keep my feet in the middle I can corner way better focusing on balance and my target.
So what about "goofy" riders? I ride strong foot forward which seems to be the opposite of most people. Does that mean my turns are naturally more even?
At 5.55 you start talking about turn an rotating to the front foot and back foot. The because human are contra-lateral movers. So when the foot is forward that arm want to move back and be connected to the torso.
Excellent video. Thank you. Stronger right or left leg/foot very similar to regular vs. goofy foot in surfing. As goofy foot, also feel the stronger left foot when turning right when skiing.
Yeah, it's interesting. I ride left foot forward on the bike as my back leg really supports me (right leg is my strong one), but on a board I'm right foot forward as I think it helps me carve turns. That said, when attempting to surf (I skate a bit) I've certainly overweighted my front foot and dug in uncomfortably! Interesting how we use our bodies and make up for our strong side etc. -Simon
I never corner right or left foot forward. It's always which foot is down. Right turn left foot down with weight on the pedal and left up. Left turn right foot down with weight on that pedal.
That's the way we used to turn until about 2002. Interesting if you watch older downhill videos, you will see that. Not wrong at all, but the modern footwork does have some inherent advantages. I used to ride the way you are describing. It took a while to learn this, but has been a huge game changer for me. With the foot already down, it's very difficult to change the apex of a turn or to deal with a decreasing radius turn. If a turn gets tighter as it goes on, being able to respond is really helpful. Also nearly impossible to generate speed in a cupped berm with the foot all the way down. Much harder to learn this than the old school way, but I do recommend you give it a try. Thanks for tuning in! -Simon
On the odd day that I nail this technique, I feel the bike really swings through the corner quite effortlessly & sweetly. Kinda like hitting a nice shot in golf or tennis or a nice turn in surfing. Thanks for this, it'll help me refine my technique and break down the key movements.
Yeah, I get that. That's how I latched on to this idea. I'd get a good one from time to time, then realized they were mostly tight radius berms, so I set about tightening up some turns to see what would happen, and it's been really helpful - and fun! -Simon
I'll keep that in mind! We do have a bunch of 'what not to do' videos coming out. Going to sprinkle those in soon. A couple have already been filmed. Thanks for letting us know what helps you Dan! -Simon
This was great Simon. It's amazing how similar MTB turning and alpine skiing turning are at many levels. Once again this is about body posture/alignment to get you onto a balanced, active "drive" foot, and it's the same in skiing. Higher level turns are started as high up toward the tip/shovel as possible -- early, on an active "drive" foot linked to a leg, hips, torso in the proper attitudes for a powerful stance & drive through the turn. I don't know if you teach/coach skiing or snowboarding but I can tell you that you would be very good at it if you did.
Thanks Sean. I was a better skier than I am a rider, but started doing year round summers about a decade ago. I still lean heavily on my ski and motocross backgrounds as they have provided so many insights into proper human movement. -Simon
@@Fluidride You're welcome. My favorite ski coach used to talk about the activities (other than ice hockey/figure skating/speed skating) with the best parallels/crossover learning, for turn-to-turn ideas teaching: in his view, they are horse riding, motorcycle riding, bicycle riding. All require a conscious change of lead, so to speak -- that's what he said. I had a lot of good chair ride talks with him on the parallels between MTB or moto, and skiing. Especially the MTB vs moto, where parallel stance vs independent foot position was concerned, and what that meant for lead change.
While I was never really an equestrian, I've often used horse riding analogies for biking. Cool how so many sports share similar traits one might never expect!
Give it a try. Does take time to break old habits, but should be worth the time. On old school trails there was time, but trails turn so fast and frequently these days, that this technique has become the modern standard for all pro riders. -Simon
As a "testimonial", I was in the same boat - always switched- and after watching a fluid ride video a couple years ago, I tried leaving one foot forward all of the time. It's improved my riding immensely.
Good advice Back in 1997 my teammate and I created a practice run in the town park so we could get 5 runs an hour(using our vehicles) when we had time to meet. We chose the most challenging lines we could find and built a course that was three minutes of intense technical rock garden and big drops in the 10 foot range along the way. My teammate was affiliated with Spooky cycles so I had a chance to ride with Frank and factory rider Tattoo Lou on our practice run and they loved what we made. Funny story to add: We were cleaning up the trail to ride one spring and a park ranger came up and remarked that she never knew this was here. LOL
SO RAD! Tattoo Lou was my teammate for a couple of years and a dear friend. We had some pretty wild adventures on the road together. Drove like 5k plus miles with him one year. So cool when you can get a hidden gem to enjoy...especially when it's local! -Simon
Awesome as always. I think I got this technique process into my head when you first did this in your online school but one thing I can't feel / work out is, where that 'pumped snap' comes from in the turn that you can see Simon getting here 11:12 ?? It's looks like an apex acceleration to the eye, if I'm seeing that right. Thanks
Oliver, so nice to hear from you again. You are seeing that correctly. Tough conditions to get lateral acceleration (apex snap) but with practice it can happen. I've done about a million runs though the cones🙂Keep up the practice! -Simon
Give it a whirl! If you watch any high level pro riders, you will see this all day long. We teach what the pros do. None of this is made up in any way. Just an explanation of what the highest level riders rely on for speed and control. Give yourself some time to practice this. I'm still working on it during every ride -even with decades of experience. -Simon
Great video and explanation on a topic that’s sadly been overlooked to often because people only ride berms or are too busy trying to ‘shralp’ corners. I’ve coached mountainbikers for a couple of years and always enphasized twisting your body in the direction of the turn, ie hip and elbow out. Also important to keep tension in this direction in order to force the bike to turn. Laying it over and, if the situation calls for it, dropping the outside foot can maximize grip.
