I’m pretty sure this is down to personal preference, but I’m curious about which foot forward people ride. I’ve found that most of my friends ride with the opposite foot forward than me, and I’m curious to find if I’m truly in the minority. On trails it doesn’t seem to matter much, but I watch some trials videos on youtube, and the riders are very precise about which foot to use for various moves. Also, in a former job I leared that whichever hand is dominant doesn’t necessarily correlate with which foot is dominant. So, am I weird, or not? I’m just genuinely curious how other people ride.
When Klunking a downhill turn with a coaster brake, I alternate try to keep my outside foot back. It gives me more braking leverage, and if my rear wheel accidentally breaks loose, I can put down my inside foot, flat track style. It can sometimes feel a bit sketchy to pedal forward so you can line up your next braking.
Which foot is forward is probably not a big deal unless you’re jumping or whipping. I typically ride left foot forward, but am more comfortable with left turns (spin left). The experienced jumpers can correct me, but I think this is oppo - left foot forward typically spins right.
One issue I had when I was pump tracking a lot was leg pain in my right leg. I hadn’t realized that I was constantly using my right leg for pushing more than my left, since left was forward and my right was back. Now when I pump track, I intentionally switch legs regularly. I have to say, pumping with legs opposite way feels really weird at first.
I’ve wondered the same thing. In high school all my friends took up snowboarding, but I just could not get the hang of it no matter how hard I tried. I’ve often wondered (since learning my left foot forward mountain biking stance) if I should have been riding goofy.
Oh well, it was still fun being the token skier of the group.
I’m right handed/footed and ride left foot forward. Looks like most people are right footed, which is to be expected. But, I am surprised about 2/3 of people are left foot forward. I didn’t expect to be in the majority.
One thing I have noticed about myself is that if I start to get tired, well into a really long ride, I’ll put my right foot forward instead of my left. Generally a good cue that I’m probably going to crash soon.
I’ve been trying to practice this a bit more recently. It certainly doesn’t come naturally. I pretty much always lead with my left foot unless I concentrate on dropping my outside foot while leaning through corners.
