Feet / Leg position in a corner

[rockdude]

What is the best way to ride through a fast corner?

Position your feet so that the pedal on the inside of the curve is down, with the outside pedal up

Or

Position your feet so that the pedal on the inside of the curve is up, with the outside pedal down.

I see people do it both ways and I can do it both ways as long as I have my weight balanced going into the corner.

[Dave]

The foot on the inside of the corner better be up, or your pedal will hit the ground! Anyone doing the opposite isn't cornering very fast.

[Fixed]

The foot on the inside of the corner better be up, or your pedal will hit the ground! Anyone doing the opposite isn't cornering very fast.
+1 well said as always bro
cheers

[dvs cycles]

Always want the outside pedal down and weighted assuming you aren't pedaling through the corner.

[Karin Kirk]

Inside foot is up, weight is on the outside foot, which is down.

Or, sometimes I corner with both feet roughly level (as in 3:00 and 9:00) if I'm using my feet and weight to guide the bike through the corner. This is mostly for mtb or slow speed, bumpy/gravel strewn corners.

I can't see any reason to put the inside foot down - seems like it puts your weight in the wrong place in addition to asking for trouble by clipping the pedal on the ground.

[regularguy412]

Inside pedal up. Slightly unweight your butt from the saddle, putting pressure on the outside (down) pedal. You should still be able to feel the saddle, but should not have your entire weight on it. This helps put equal cornering pressure on both wheels. The outside knee should still have a slight bend. Remember to relax your elbows, as well. This lets the whole bike pivot and follow any undulations in the road surface as you corner. This also means no 'death grip' on the drops as you turn through.

If you find as you come toward the center of the turn that you need to tighten your line, counter-steer. This means pushing handlebar that's on the inside of the turn toward the FRONT of the bicycle. It's actually a very small movement of the bars. This move is really a last resort for cases where you: failed to set up for the turn properly, need to avoid another rider, or miss an object on the road surface. I say it's a last resort, because you are severely testing the adhesion limit of the tires on the road. Counter-steering should be practiced. It's a learned skill and can be very helpful.

Mike in AR:beer:

[torquer]

Inside foot is up, weight is on the outside foot, which is down.



+1

Perhaps a more controversial question: lean into a turn (that is, bike is more upright, relative to rider's upper body) or lean away (where bike would be leaning more acutely than rider's upper body)? Or try to maintain a straight line from tire contact point to saddle to top of head?

[Big Daddy]

IF you can't pedal through...get that foot up, or you will hear it from me.

the other night in the crit, reeling in the break, 38mph through turn 3. Pedaling the whole way. Did put a bit of leather down. thank gawd for Speedplays.

[Fixed]

IF you can't pedal through...get that foot up, or you will hear it from me.

the other night in the crit, reeling in the break, 38mph through turn 3. Pedaling the whole way. Did put a bit of leather down. thank gawd for Speedplays.
big daddy rules imho
sometimes you have to go with the flow
and if you do stop pedaling it is only for a split second it is timing ..
cheers :beer:

[regularguy412]

+1

Perhaps a more controversial question: lean into a turn (that is, bike is more upright, relative to rider's upper body) or lean away (where bike would be leaning more acutely than rider's upper body)? Or try to maintain a straight line from tire contact point to saddle to top of head?

Yep. That one's controversial. I'll say, "It depends". If I'm not taking a turn too fast or too sharply, then I tend to lean with the bike. If it's a fast turn, especially one I cannot see all the way around or across it to the exit, I'll tend to let the bike lean in a bit more than my body. This helps let me make last second adjustments to line. Additionally, the canals in one's ears that send signals to help maintain balance (the cochlea) work better when they are held parallel to the force of gravity, i.e., head straight up and down. So even in a turn where I'm leaning the bike, I still try to cant my head so that it's more upright.

Mike in AR :beer:

[flickwet]

Or any other form of mc road racing while there are major dynamic differences, fundamentally they are similar, those doods lean'em over, body to the inside, knee down, head as level as can be. Wow I love to watch that stuff. Dirt track and Motocross is the opposite, due to the low traction of the surface the rider tends to stay upright in relation to the bike, no answers just observations whatever works best for where your at I guess.

[Ken Robb]

[QUOTE= Dirt track and Motocross is the opposite, due to the low traction of the surface the rider tends to stay upright in relation to the bike, no answers just observations whatever works best for where your at I guess.[/QUOTE]


Yep, and those circle dirt track guys wear boots w/steel soles so they can slide them along the ground in corners to prevent low-siding when the traction goes away a little bit.