Yeah, super overlooked. And yes, so many shralp vids with inside foot pressure. Fun for videos, but not a ton of traction offered. Glad you are out teaching the right things. Makes me happy! -Simon
In surfing & snowboarding the terms natural & goofy footed are used by everyone. I have never heard them being used in biking though. Why not? It would be useful imo. Fyi, I'm natural footed like the both of you.
This is great tutorial, but I have to say this fundamental has always been intuitive to me. Head up and after spotting the entry, look immediately through the turn. Then, it is easier to set up the front foot turn. It is def harder when riding in dense forest with limited sight-lines.
Awesome. I'll just say you are one of the few🙂I'd say about 90% of the riders I work with have no front foot turn when they start with me...including the pros. And yeah, everything is harder when the going gets technical! Thanks for tuning in. -Simon
@@Fluidride ..and at speed wo braking excessively into the turn. Some terrain demands this tech but often I can rachet pedal and change the the lead foot to my right. I too am a left forward rider. That is possible on flatter terrain at slower speeds, but a steep downhill right-hander doesn't allow that. Great breakdown.
Ha! I know! I took it to the shop and it came back that way. I just took it in for a quick tune and asked them to put it where it should be and they forgot. So surprised you are the first to see it. Lol! Thought for sure this would be the first comment!
Slightly confused- I’m assuming you switch pedal stances ie for right turns left foot down & right pedal up & for left turns left pedal up & right foot down - When I’m going down tight twisty enduro style rooty, rocky single track I do it this way to avoid pedal strikes when cranking into the turn
Hi Dylan - We think of this like a teeter totter around the bottom bracket: The front foot always remains in the front, and the rear foot always remains in the rear, while both feet rotate up and down depending on the turn. So we're switching which foot is *dipping*, but not which foot is in front. I hope this helps - it sounds like you're doing it all correctly! -Linnea. We can always bring in Simon for more detail too 🤣if you still have questions!
right foot forward and right food dominant here. right turns are much harder than left turns because of hip position. Looking at these comments, this seems more common than admitted
I hear you. It's why I got interested in learning about riding...could....not...turn...right! Linnea has been racing cross country this year. We are going to the alps soon though, so she'll be ripping lots of downhill tracks next month.
What do you recommend doing with the crank angle when set in a turn? Front and back feet no longer remain front and back if the crank rotates 90°, and now it's upper and lower foot.
You quietly slipped in, “..able to jump off your front foot” [when your front knee is over the ball of your front foot]. Such a big deal. You could emphasise that specifically. GET ABLE TO JUMP OFF YOUR FRONT FOOT how it should be said. In fact, at pace, you MUST push your bike down (by doing a jumping movement) with the front foot in the turn. I keep forgetting. It’s hard because a lot of reasons. One not mentioned today is because the front foot is usually the non dominant one (you said that) but it is therefore also the LESS coordinated foot. So, it’s harder to trust. The reps with the cones do a lot of things. The main one is gaining trust and the muscle memory in the front leg (foot).
He's wrong about jumping off the ball of the foot. To get the maximum height from a standing high jump, everybody will start from a position of the feet flat on the ground. Nobody would first lean forward and get their heels of the ground. This is all moot anyway, because MTBers don't jump to make turns.
I am a right foot forward rider. On tight steep turns, I don't have a problem with left turns. It is my right turns that I have a problem. Why would that be the case?
I'm the same way, right foot forward, right foot dominate - from their vid it seems like turning towards your dominate foot side is always harder because you're using your weaker/less coordinated foot to drive
Yes, this is likely because you are riding with your dominant foot in the front, which is totally fine. Just not as common as putting it in the back. You might need more practice with your back foot turns. We do see this about 10% of the time. -Simon
@@DThomas-q6f Hard to know the mysteries of the human body. Stay tuned for an upcoming episode on back foot turns as it sounds like that is where you need work. I spoke with a kinesiology professor who told me that humans are pre-disposed to turning left due to extra connections low in our spinal cord. Obviously there are no absolutes with the human body, but it's interesting. While your issue with corners is uncommon I have certainly seen this in riders before. This is why in the title we say 'most' not 'all' in the title of the video. Keep working on your back foot turns, and be sure you left hand turn is being properly accessed by your front foot. Without seeing you, it's really tough to say what is going on. We do offer video review services if you are ever interested. Can be super helpful for riders. Cheers for now. -Simon
Funny you mention that. We are filming one on Thursday. Will be showing drills to work on technique, followed by some really tight trails! Not sure when it will be out, but stay tuned! -Simon
Starting my 4th decade of riding MTB, I'm going to strongly urge everyone from thinking of themselves as a "left-foot-forward" or "right-foot-forward" rider. You need to be able to do everything in either stance, partly to be ready for whatever you find on the trail, but also to save your knees. The rear knee is typically more heavily loaded, and being able to switch stances will let you get more riding out of your knees as a set...especially if you like stuff like park riding that is almost all done out of the saddle.
