Commuting - Left foot /Right foot ?

i`ve observed most cyclists here (in N/Z) put their left foot to the road when forced to @ traffic lights ect. (me too) is this because we ride on the left side of the road or because were right handed(me too) i think i`d fall over if i had to stay clipped on the left & put my right foot down!do you who ride on the right (wrong) side of the road put your right foot down ?or alternativaly do left handed cyclists put their right foot down ? what about ambedexterious cyclists ? can they put either foot down or just stay clipped in ?? i was going to do this as a poll but its a bit more complicated than i first thought:D :D

On pushbike I always put my right foot down (i.e away from the kerb), I think because being right handed it was easier for me to undo/tighten my right toestrap, when using toeclips.

On a motorbike, always my left foot, because my right is on the brake.

When riding a tandem, I put right down, wife puts left (we fall over)

I use loose straps on my toeclips, and alway put my left foot down. Im right-handed, and over here we ride on the left.

most cyclists in right-hand driving like US, Canada, Germany, Italy, etc. also put their left foot to the ground as well as get on and off on the left side.

i guess i always thought it was becuase the drivetrain (chain, chainrings, deraileurs) is on the right side (is it always or do they make British bikes with drivetrain on the left side?)

i think it is a right-hand thing... but maybe just a custom that came out b/c of the drivetrain on the right side?

i guess i always thought it was becuase the drivetrain (chain, chainrings, deraileurs) is on the right side (is it always or do they make British bikes with drivetrain on the left side?)

i think it is a right-hand thing... but maybe just a custom that came out b/c of the drivetrain on the right side? [/B][/QUOTE]
i think all bikes drive trains are on the right(exept 1/2 of a tandem) because when riding on the left (right) side of the road , less of the debris, when wet ,transfers to the drive chain ( just a tin pot theory) i see by posts from our colonial oppressors in the U/K who ride on the left (right) side also put their left foot down, which kills (thankfully) a previously unmentioned theory i had about being on the other side of the equator, like the bath water swirling down the plug-hole the opposite way (i think i should have left it unmentioned) :D :D

oh s#1T wat happened to the quote gidget :crash:

If I am taking the lane, I put my left foot down. If, however, I am on the right side of a lane and there is a traffic island or curb next to me, I put my right foot down on that. Does that make me "ambipedrous?"

I've also noticed that in the US, most riders put their left foot down. I wonder if this is because of the crown of the roadway--in other words, people like to put the foot down on the "high" side.

Dave

Normally put left down unless I have a curb to my right then the right goes down - get on from the left side.

Tim

Most of the cyclists I've observed in this part of the US put their right foot down. I put my left foot down. Don't know if it's because I'm left-handed? I tried to put my right foot down once (trying to conform) and almost fell over. Just wasn't coordinated doing it like that.

Originally posted by chewa
When riding a tandem, I put right down, wife puts left (we fall over) [/B]

My boyfriend and I tried a tandem a few years ago and discovered that we are not compatible!

I used to put my right foot down, but had my right knee operated on 6 or so years ago. A few weeks after surgery the doc let me ride again, but made me promise to leave my right foot on the pedal until I got off the bike, so I trained myself to put the left down. It stuck. (My BF had the same surgery on his left knee, maybe that's why he puts his right foot down). Also, I'm right handed, he's a lefty.... hmm....

Well, I'm a leftie. I put my right foot down for both the single and the tandem. My reasoning is that if I lost my balance I would fall to the right side and away from traffic (usually I'm in the right-hand lane unless making a left-hand turn or there's a right-hand turn lane and I'm going straight).

I also think that because I favor my left leg over my right leg, I am more comfortable pulling away from a stop with my left foot already engaged in the cleat.

Hmm, guess I'm wierd. Right-handed but put my right foot down. I never thought about it; it's just the way I learned to ride. When I was little I put left foot on the pedal, pushed off with the right, then threw my right leg over. Now I put my right leg over, right foot down, clip in on the left, then push off with the right while pushing down the left pedal then clip in the right. I occasionally make myself do the opposite a few times just to make sure I know how.