[Karin Kirk]

Perhaps a more controversial question: lean into a turn (that is, bike is more upright, relative to rider's upper body) or lean away (where bike would be leaning more acutely than rider's upper body)? Or try to maintain a straight line from tire contact point to saddle to top of head?

As regular guy said, it depends. (Probably true for most controversial questions, no?)

On a smooth corner with nothing to worry about, both you and the bike can freely lean into the turn. Push the inside handlebar down to control the radius. (One exception from what regular guy said, I see this as an everyday move, not just for emergencies. Definitely should be practiced though.)

When traction is compromised, you'll have to lean less. The bottom line is that the bike needs to stay more upright so that you can keep better traction. I don't have a strong opinion on whether you and the bike should stay in a straight line or not, but I think that's an artificial goal. The more important point is to stay balanced and comfortable, rather than trying to achieve a certain position. So I think leaning "away" from the turn would not help you here, because it's really unnatural and unbalanced feeling.

The other thing I do when traction is compromised is to widen my radius over the tricky places (gravel, bumps, puddles) and then tighten it back up afterward. This lets you tread lightly over the trouble spots.

[RPS]

Perhaps a more controversial question: lean into a turn (that is, bike is more upright, relative to rider's upper body) or lean away (where bike would be leaning more acutely than rider's upper body)? Or try to maintain a straight line from tire contact point to saddle to top of head?
As regular guy said, it depends. (Probably true for most controversial questions, no?)Perhaps we should question what difference(s) does it really make?

One is obviously allowing for additional ground clearance, as is the case with motorcycle road racing. From what I’ve seen if the racer doesn’t lean to the inside to keep the motorcycle more upright, it is very likely the bike would hit the ground; which would immediately unload the tires and send it sliding across the pavement.

On the other hand, we should ask how does rider leaning more towards inside or outside affect traction? How does it affect combined rider/bike center of gravity, and required combined lean to balance lateral acceleration versus gravity forces?

[Big Daddy]

Perhaps we should question what difference(s) does it really make?

One is obviously allowing for additional ground clearance, as is the case with motorcycle road racing. From what I’ve seen if the racer doesn’t lean to the inside to keep the motorcycle more upright, it is very likely the bike would hit the ground; which would immediately unload the tires and send it sliding across the pavement.

On the other hand, we should ask how does rider leaning more towards inside or outside affect traction? How does it affect combined rider/bike center of gravity, and required combined lean to balance lateral acceleration versus gravity forces?


C'mon guys/gals! Way over thinking this. Too many variables for a simple question.

If you are carrying some serious speed (relative i know) get that inside foot up.

If you are rolling outta the local $tarbucks, then w/ever.

Always weight the outside.

[skatzman]

I would say that I agree with keeping the inner pedal up, but an article in today's New York Times, interviewing Christian Vande Velde, he states the opposite:

NYT article on CVV (http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/19/fashion/19fitness.html?_r=1&ref=sports&oref=slogin)

From the second page of this article:

When negotiating curves, he said, position your feet so that the pedal on the inside of the curve is down, with the outside pedal up (which keeps your weight balanced). “Don’t throw your bike from one corner to another,” he said. “Brake before the turn, and turn gradually, aiming for the apex.”

[RPS]

C'mon guys/gals! Way over thinking this. Too many variables for a simple question.

If you are carrying some serious speed (relative i know) get that inside foot up.

If you are rolling outta the local $tarbucks, then w/ever.

Always weight the outside.Please note my comment was addressing not which foot to keep high and which to keep low, but rather whether it is advantageous to lean the bicycle further into the turn or not.

Obviously a thread drift; but one others participated in first.

Yes, the original question was quite simple as were the answers. The subject brought up by “torquer” is not quite as simple or as well understood.

[William]

Very good descriptions so far. Bottom line...if you're not pedaling through, outside down, otherwise your going airborne when when that pedal plants itself in the pavement. All my crit racing was on 180's with Speedplays and I never planted one. Scraped a few times, but never planted.




William

[chuckred]

I would say that I agree with keeping the inner pedal up, but an article in today's New York Times, interviewing Christian Vande Velde, he states the opposite:

NYT article on CVV (http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/19/fashion/19fitness.html?_r=1&ref=sports&oref=slogin)

From the second page of this article:

When negotiating curves, he said, position your feet so that the pedal on the inside of the curve is down, with the outside pedal up (which keeps your weight balanced). “Don’t throw your bike from one corner to another,” he said. “Brake before the turn, and turn gradually, aiming for the apex.”

Either the professional bike racer was wrong or the author wrote it backwards... must be the former?