While this is great in theory, it's very uncommon that riders can ride in both stances safely. Currently no riders in the World Cup ride switch anywhere. BUT, I always tell riders that if you CAN do it, you should switch, but not from turn to turn but rather for entire sections of trail just to add to the balance of the body as you say. I might get a couple people per year (out of 1,000) that can do this safely during in person classes. None of them have been the pros I teach. Wish I were more comfortable right foot forward. I demo a lot in classes for riders who have that stance and have done so for well over a decade and still can only do basic stuff that way. -Simon
@@Fluidride Almost nobody is going to be able to do a switch stance well on the spot. It takes quite a bit of practice...but that's likely because people settle into one stance early in their riding career and essentially practice one stance all the time. No wonder it's hard to catch up! But with some patience and determination that imbalance can be reversed...and even better, you can coach young riders (like I do) to do everything in both stances from the get-go. They will get longer riding careers as a result of evening out the stress on their knees and ankles. After a couple of years of work, I've gotten pretty symmetrical, and man, does it help on long descents or bike park days. And yeah, not switching every turn, but every couple of minutes on a long downhill. I do wonder if downhill racers could benefit from tactically switching stance to match the course. We just don't know, because nobody seems to have put the effort in to get equally good in either stance, and then try it out on course, right?
@@xanthoptica I think we might see some crafty stuff in the future. We'll see. I simply teach what the best riders in the world do. I don't do kids instruction, but am stoked to hear you are working on getting them to ride switch as well. Certainly healthier!
Great video, thank you! Do you have any suggestions for someone who can't seem to not drop the outside pedal? I have difficulties keeping my feet level even if I think about it.
Yes. Practice coasting in a basic environment and keeping your feet level. Then do some compressions through your legs while keeping the feet level so you are compressing the suspension without the use of your arms. Then coast with your feet level and practice slightly rotating the back foot down and then bringing back to level. Repeat the same with the front foot. Do this drill a LOT and you should start to gain control over your footwork. I hope this helps! -Simon
@@Fluidride thank you Simon. I'm also looking into trying to do one of your weekend courses where you do the basic one that's required to do the advanced cornering. I'd be coming down from Canada so I need to find a weekend that does both.
Makes it nearly impossible to change lines in a turn or deal with a closing (or decreasing radius) turn. With this technique, you can respond in real time to the details of the turn. There are a number of other inherently helpful things about this. If my bike slides, the outside foot will automatically rotate and 'chase the slide'. For riders racing in packs, they can use this to pass others who don't have this technique. For riders racing DH or riding techy descents, they can fine tune within a turn. On berms, we can generate forward momentum which is not possible with the outside foot all the way down. I think I'll make a video about this, so thanks for this great question! I'll also add that it isn't wrong to do what you suggest, just not as good as using modern footwork. If you want to geek out on this, check out old DH videos from 2000 or before and you will see riders doing what you are talking about. Then fast forward about ten years and you will see riders doing what we are teaching. All my teaching comes from observation of the worlds best riders, and this is what they ALL do now. The big change happened around 2002 when Sam Hill became the dominant descender by using this technique. Hope this helps! -Simon
If your shifting your weight forward on a turn with massive breaking bumps and rough terrain how can you resist the forces that will throw you to the bars?
When it's super rough, I do keep my feet more level. That said, we'll be showing some astounding footage of World Cup pros making front foot turn in very rough conditions. Amazing to watch! -Simon
Can't wait to put this into practice! Quick question - do you encourage rides to always stick to the same foot forward or is there a right time to switch?
@@franklee6301 I don't mean between turns, I mean for the whole trail. Like you always return to a specific stance on the bike, do you also return to the same foot forward?
I do. I've had 6 or 7 procedures, and all have worked....and most importantly...have lasted. Not sure everyone benefits like I have, but I feel super fortunate to have my doc be so helpful.
Questions... Does it matter which leg is dominant and therefore which to put forward? My right leg is dominant, should I make it the forward or rearward foot? Because biking isn't exactly the same as skateboarding or snowboarding. Or maybe someone has some dysfunction that makes it better to use the other foot forward or backwards? I'm not sure my question is clear enough...
I find it the same as with a board sport. Dominant is the back foot (So right foot back is normal, left foot goofy) so on a bike, that is also the back foot which means turning left you have more control and power. Some people do switch this around I find but that's less common.
@@beno9966 I ride board sports with my dominant right foot forward and I'm pretty sure that means goofy. For example, I use my dominant right foot to steer the board as I kick with my left foot. Now I'm just confused. LOL
@@jkeiffer Ride whatever feels most comfortable. You're not "supposed" to ride either way, just do what feels best and practice that! I'm also a right side dominate, right side forward rider/boarder
Go with what is comfortable for you. I'm right foot forward on a board and left foot forward on a bike. MOST riders put their stronger leg in the back, but there are a number of world class riders who lead with their stronger leg. -Simon
Sorry I'm a little confused. So a front foot turn is actually turning the opposite way to the foot that is at the front? So if you're left foot front the turn is to the right?