I'm a righty & I put my left foot down. I'm more dextrous/balanced on my right side, so I feel more balanced when my right foot is in control of starting off from a light, etc.

Hmmm... Very interesting.

I'm right-handed. I get in on the left and put my right foot down when I stop. Probably because there are more curbs/objects on the right-hand side here, but I also find it easier to push off with my right foot.

--Nicholas

Iv'e given this a lot of thought as I was picking myself up many times while learning to go clopless :)

I'm right handed and my right foot is stronger, so I like to start with that one - IF there are no cars around.

If I am in trafic, I put the foot that is on the trafic side down. That way I am sure I won't fall into trafic. If I should fall toward y clipped side it will be away from the cars.

I am a lefty and always un-clip on the right (mount from the left) I am not sure it is cause I am a lefty or that the curb is on the right so I don't have to lean as far. It does explain why I get more grease than most on my clothing.

And while we are on the subject (sort of) 95% of the world is right handed, 5% of us learned to overcome that handicap! :rolleyes:

:roflmao: :roflmao: :roflmao:

:fun: :fun: :fun:

I am right handed, not right footed.
I put on the ground whatever foot happens to tickle my fancy. Usually, I notice that I tend to keep on the pedal the foot that is down, probably because it is easier to balance that way.

There are a few exceptions to this. When the road crown is extreme (local example: Sherbrooke street near Côte-des-Neiges), I put down the foot that is on the higher side. And when I stop close to the curb, i sometimes put one foot on it.

BTW, it is my then 5-year-old daughter who was puzzled by my choice of foot on the ground. She would have liked that I put down the foot which is already on the downstroke of the pedal.

Regards,

Originally posted by nathank
most cyclists in right-hand driving like US, Canada, Germany, Italy, etc. also put their left foot to the ground as well as get on and off on the left side.
I trust your data, but here's mine: I take the right side of the road (U.S.,) mount from the left, and put my right foot down when I stop (if I put my foot down.)

Mounting from the left side, I put my left foot on the pedal and swing my right leg over the bike. It's a habit, I don't know where it came from.

Originally posted by RonH
Most of the cyclists I've observed in this part of the US put their right foot down. I put my left foot down. Don't know if it's because I'm left-handed? I tried to put my right foot down once (trying to conform) and almost fell over. Just wasn't coordinated doing it like that.

I must! use my left foot, The couple of occassions, for some reason, I don`t remember why!, I have alighted with my right foot "I have fallen over" Guess its a brain signal co-ordination thing. I am right handed. So that blows the right handed, right footed theory for me. Hmmmm puzzling?

i always use the left foot, because when I get started, I like to use the right foot to push off, and also, I'm used to getting off on the non-drive side because that was the side that my kickstand was on my old huffy.

Right handed, get on from the left of the bike and always clip in with the right foot. I always unclip the left foot to go down at a stop.
I think this may have been from my motorcycle days also. I also practiced that cowboy mount thing from the left untill I found out how bad it is for the bike.:rolleyes:

I want to have my brakes switched front to right hand also! It just is awkward using my left hand to do primary braking after riding moto for so long.

Left foot down

Right handed and put down whichever foot I can rest on a curb, light standard etc. If there isn't any place to rest my foot I put my right foot down. That's my story, and I'm stickin' to it!:D

I think the reason most of us mount and dismount from the left is because it's a throwback to the way it's done on horseback.

I do it because thats the easiest of the two feet for me to clip in to..

Right handed. We drive on the right here. I usually put my right foot down because it is easiest to clip in and out.

Edit: Oh yeah, I mount from the left, just like climbing aboard a horse, because that's how I learned a million years ago.

well it seems that most , altho right handed put their left foot to the tar, it seems that we use our strongest side to start off peddaling with ??.I`m pleased it has nothing to do with wat side of the equator we live as that would be quite a worry, the bath water down the plug is one thing but wich foot ,please!!!
it was also rewarding to see quite a few of us still use toe clips & straps.:D

Ambidexterous. Which foot I put down depends on the slope of the road. Usually, if I can, I lean against a parked car or phone pole or whatever so I don't have to come out of my clips. So much of the time when I stop, I don't put either foot down.

