The fastest way to improve your overall mountain biking skills is to improve your cornering. With The Fluidride Method, we call this ‘Footwork’.
Here you can see me making a left-hand turn. You will notice that my back foot is creating the pressure since I’m a left foot forward rider. This is my ‘back-foot turn’. My back foot is moving down and back during the turn. Most riders have an easier time creating strong back-foot turns because most (not all) riders are ‘back foot dominant,’ preferring to hold the stronger more coordinated foot in back. Notice the compression of my Hightower LT in both the front and rear suspension. This is because my weight is over the bottom bracket with my outside knee driving over my toes. Note my lifted outside elbow. My elbow has lifted during the rotation of my outside foot, allowing the shoulders to turn with the hips. Back-foot turns give us more acceleration because the back foot is rotating toward the front of the bike. If I were a right foot forward rider, this would be my front foot turn.
Here you can see me making a right-hand turn. You will notice my front foot has started moving forward and down, creating pressure – this again is because I’m a left foot forward rider. This is my front-foot turn. Turning properly with the front foot can be a challenge to learn, as many (but not all) riders put their dominant, or more coordinated foot back when riding. You can see the front fork compressing as my knee drives over the toe on the pressuring (outside/left) side. Notice my elbow is lifting as my front foot moves down. This helps turn my shoulders along with my hips (which turn from footwork). There is less lateral acceleration in a front-foot turn because while the foot moves down, it’s moving rearward. If I were a right-foot forward rider, this would be my back-foot turn.
Happy Trails!
-Simon