The back foot will always be dominate, so if you are left food forward, turning 'left' will be harder. They are saying not to change foot position but to work on making the forward foot technique stronger. Try doing cutties with each side, you will notice which one is easier.
It can be confusing to learn for sure. Just as with walking or trail running or doing any bi-pedal sport, the right leg turns the human body left and the left leg turns it right. So yes, if you are left foot forward, you would press your front foot to turn right. I often have students get up on their feet and just feel this while walking or running. It can simplify the understanding of the technique. Really we are trying to be the best possible bi-pedal athletes we can while working over this platform. Get up and walk and notice what happens if you step on you left foot and turn right...then try turning left off your left foot. This is a super convincing way to feel this. Hope this helps! -Simon
Not necessarily going all the way to 6/12 but yes, like a teeter totter in a park. One foot goes back to turn in one direction and the other goes forward to turn in the other direction. Depends on your lead foot. Lots of videos about this on this channel. I hope this helps! -Simon
Yes, that is actually what this video is about! On longer, flatter and particularly off camber turns, the riders outside foot might end up all the way down. Fabien actually does what we are saying here...he's one of the many riders I've used in my study of the sport. We used to push the outside foot all the way down in all turns, but that has changed over the years. Rad that Fabien is still ripping the e-bike enduro scene. -Simon
Interesting. My weak turn is the opposite as what's shown here. Right foot forward and my weak turn is a right-hander.
Same with me, and I'm right handed.
@@hambo76same here
Same with me
That puts you in a small category of rider (as I teach about 1,000 riders per year in person). The front foot turn isn't missing for all riders, but is for most. Nice advantage that you have a comfy front foot turn to start! -Simon
@@Fluidride I put this video into practice yesterday (and the recent steep descents one, and your tip about releasing the front brake for more control) and it made a real difference to my ride!
This is easily the best coaching channel on TH-cam.
PS. Great to have you back Simon!
All this is crazy reverse for people with their dominate foot forward. Intuitively (to me at least) it's easier to open your hips towards your back foot with all that open space, versus across your body/front leg. IE I'm right foot forward, right foot dominate - my left turns are leaps and bounds better than my right turns. My hips lock up when I go right. It seems like turning opposite your dominate leg is easier and more intuitive regardless of which is forward. The foot you're driving with being the determinate factor.
Thanks for the vid!
Really varies from rider to rider, but after teaching nearly 1,000 people in person per year for many years, the back foot turn is easier for most. Of course if you are riding with your dominant foot in the front, that can change things. You are in a group of about 10% of riders that feel this way. I always tell riders like you that this is an inherent advantage as the back foot turn is easier to learn to perfect for most riders. Having a strong natural front foot turn is a great starting point! Most riders put their stronger leg in the back, which I'd guess is to support them on descents. BUT, there are some amazing world cup pros who are right foot forward. As a matter of fact, more than half of top World Cup descenders are right foot forward, while only about 30% of the riding population is. I think they are feeling what you are. Good stuff. -Simon
@@Fluidride I think I have to agree with CoffeeBike. I'm right foot forward and right foot dominate and I feel like I'm more comfortable in a lefthand turn. ...I'm kind of wondering if these turns have more to do with your dominate foot not being on the outside of the turn regardless of stance (normal or goofy).
You guys are the best! So happy to see you back. This tutorial is exactly what I needed and have not been doing. I've learned to cheat by switching stances but can't switch fast enough depending on the trail. You break things down so well, so logical, and so effective. Thank you!
Yeah, switching on the trail can get hectic. On modern trails, there is typically no time. You might also snag a pedal doing that! -Simon
Wow -- I've never heard this in many turning coaching sessions! Can't wait to take it out on the bike!
Simon presents easily digestible and actionable guidance for complex movements. 🙏
So glad you guys are back. My favorite team of coaches on TH-cam! This is one of my goals this year.
Thanks Mike! We truly appreciate your kind words. -Simon
Just great!
I was wondering about that for long time and just this month I figured out - when I move forward my left turns got better.
Now I got this explained! Thank You!
have missed my regular practice like a pro hit! So glad you are back.
Great information.
Thanks both.
So glad you're back !
Wow, this makes so much sense!
Love this channel. Best coaching advice by far. Any chance you will be covering back foot turns as well,
. As others here have stated back foot turns are also my weakest side. Any help here would be appreciated. Keep up the good work.
Good call Nigel! We'll put it on the list! -Simon
Thanks for this video! Game changer. Went out today and practiced this! It helped a lot.
Glad you guys are back.... One of the best mtb tutorials on youtube... Thanks guys 🤙
Thanks so much. We are happy to be back! -Simon
So happy to see you back making videos! Awesome
Thanks for watching - we're stoked to be back 🥳 -Linnea
Always skateboarded or snowboard goofy foot. I ride right foot forward but my left hand turns are more comfortable then right handed turns 😂. Easier to get the bike leaned over for some reason. My cornering knobs on the left side of my tires always have wear and my right side knobs don’t have nearly as much.