I also am a left foot down and left foot mount person, and the fact that we drive on the 'proper side' of the road here (ie left) I don't think has that much to do with it, it's something humans are inbuilt with. For the same reason you always mount a horse on the left side as well.

....and before those of you who drive on the right bring it up, just go and look at an old horse and cart in your country, tell me which side the driver is on, driving on the right is something that has only appeared recently

30 years in Denmark, 90 years in the USA , 130 years in France.

For this reason when the chain driven bicycle was invented at the end of the 1800's they put the cogs on the 'outside'

i dont put any feet down.

I just couldn't resist posting this here with the talk of sides of roads to drive on.

Maratime laws require that Americans pilot a boat opposite of an auto. Ie. Drive on the left. I have noticed that when on a lake here in the day light americans drive there boats just like a car, but at night when you have to depend on red and green lights for navigation the night pilots obey proper laws. Isn't this rather bizzar?:confused:

Weird topic.

Although I'm right handed, for some reason I am left footed. This is the reason I put my right foot down when I stop. From a dead stop, I find it akward to begin pedaling with my right foot, so I stroke first with my left.

Maritime law is international, and usually governed by the common laws of England (look at any maritime document, between ships and owners of any nationality and the final clause is usually 'subject to English Law')

Therefore, everyone in a ship sails on the Port (left) of restricted water where possible

It is quite logical for a boat in good visibility to sail where it wishes, but at night this would be dangerous, so everyone sticks to the law.

So no it's not bizzar, it's perfectly logical, as is the same all over the world.

Soooo in the UK do the pilots of boats go willie nillie where they please in the day light, or do they obey maratime law?

I'm right handed and had always put my right foot down because it was easier to get my right foot into the clip. But recently I found putting my left foot down to work better because of the crown in the road. Now I'm training my left foot to clip in quickly.
Steve<><

I am left handed and I put my left foot down on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and everyother Sunday. Except during leap years and of course the monsoon season.:confused:

I'm right-handed but always put my left foot down first. Never gave it a second's thought...until now. I hope to forget this post before my next ride, lest I give over to ruminating the relative merits of right vs. left as I heel over and crash to the pavement.

-Rob

I mount the bike from the left but lead off with my left foot. even though I am right handed. usually i dismount on the right side however????????????????????????

Originally posted by SBeach
... I found putting my left foot down to work better because of the crown in the road. Steve<><

Good point; in some places, the roadway crown is quite noticeable.

Since my first bicycle had a kickstand, I mount and dismount on the left side of the bike. I also put down the left foot at stops, because, after two kneecap dislocations, my left leg is somewhat weaker than my right, and a quick start is important in traffic. (I am left-eyed, left-handed, and right-footed.)

Welllll... I learned from a guy who said you put your left foot in, you put your left foot out, you put your right foot in and you shake it all about...

BTW what if the hokey-pokey IS what it's all about?

I had a guy ask about this just this morning. We were on a group ride - his first time.

He noticed that he was the only one pulling the right foot. He wanted to know if there's a reason for pulling the left. I told him it's just whatever feels more natural. For most it's left.

Put a foot down....foot down....mmmm what a neat idea!
I usuall just fall over at stops, just like ice skating into the boards to stop. Putting a foot dow.. just think how much money I'm going to say on bandaids and Polysporin! THANKS GUYS!

In medieaval days, when knights finished jousting, they dismounted on the left to avoid poking their squires with a lance. Or something.

Last week I was getting my bike out of the bike shelter at work, and I had to go in from the "wrong" side because of other bikes. I couldn't do it! I was all discombobulated! I actually had to maneuver around to the left side of the bike just to get my bags on...yeesh!

On another forum I visit they were talking about some what of the same thing. The conversation there was about which foot you tend to keep back. Your "Chocolat" foot. For me I unclip which ever foot happens to be on the up stroke. I have trained my self to be equally comfortable to unclip from both sides and to ride with either foot back. Makes that embarassing fall at a light or trail head less likely to happen.
I would think it has to do with which ever foot is your "chocolat" foot.

Slainte:beer: