Trouble turning right

[WPS]

I've been riding for 3 weeks now and just starting to feel a little more confident but one area I continue to have trouble with is right turns.  I have no clue why. Left turns seem natural to me but I loose it on all but the most gentle right turns.  My right foot is the dominant one. Anyone have any ideas or experienced anything similar? I'm sure it will come with time just confused why right would be more difficult than left.

[RockyTop]

Yes, Sorry about that. You must be right handed. This is normal. The best way that I have found to get people to turn right is to set them free on winding trails. You just end up doing it rather than thinking about it. The worst way to learn how to turn right is to run wild in a parking lot. Another way to learn is to set up two cones or find two posts and do figure eights for 15 minutes at a time. 

Just rest assured that this is normal. 

Edited June 29, 2020 by RockyTop

[Gasmantle]

I had the same problem for the first week or 2 but I practised doing figure 8 turns so that I got used to doing left and right turns equally and it soon passed.

Are you left handed by any chance? I'm a leftie and even now I tend to make left turns when performing a 'U' turn although I can perform both left and right equally.

[RockyTop]

5 minutes ago, Gasmantle said:

I had the same problem for the first week or 2 but I practised doing figure 8 turns so that I got used to doing left and right turns equally and it soon passed.

Are you left handed by any chance? I'm a leftie and even now I tend to make left turns when performing a 'U' turn although I can perform both left and right equally.

Wow. A lefty that had trouble turning right? If you had to push something hard would you stand with your right foot forward or left?

[Gasmantle]

Hi Rocky - I'm left handed for writing etc but would use golf clubs or a cricket bat right handed, I can play tennis with either hand.

I'd push hard with my right foot leading but the left foot wouldn't feel uncomfortable.

Usually I mount my EUC with my right foot on first - not sure if that is the usual way for most riders or not?

[RockyTop]

19 minutes ago, Gasmantle said:

Hi Rocky - I'm left handed for writing etc but would use golf clubs or a cricket bat right handed, I can play tennis with either hand.

I'd push hard with my right foot leading but the left foot wouldn't feel uncomfortable.

Usually I mount my EUC with my right foot on first - not sure if that is the usual way for most riders or not?

Interesting. So still left footed but not by much. That can come in handy in sports. My family is mostly left handed except for me. So I feel odd as a right handed person. Even my wife places her left foot on first. She could not turn left. She is left handed but writes right handed because she was forced to as a child.  

Edited June 29, 2020 by RockyTop

[Gasmantle]

Yea I think I'm kinda ambidextrous - I have a preference to use my left hand for precise work but can use either.

I can write acceptably with both hands but left is faster and I have the useless ability that I can read text in a mirror or upside down as easily as normal - it's an absolutely useless skill 

 

[Vellberger]

I agree that it is absolutly normal. I don´t know if it is depending if you are rightHANDED or not. But I have three friends driving for years and two of them have still trouble to step on the wheel with the left foot first. All three of them agreed that right turns are much harder to learn / perform then left turns. I am a new driver and have the same issue. But I try to do right turns more then lefts to train it. In situations where a pedestrian comes my way or if I simply want to reduce the chance to blame myself, I turn left to be sure. :-)

I suppose I have already more weight on my right leg while driving straight forward but do not really notice that because I unknowingly trained myself to do so. It´s because I always step up with the right foot. So there MUST be a difference between left and right turns as a result. Doe´s this make sence to you?

Is there anyone out there having more trouble with left turns insteat right? If yes, what is your dominant foot?

[RockyTop]

15 minutes ago, Vellberger said:

I agree that it is absolutly normal. I don´t know if it is depending if you are rightHANDED or not. But I have three friends driving for years and two of them have still trouble to step on the wheel with the left foot first. All three of them agreed that right turns are much harder to learn / perform then left turns. I am a new driver and have the same issue. But I try to do right turns more then lefts to train it. In situations where a pedestrian comes my way or if I simply want to reduce the chance to blame myself, I turn left to be sure. :-)

I suppose I have already more weight on my right leg while driving straight forward but do not really notice that because I unknowingly trained myself to do so. It´s because I always step up with the right foot. So there MUST be a difference between left and right turns as a result. Doe´s this make sence to you?

Is there anyone out there having more trouble with left turns insteat right? If yes, what is your dominant foot?

I have heard of a few, not many that can't turn left. As a beginner you are just trying to keep things under control. As you get better you begin to get more freedom of movement. Eventually you can feel that one of you feet is actually controlling the wheel rather than both feet. You can shift control from one foot to the other. Once you can do that you can turn left or right. Carving back and forth is a quick way to transfer control, learn the feel of the wheel and improve your skills quickly.  

[WPS]

Thanks for the responses. Glad to hear it isn't just me! I'll give the figure eights a try. BTW, I am right handed.

Edited July 1, 2020 by WPS
added text

[Scottie]

12 hours ago, WPS said:

Thanks for the responses. Glad to hear it isn't just me! I'll give the figure eights a try. BTW, I am right handed.

I had the same problem turning left. For some reason I was able to turn right much easier in the beginning. It only seems logical that our skills will not develop evenly, or symmetrically, or at the same rate, etc.

I am right handed, but mount left foot first (mostly due to a knee conditions that drove me learn that way).

 

On 6/30/2020 at 7:30 AM, RockyTop said:

I have heard of a few, not many that can't turn left. As a beginner you are just trying to keep things under control. As you get better you begin to get more freedom of movement. Eventually you can feel that one of you feet is actually controlling the wheel rather than both feet. You can shift control from one foot to the other. Once you can do that you can turn left or right. Carving back and forth is a quick way to transfer control, learn the feel of the wheel and improve your skills quickly.

Completely agree. My left turning skills lagged about about 3 to 4 weeks behind the right turning skills. I'm at six months of riding now, and at about four months could turn either direction with the same confidence and skill. You may not even take this long before things even out for you.

Yea, sure, a lot of it is just the body learning the new motions and muscle memory, which does not happen evenly. And that can play with our confidence. And our confidence directly influences our riding. What a vicious circle! Just know that things will naturally even out for you as you pile on the miles.  

[PennBruce]

On 6/29/2020 at 7:25 AM, WPS said:

I've been riding for 3 weeks now and just starting to feel a little more confident but one area I continue to have trouble with is right turns.  I have no clue why. Left turns seem natural to me but I loose it on all but the most gentle right turns.  My right foot is the dominant one. Anyone have any ideas or experienced anything similar? I'm sure it will come with time just confused why right would be more difficult than left.

I had a similar problem.  The solution for me was to unweight the foot opposite the direction I wanted to turn.  If I wanted to turn left I slightly bent my right knee.  That transferred weight to my left foot and off I went to the left.  It also helps to look in the direction you want your wheel to go.  This will cause you to lean into the turn.  Eventually you will add body english to your turns.

Bruce

[Gasmantle]

I agree with @PennBrucewhen I first learnt to ride I would bend the knee opposite to the direction I wanted to turn, it works well and once you can reliably steer your wheel you can start learning other methods and improve your technique.

Edited July 2, 2020 by Gasmantle

[WPS]

4 hours ago, PennBruce said:

I had a similar problem.  The solution for me was to unweight the foot opposite the direction I wanted to turn.  If I wanted to turn left I slightly bent my right knee.  That transferred weight to my left foot and off I went to the left.  It also helps to look in the direction you want your wheel to go.  This will cause you to lean into the turn.  Eventually you will add body english to your turns.

Bruce

Thanks for this.  I'll give it a try.

[BOTW]

It is caused probably by the fact that, during a right turn, you are using your left foot to control the leaning of the wheel and, as a right handed person, you instinctively don't trust your left foot.

I used to have the same problem as I was learning into my parking lot, but I decided that I didn't care... So I went to hit the park trails near my house... After some days hitting the park trails I noticed how, while I still had a preference for left turns, right turns were coming out pretty decent.

Something that really helped me was training on reaching real destinations (so choosing a place in the park I wanted to reach and learning how to solve real riding problems instead of just going around letting my preferences choose)... 

A second really useful skill I worked on has been extremely low speed riding: 4 km/h - 2.5 mph: I got bored as hell, but then I know I can slow down to a crawl when I am not feeling safe or I have to think about how to do something.

[mrelwood]

I always thought that turning right was hard because while riding on the right side of the road, taking a U-turn you always turn left.But it does make sense that as a right handed person the left leg is not as precise for controlling the tilt of the wheel. Either way, it does go away right there as soon. Specific destinations or feed her off eight should fix that issue. Worth noting is that there are a few different kinds of techniques for turning.If you tilt the wheel right but your upper torso doesn’t turn right as well, it fights against the turn.

[Unventor]

On 7/1/2020 at 2:11 AM, WPS said:

Thanks for the responses. Glad to hear it isn't just me! I'll give the figure eights a try. BTW, I am right handed.

I think most have a preferred side to turn. 

Now there are 3 ways to turn and you can combine them. You are probably doing this more to one side than the other. 

1 way: twist shoulders in the direction you wat to turn (good for slow speed or it is slippery as you are straight over the centre of the wheel. Don't look down. Similar to use a steering wheel on a cycle.

2 way: bend in knee on one side (lifting the pressure of that foot) it will lower you hop a little and it will cause balance to shift to one side. I use this when carving mid speed

3 way: lean the wheel. This is how you turn mostly at high speed. This is similar go a mc lean or like you see cycles going downhill in tour de France. If slippery road you ride the wheel sliding away under you.

Doing the figure 8 in one direction and then the other should help out. 

You can find a pole raise you arm to horizontal slightly grapping the pole then go around it is one direction by twisting chest and head towards the pole. Go around like this train 1 wat. Nothing this twisted in opposite direction to go opposite turning.

Just keep practicing and at some point it will be good enough use .

[WPS]

45 minutes ago, Unventor said:

I think most have a preferred side to turn. 

Now there are 3 ways to turn and you can combine them. You are probably doing this more to one side than the other. 

1 way: twist shoulders in the direction you wat to turn (good for slow speed or it is slippery as you are straight over the centre of the wheel. Don't look down. Similar to use a steering wheel on a cycle.

2 way: bend in knee on one side (lifting the pressure of that foot) it will lower you hop a little and it will cause balance to shift to one side. I use this when carving mid speed

3 way: lean the wheel. This is how you turn mostly at high speed. This is similar go a mc lean or like you see cycles going downhill in tour de France. If slippery road you ride the wheel sliding away under you.

Doing the figure 8 in one direction and then the other should help out. 

You can find a pole raise you arm to horizontal slightly grapping the pole then go around it is one direction by twisting chest and head towards the pole. Go around like this train 1 wat. Nothing this twisted in opposite direction to go opposite turning.

Just keep practicing and at some point it will be good enough use .

Great advise!  Thank you.

[GothamMike]

one leg my be slightly longer. Make sure your weight is evenly balanced.