Wow it's so cool that you've noticed these differences in your tires, too! You are really tuned into the details; we love this. -Linnea
Yeah, I'm bad at this too. I'm a righty, and I don't know why but whenever I take right turns, there's always that fear of falling over. I'm slowly making it better by ratcheting it with the right foot forward. That way also helps me make narrower turns which is good coz I love climbing.
That’s reassuring right away to say not to switch feet, cause I feel when I try to switch feet I over think everything and it feels unnatural. But when I keep my feet in the middle I can corner way better focusing on balance and my target.
Huge help, thanks for breaking this down.
Thankyou very heplful coaching and Explaining the science behind body weight pos made everything understandable 👍
Thanks for the kind words! So glad our tutorials are helping.
PERFECT timing!! Great description and this perspective opened my eyes up to a LOT! Thanks!
Right on Clay. You are so welcome. Love it when we are able to help! -Simo
So what about "goofy" riders? I ride strong foot forward which seems to be the opposite of most people. Does that mean my turns are naturally more even?
At 5.55 you start talking about turn an rotating to the front foot and back foot. The because human are contra-lateral movers. So when the foot is forward that arm want to move back and be connected to the torso.
Excellent video. Thank you. Stronger right or left leg/foot very similar to regular vs. goofy foot in surfing. As goofy foot, also feel the stronger left foot when turning right when skiing.
Yeah, it's interesting. I ride left foot forward on the bike as my back leg really supports me (right leg is my strong one), but on a board I'm right foot forward as I think it helps me carve turns. That said, when attempting to surf (I skate a bit) I've certainly overweighted my front foot and dug in uncomfortably! Interesting how we use our bodies and make up for our strong side etc.
-Simon
learned something new today, thank you!
I never corner right or left foot forward.
It's always which foot is down. Right turn left foot down with weight on the pedal and left up. Left turn right foot down with weight on that pedal.
That's the way we used to turn until about 2002. Interesting if you watch older downhill videos, you will see that. Not wrong at all, but the modern footwork does have some inherent advantages. I used to ride the way you are describing. It took a while to learn this, but has been a huge game changer for me. With the foot already down, it's very difficult to change the apex of a turn or to deal with a decreasing radius turn. If a turn gets tighter as it goes on, being able to respond is really helpful. Also nearly impossible to generate speed in a cupped berm with the foot all the way down. Much harder to learn this than the old school way, but I do recommend you give it a try. Thanks for tuning in! -Simon
On the odd day that I nail this technique, I feel the bike really swings through the corner quite effortlessly & sweetly. Kinda like hitting a nice shot in golf or tennis or a nice turn in surfing. Thanks for this, it'll help me refine my technique and break down the key movements.
Yeah, I get that. That's how I latched on to this idea. I'd get a good one from time to time, then realized they were mostly tight radius berms, so I set about tightening up some turns to see what would happen, and it's been really helpful - and fun! -Simon
Yep it definitely works, I enjoy your relaxed approach to it and thanks again👍
Great video as usual. I do miss the examples on what NOT to do that you have in some of your other videos. Many thanks.
I'll keep that in mind! We do have a bunch of 'what not to do' videos coming out. Going to sprinkle those in soon. A couple have already been filmed. Thanks for letting us know what helps you Dan! -Simon
This was great Simon. It's amazing how similar MTB turning and alpine skiing turning are at many levels. Once again this is about body posture/alignment to get you onto a balanced, active "drive" foot, and it's the same in skiing. Higher level turns are started as high up toward the tip/shovel as possible -- early, on an active "drive" foot linked to a leg, hips, torso in the proper attitudes for a powerful stance & drive through the turn.
I don't know if you teach/coach skiing or snowboarding but I can tell you that you would be very good at it if you did.
Thanks Sean. I was a better skier than I am a rider, but started doing year round summers about a decade ago. I still lean heavily on my ski and motocross backgrounds as they have provided so many insights into proper human movement. -Simon
@@Fluidride You're welcome. My favorite ski coach used to talk about the activities (other than ice hockey/figure skating/speed skating) with the best parallels/crossover learning, for turn-to-turn ideas teaching: in his view, they are horse riding, motorcycle riding, bicycle riding. All require a conscious change of lead, so to speak -- that's what he said. I had a lot of good chair ride talks with him on the parallels between MTB or moto, and skiing. Especially the MTB vs moto, where parallel stance vs independent foot position was concerned, and what that meant for lead change.
While I was never really an equestrian, I've often used horse riding analogies for biking. Cool how so many sports share similar traits one might never expect!
This is going to take some work. I have always switched legs thinking the extra half pedal was helping. Thanks for going through all this
Give it a try. Does take time to break old habits, but should be worth the time. On old school trails there was time, but trails turn so fast and frequently these days, that this technique has become the modern standard for all pro riders. -Simon
As a "testimonial", I was in the same boat - always switched- and after watching a fluid ride video a couple years ago, I tried leaving one foot forward all of the time. It's improved my riding immensely.
