since i started riding 25+ years ago i’ve always favoured my left foot on the leading pedal when theyre level. always figured my right leg (as a right footer) is stronger and needs to support the weight on the trailing pedal. only noticed recently that most people i ride with who are right footed (and handed) are the otherway round. now they could just be weird, but what do you do? tried it the other way round and just feels all wrong. obvioulsy not what im used to, but for the past couple of months been trying to alternate when on the trails and still feels wrong. is there any advantage to to being able to swith – when cornering for example? not a big thing, but intrigued

I have wondered similar. Like you I ride left forward but am right footed, and doing it the other way feels weird.

Great question! I was discussing with this with my cycling buddy recently. I’m right handed but lead with my left foot, my mate is the same. Recently tried to lead my right foot, it was all wrong and I felt weighted differently when going over tech, consequently fell off! never again

right footed and lead with my right

I can bunny hop ad ride moderately technical trails – say a 7 out of 10 in the reverse position – only because i practised- and never drops.

i have no idea what advantage it has beyond which end you can flick out when you hop

I’m very right-handed but, can switch my lead foot no problem – wouldn’t do it for jumps or anything more than a few feet of drop though.

My left leg is the manager and the right the worker; I can balance on the left way better, but couldn’t possibly kick a football with it. The thought of trying to ollie a skateboard regular doesn’t compute at all

Right handed and lead with my right foot.
It can make right hand corners difficult I have to force myself to swap feet.

Yup. Right footed but lead with the left, just like skateboarding. Stronger leg stays back for balance.

How can this possibly matter?

My left leg is the manager;

so does that you are leading with it? or what are you maganing? genuine question.

i have no idea what advantage it has beyond which end you can flick out when you hop

this is the only down side ive found, i can flick the bike out on corners with me right foot when turning right or kick it out when getting air for bonus points, but other than that not sure if theres an advantage??

right footed and lead with my right

see my logical brain says this is all wrong. if youre left footed your left leg will be stronger. more weight and support goes into the trailing pedal, therefore right footed as trailng pedal – or is it just what your used to (or iv’e gott terrible body position!)

Have always been right handed left footed anyway but it is normal for right handed people will lead with their left foot on a bike so they stay balanced pulling the bars with the right arm.

How can this possibly matter?

not sure it does, just interested, hence the last line of my post

not a big thing, but intrigued

it is normal for right handed people will lead with their left foot on a bike so they stay balanced pulling the bars with the right arm.

good point, not thought of that. would want to bth leading limbs taking prevalence

When I learnt to snowboard the instructor told me that it’s the rear leg that does all of the work and I think it’s the same on a bike (or skateboard). I think most right handed and footed people lead with the left leg as the rear leg is used to change direction much more (especially in the air). I’m right handed and footed but ride with my left leg back, snow/skate/wake board goofy and have a dominant left eye.

The one time I had golf lessons the instructor told me being cross dominant was an advantage as your dominant eye was the lead one with no nose in the way, but I was crap so unsure this is true!

I think most right handed and footed people lead with the left leg as the rear leg is used to change direction much more

must just be the guys i ride with that are weird then. 4 out of 5 of them (all right handed and footed) lead with their right foot. i always suspected they were odd!

I lead with right foot, am right handed. Leading with left foot doesn’t inspire confidence.

I would advise practicing with the other foot. I say so as on first day of an Alps holiday I tweaked the hamstring of my right leg and then had to ride the rest of the holiday the other way around. Not the best place to start practicing.

I did a coaching session with uncle Tony earlier in the year

Rolling up to a jump I realised my feet were the wrong way round and I panicked a bit, buggered about backpedalling just before it and made a hash of the jump. When I said what had gone wrong he told me that every other time I’d gone over a jump I’d led with what I thought was my back foot

So apparently I lead with my “back” foot 😯 🙄

this question is similar to ‘which leg do you swing over?’

Right handed, lead with my right foot on a bike, lead with my left on a snowboard, swing my right leg over the bike, dress to the left.

this question is similar to ‘which leg do you swing over?’

yeh, but it isn’t really is it. more interested to see if there any advantage / benefit of changing foot on the trails for balance etc for example leading with your left foot potentially makes it easier turn your hips when going round a tight right hander / hairpin. as i say above just interested as always done what ive done. but thanks for your input

I’m right handed and right footed but lead with the left leg.

The real trouble come when I jump. My instinct is to push the bars to the right, but that doesn’t work!

I’m right handed but left legged and lead with my left. Prefer right turns as well

If you’re left footed, it makes sense that you prefer right turns, especially if you corner feet flat. Turning towards your lead legs actually locks the hips up and reduces body rotation.

Try it without the bike.

As a canoe paddler, we practice using our less favoured side, as regularly on moving water you may need to be able to use complex strokes powerfully and quickly.

I see no reason why you cannot retrain the body.

What is fun is to work out what foot, hand and eye you are. I’m left eyed, right hand and footed. Some simple excercises can tell you.

If you ever get to the Alps and try riding really tight switchbacks then it will be clear why it matters. Day one of a guided course there involves learning to lead with opposite feet according to the direction of the turn. After 3 trips to the Alps I can just about manage it naturally and find myself automatically changing lead foot now according to the direction of turn, even when not as tight as a proper switchback. Just makes balance and turn-in easier.

You don’t need to go to the alps to train it…

In BMX this is a thing , like doing a bunnyhop opposite (wrong foot forward) and I guess it’s like snowboarding etc , switch riding.

Can lead with either on a bike but probably stronger with the left forward as on a skateboard.

Switch trackstands?

Onzadog – Member
If you’re left footed, it makes sense that you prefer right turns, especially if you corner feet flat. Turning towards your lead legs actually locks the hips up and reduces body rotation.

This, I never really notice what foot is first, except for beamed corners or any other level cranked cornering, I try to remember to have outside pedal first. Feel it gives better weight distribution too.

As welshfarmer says – it’s on tight switchbacks where it’s most useful to be able to switch. I never used to bother until I started to ride steeper, rockier stuff in Greece and found that it’s a big advantage being able to lead with the left foot on tight RH turns.
It also made me realise that not switching leading foot was why I could do LH endo turns half reasonably but not RH turns.
Obvious, when you think about it but I’m a bit slow sometimes……

Yeah it’s useful in certain circumstances – eg if you have to hop in a hurry mid-pedal. I find it really hard though. It feels as if my feet are a mile apart!

I guess it’s a bit like snowboarding – I can ride switch comfortably in all but the most tech situations, but only because I’ve practised loads. It’feels all wrong at first.

I’m not convincEd this hand anything to do with what handed you are.

You have a foot you favour forward in lots of circumstances. One way to find out which it should be is to stand feet slightly apart and get someone to shove you from behind, you will naturally put one foot forward and it will always be the same foot.

That foot should then be your tenancy when putting it forward on a bike/skateboard etc.

Right handed people and left handed people can favour one foot or the other.

What welshfarmer says. I lead with right (and lead foot slightly lower) on a left corner and vice versa. It only goes out the window when I’m pumped, then I lead with right foot.

Right footed and lead right footed. I can do both reasonably well but it’s more comfortable to lead with the right. Oddly, I much prefer to track stand with my left foot forward.

Right handed, right footed for cycling, goofy for skateboarding and snowboarding. I reckon with practice you can change it, but it’ll take a looooooooooooot of practice!!! 😉

Right handed and right foot forward. Thing is I never really thought about it and even told a mate I rode left foot forward when trying to work out why left foot was a lot wetter than the right. He noticed when following me I am RFF.

Good thread and something I need to be more aware of when riding.

But I’m puzzled by putting more weight on the back leg. Physics says that if your pedals are level you must have equal weight on each foot?

For the last 3years I’ve been working on switching my lead foot in tight turns!

Didn’t really work at first, just made me slower whenever I had my ‘wrong foot’ forward. But i feel comfortable enough now to push equally as hard in the turns with either foot forward as the turn dictates. Still fees odd occasionally. But when it all clicks into place on a few consecutive or one fast turn, core does it feel good!

Riding a fixie off road broke my preference for leading with the left foot. It broke a few other things too but that’s another story.

Left footed/handed but lead with right foot on bike but left foot on snowboard. Have no problem riding switch on the board and getting the hang of it on the bike (i deliberately go for rides and lead with wrong foot – nothing extreme mind you – just trying to get it to feel more natural).

How can this possibly matter?

For just riding about it probably doesn’t. Switchbacks and steep corners it really does. Fast corners it does too – everyone have a favoured direction, for me i’m more comfortable turning left and hitting left handed hip jumps. Years of carving ramps and spinning airs/jumps on the bmx made me super confident going left. Airing right still feels weird and the first time i hit a big right hipped dirt jump i went straight on hit a tree. After half a dozen goes and failing each time i went and built a smaller right hip to practice on (with a right hand berm for good measure). Still feels odd but i don’t hit trees anymore, so it can matter.

Riding motorbikes is an slightly different one. Completely different technique and i still prefer fast lefthanders (on the track for the speed nazis 😛 ) but with so many roundabouts you get comfortable going both ways. So, you can retrain your brain somewhat and it can save your bacon so it can matter.

lol had to edit my post..i’m one of those people who struggle to tell left from right

double edit. On the subject of building stuff to practice on. My right foot is my lead when shoveling. Once i noticed this i made the effort to switch over. I’m convinced it helped me get the hang of carving/hipping right. A the twisting action maybe helped the muscle memory/strengthening thing?

On my motorbike I can get my LH knee down fine, but not the RH one. Consequently I love French roundabouts.

On my MTB I ride Left foot forward and I’m right handed, but can swop if the technical trail needs it.