Good advice
Back in 1997 my teammate and I created a practice run in the town park so we could get 5 runs an hour(using our vehicles) when we had time to meet. We chose the most challenging lines we could find and built a course that was three minutes of intense technical rock garden and big drops in the 10 foot range along the way. My teammate was affiliated with Spooky cycles so I had a chance to ride with Frank and factory rider Tattoo Lou on our practice run and they loved what we made. Funny story to add: We were cleaning up the trail to ride one spring and a park ranger came up and remarked that she never knew this was here. LOL
SO RAD! Tattoo Lou was my teammate for a couple of years and a dear friend. We had some pretty wild adventures on the road together. Drove like 5k plus miles with him one year. So cool when you can get a hidden gem to enjoy...especially when it's local! -Simon
Awesome as always. I think I got this technique process into my head when you first did this in your online school but one thing I can't feel / work out is, where that 'pumped snap' comes from in the turn that you can see Simon getting here 11:12 ?? It's looks like an apex acceleration to the eye, if I'm seeing that right. Thanks
Oliver, so nice to hear from you again. You are seeing that correctly. Tough conditions to get lateral acceleration (apex snap) but with practice it can happen. I've done about a million runs though the cones🙂Keep up the practice! -Simon
@@Fluidride You've got an amazing memory Simon. Thanks for the answer 👍
First time I ever see a video about this topic and it is some interesting stuff. Curious to see what practicing this will do for my turns
Give it a whirl! If you watch any high level pro riders, you will see this all day long. We teach what the pros do. None of this is made up in any way. Just an explanation of what the highest level riders rely on for speed and control. Give yourself some time to practice this. I'm still working on it during every ride -even with decades of experience. -Simon
Great video and explanation on a topic that’s sadly been overlooked to often because people only ride berms or are too busy trying to ‘shralp’ corners. I’ve coached mountainbikers for a couple of years and always enphasized twisting your body in the direction of the turn, ie hip and elbow out. Also important to keep tension in this direction in order to force the bike to turn. Laying it over and, if the situation calls for it, dropping the outside foot can maximize grip.
Yeah, super overlooked. And yes, so many shralp vids with inside foot pressure. Fun for videos, but not a ton of traction offered. Glad you are out teaching the right things. Makes me happy! -Simon
In surfing & snowboarding the terms natural & goofy footed are used by everyone. I have never heard them being used in biking though. Why not? It would be useful imo. Fyi, I'm natural footed like the both of you.
Got to practice with your non dominant foot foward
Thank you! I absolutely love and look forward to your videos. I learned a lot in this video.
Thanks so much. We love helping riders learn! Such a great community. -Simon
This is great tutorial, but I have to say this fundamental has always been intuitive to me. Head up and after spotting the entry, look immediately through the turn. Then, it is easier to set up the front foot turn. It is def harder when riding in dense forest with limited sight-lines.
Awesome. I'll just say you are one of the few🙂I'd say about 90% of the riders I work with have no front foot turn when they start with me...including the pros. And yeah, everything is harder when the going gets technical! Thanks for tuning in. -Simon
@@Fluidride ..and at speed wo braking excessively into the turn. Some terrain demands this tech but often I can rachet pedal and change the the lead foot to my right. I too am a left forward rider. That is possible on flatter terrain at slower speeds, but a steep downhill right-hander doesn't allow that. Great breakdown.
Love you tutorials. Now, please for the love of God, put that break cable on the inside of the fork leg Simon. 😉
Ha! I know! I took it to the shop and it came back that way. I just took it in for a quick tune and asked them to put it where it should be and they forgot. So surprised you are the first to see it. Lol! Thought for sure this would be the first comment!
Slightly confused- I’m assuming you switch pedal stances ie for right turns left foot down & right pedal up & for left turns left pedal up & right foot down - When I’m going down tight twisty enduro style rooty, rocky single track I do it this way to avoid pedal strikes when cranking into the turn
Hi Dylan - We think of this like a teeter totter around the bottom bracket: The front foot always remains in the front, and the rear foot always remains in the rear, while both feet rotate up and down depending on the turn. So we're switching which foot is *dipping*, but not which foot is in front. I hope this helps - it sounds like you're doing it all correctly! -Linnea. We can always bring in Simon for more detail too 🤣if you still have questions!
Plus mega tight switchbacks it helps to switch to be able to use the back leg to swing the bike around.
right foot forward and right food dominant here. right turns are much harder than left turns because of hip position. Looking at these comments, this seems more common than admitted
🙌 yes my right hand turn sucks just what I was trying to learn keep up the great videos when is her next enduro race ?!?
I hear you. It's why I got interested in learning about riding...could....not...turn...right! Linnea has been racing cross country this year. We are going to the alps soon though, so she'll be ripping lots of downhill tracks next month.
@@Fluidride 🔥 DH video!!! 🙌🙌🙌
Great video thank you
You are most welcome. Thanks for tuning in! -Simon
What do you recommend doing with the crank angle when set in a turn? Front and back feet no longer remain front and back if the crank rotates 90°, and now it's upper and lower foot.
There is a lot of replay value in this.
For sure. Takes a LOT of practice!
Wow that clicked, can't wait to try it out
I feel lucky that everything you say just came to me intuitively as a living critter on two wheels
You quietly slipped in, “..able to jump off your front foot” [when your front knee is over the ball of your front foot]. Such a big deal. You could emphasise that specifically.
GET ABLE TO JUMP OFF YOUR FRONT FOOT how it should be said.
In fact, at pace, you MUST push your bike down (by doing a jumping movement) with the front foot in the turn.
I keep forgetting.
It’s hard because a lot of reasons. One not mentioned today is because the front foot is usually the non dominant one (you said that) but it is therefore also the LESS coordinated foot.
So, it’s harder to trust. The reps with the cones do a lot of things. The main one is gaining trust and the muscle memory in the front leg (foot).
He's wrong about jumping off the ball of the foot. To get the maximum height from a standing high jump, everybody will start from a position of the feet flat on the ground. Nobody would first lean forward and get their heels of the ground.
This is all moot anyway, because MTBers don't jump to make turns.
I am a right foot forward rider. On tight steep turns, I don't have a problem with left turns. It is my right turns that I have a problem. Why would that be the case?
I'm the same way, right foot forward, right foot dominate - from their vid it seems like turning towards your dominate foot side is always harder because you're using your weaker/less coordinated foot to drive
Yes, this is likely because you are riding with your dominant foot in the front, which is totally fine. Just not as common as putting it in the back. You might need more practice with your back foot turns. We do see this about 10% of the time. -Simon
@@Fluidride But that is not the case for me. My back foot (left) is my dominate. I''m also left handed and left side dominate for everything I do.
@@DThomas-q6f Hard to know the mysteries of the human body. Stay tuned for an upcoming episode on back foot turns as it sounds like that is where you need work. I spoke with a kinesiology professor who told me that humans are pre-disposed to turning left due to extra connections low in our spinal cord. Obviously there are no absolutes with the human body, but it's interesting. While your issue with corners is uncommon I have certainly seen this in riders before. This is why in the title we say 'most' not 'all' in the title of the video. Keep working on your back foot turns, and be sure you left hand turn is being properly accessed by your front foot. Without seeing you, it's really tough to say what is going on. We do offer video review services if you are ever interested. Can be super helpful for riders. Cheers for now. -Simon
Hi! Can you please make a video on very narrow (about pedal width) switchbacks?
Funny you mention that. We are filming one on Thursday. Will be showing drills to work on technique, followed by some really tight trails! Not sure when it will be out, but stay tuned! -Simon
Damn that Troy Lee A1 helmet really pop.
Starting my 4th decade of riding MTB, I'm going to strongly urge everyone from thinking of themselves as a "left-foot-forward" or "right-foot-forward" rider. You need to be able to do everything in either stance, partly to be ready for whatever you find on the trail, but also to save your knees. The rear knee is typically more heavily loaded, and being able to switch stances will let you get more riding out of your knees as a set...especially if you like stuff like park riding that is almost all done out of the saddle.
While this is great in theory, it's very uncommon that riders can ride in both stances safely. Currently no riders in the World Cup ride switch anywhere. BUT, I always tell riders that if you CAN do it, you should switch, but not from turn to turn but rather for entire sections of trail just to add to the balance of the body as you say. I might get a couple people per year (out of 1,000) that can do this safely during in person classes. None of them have been the pros I teach. Wish I were more comfortable right foot forward. I demo a lot in classes for riders who have that stance and have done so for well over a decade and still can only do basic stuff that way. -Simon
@@Fluidride Almost nobody is going to be able to do a switch stance well on the spot. It takes quite a bit of practice...but that's likely because people settle into one stance early in their riding career and essentially practice one stance all the time. No wonder it's hard to catch up! But with some patience and determination that imbalance can be reversed...and even better, you can coach young riders (like I do) to do everything in both stances from the get-go. They will get longer riding careers as a result of evening out the stress on their knees and ankles. After a couple of years of work, I've gotten pretty symmetrical, and man, does it help on long descents or bike park days. And yeah, not switching every turn, but every couple of minutes on a long downhill. I do wonder if downhill racers could benefit from tactically switching stance to match the course. We just don't know, because nobody seems to have put the effort in to get equally good in either stance, and then try it out on course, right?
@@xanthoptica I think we might see some crafty stuff in the future. We'll see. I simply teach what the best riders in the world do. I don't do kids instruction, but am stoked to hear you are working on getting them to ride switch as well. Certainly healthier!
amazing. now i know.
Great video, thank you! Do you have any suggestions for someone who can't seem to not drop the outside pedal? I have difficulties keeping my feet level even if I think about it.
Yes. Practice coasting in a basic environment and keeping your feet level. Then do some compressions through your legs while keeping the feet level so you are compressing the suspension without the use of your arms. Then coast with your feet level and practice slightly rotating the back foot down and then bringing back to level. Repeat the same with the front foot. Do this drill a LOT and you should start to gain control over your footwork. I hope this helps! -Simon
@@Fluidride thank you Simon. I'm also looking into trying to do one of your weekend courses where you do the basic one that's required to do the advanced cornering. I'd be coming down from Canada so I need to find a weekend that does both.
Unless you have very rapid turns, why not put the outside pedal down at 6 o'clock?
Makes it nearly impossible to change lines in a turn or deal with a closing (or decreasing radius) turn. With this technique, you can respond in real time to the details of the turn. There are a number of other inherently helpful things about this. If my bike slides, the outside foot will automatically rotate and 'chase the slide'. For riders racing in packs, they can use this to pass others who don't have this technique. For riders racing DH or riding techy descents, they can fine tune within a turn. On berms, we can generate forward momentum which is not possible with the outside foot all the way down. I think I'll make a video about this, so thanks for this great question! I'll also add that it isn't wrong to do what you suggest, just not as good as using modern footwork. If you want to geek out on this, check out old DH videos from 2000 or before and you will see riders doing what you are talking about. Then fast forward about ten years and you will see riders doing what we are teaching. All my teaching comes from observation of the worlds best riders, and this is what they ALL do now. The big change happened around 2002 when Sam Hill became the dominant descender by using this technique. Hope this helps! -Simon
If your shifting your weight forward on a turn with massive breaking bumps and rough terrain how can you resist the forces that will throw you to the bars?
When it's super rough, I do keep my feet more level. That said, we'll be showing some astounding footage of World Cup pros making front foot turn in very rough conditions. Amazing to watch! -Simon
Can't wait to put this into practice! Quick question - do you encourage rides to always stick to the same foot forward or is there a right time to switch?
He answers this question in the first two minutes. 😂 Don't switch is their theory.
If you blind run for races, practice both sides. Otherwise, get great at flow with the same foot forward. 😊
@@franklee6301 I don't mean between turns, I mean for the whole trail. Like you always return to a specific stance on the bike, do you also return to the same foot forward?
@@stevengoodwin3154 Thanks :)
Some corners you may need to actually drop a foot, in which case you are absolutely going to be changing which side is dropped.
Hey Simon: Do you still feel like the stem cell therapy was helpful? My left hip is not good and I’m trying everything to avoid surgery. Thank you.
I do. I've had 6 or 7 procedures, and all have worked....and most importantly...have lasted. Not sure everyone benefits like I have, but I feel super fortunate to have my doc be so helpful.
What about if you change to much shorter cranks?
That should just make controlling your footwork and particularly your front foot turn a lot easier.
Questions... Does it matter which leg is dominant and therefore which to put forward? My right leg is dominant, should I make it the forward or rearward foot? Because biking isn't exactly the same as skateboarding or snowboarding. Or maybe someone has some dysfunction that makes it better to use the other foot forward or backwards? I'm not sure my question is clear enough...
I find it the same as with a board sport. Dominant is the back foot (So right foot back is normal, left foot goofy) so on a bike, that is also the back foot which means turning left you have more control and power. Some people do switch this around I find but that's less common.
@@beno9966 I ride board sports with my dominant right foot forward and I'm pretty sure that means goofy. For example, I use my dominant right foot to steer the board as I kick with my left foot. Now I'm just confused. LOL
@@jkeiffer Ride whatever feels most comfortable. You're not "supposed" to ride either way, just do what feels best and practice that! I'm also a right side dominate, right side forward rider/boarder
Go with what is comfortable for you. I'm right foot forward on a board and left foot forward on a bike. MOST riders put their stronger leg in the back, but there are a number of world class riders who lead with their stronger leg. -Simon
Sorry I'm a little confused. So a front foot turn is actually turning the opposite way to the foot that is at the front? So if you're left foot front the turn is to the right?
The back foot will always be dominate, so if you are left food forward, turning 'left' will be harder. They are saying not to change foot position but to work on making the forward foot technique stronger. Try doing cutties with each side, you will notice which one is easier.
It can be confusing to learn for sure. Just as with walking or trail running or doing any bi-pedal sport, the right leg turns the human body left and the left leg turns it right. So yes, if you are left foot forward, you would press your front foot to turn right. I often have students get up on their feet and just feel this while walking or running. It can simplify the understanding of the technique. Really we are trying to be the best possible bi-pedal athletes we can while working over this platform. Get up and walk and notice what happens if you step on you left foot and turn right...then try turning left off your left foot. This is a super convincing way to feel this. Hope this helps! -Simon
So is this like 12 and 6 o clock switching back and forth?
Not necessarily going all the way to 6/12 but yes, like a teeter totter in a park. One foot goes back to turn in one direction and the other goes forward to turn in the other direction. Depends on your lead foot. Lots of videos about this on this channel. I hope this helps! -Simon
Omg I think you just fixed my Zoolander syndrome
🤣🤣🤣 We love Zoolander references!
Good stuff 🤘
(All the armchair coaches in the comments are hilarious 😂)
Idk, my biggest weakness in mtb is my wallet
HA! Yeah...love this!
If it’s a long turn with no support, I drop and weigh the outside pedal. Seemed to work for Fabien Barrel.
Yes, that is actually what this video is about! On longer, flatter and particularly off camber turns, the riders outside foot might end up all the way down. Fabien actually does what we are saying here...he's one of the many riders I've used in my study of the sport. We used to push the outside foot all the way down in all turns, but that has changed over the years. Rad that Fabien is still ripping the e-bike enduro scene. -Simon