Think dropping your outside foot is always right? The surprising truth about cornering and the technique that could transform your riding.
🚴♂️ How to Corner Smarter: Drop the foot or stay Level?
Hey guys, Piyush here from Treadmark 👋
Let’s talk about something a lot of riders ask (and argue) about:
“Should I drop my outside foot when cornering on a mountain bike?”
The answer?
It depends — and today I’ll show you when it helps, when it doesn’t, and how to make the call mid-ride. We’re going to explore a concept I call “Tip and Twist” which technically means Angulation (bike) and Rotation (Hips) along with relative inclination (bike & body lean), backed by a real-world experiment I did on a corner I set up using cones.
🎯 What You’ll Learn:
When and why to drop your outside foot
What happens if you don’t
How to use the tip + twist method to make tighter, faster turns
A super simple drill to try on your next ride
Let’s jump in 👇
🧠 The “Tip and Twist” Technique Explained
This is the key idea I want to share — a powerful and flexible way to corner on any trail:
Approach: Body position must always be in the center of the bike, whether you are in a tall, relaxed position or a low aggressive position – chin over stem, every time. Body position is a very important base for your cornering technique to work through.
✔️ Step 1: Tip the bike
Start by leaning the bike, not your body.
Keep your body slightly more upright while pushing the bike underneath you toward the inside of the turn.
This gives you edge grip on the front tire to start the carve.
✔️ Step 2: Twist with the hips
As the bike leans, rotate your hips toward the exit of the corner. Essentially pointing your belly button towards the direction you are turning into.
*Bike tip Initiates the run while the Hip rotation amplifies and helps sharpen your turning radius.
✔️ Step 3: Drop the outside foot as and when needed
Use your outside foot as a tool, not a rule.
Drop it only as much as required to stay balanced, grip the trail, and let the bike lean more.
Sometimes you’ll need a full drop; other times, just a little will do.
📐 The Cornering Experiment
I created a cone-marked corner with a mellow approach and a 90-degree turn — fast entry, low friction, and room to test different pedal positions.
I ran this corner three times, each with a different strategy:
Pedals level
🟢 Trial 1: Pedals Level the Whole Time
Body Position: Tall before entry, slightly lower and maneuverable during the corner.
Result: This felt OK at first... but the bike was slightly stiff and hard to move. I felt limited in movement.
The issue I felt was: Without dropping the outside foot, I couldn’t lean the bike as much — it stayed “locked” and didn’t carve well. I felt I could lose traction if the speed was higher.
Outside foot fully dropped
🟠 Trial 2: Fully Drop outside foot from the start
Result: More grip! But I overshot the corner by a good distance.
What happened?: With the foot dropped too early and too far, I couldn’t control the carve — the bike leaned too little, and I ended up taking a wide, sloppy exit. Dropping the outside foot actively restricted my bike lean (angulation) causing me to take a wider exit.
Foot dropping as and when needed to accommodate the bike lean and hip twist
🔵 Trial 3: Adaptive foot drop – Only when needed and more importanty as a by product of the initial Tip and Twist.
What I did: I used the “tip and twist” technique and I let my outside foot lower gradually as I leaned the bike, and only dropped it as much as needed to allow the lean to happen.
Remember: The bike leaning and my hips rotating were the driving movement and the foot dropping was mostly to accommodate the driving movement. So if I needed to lean the bike more, I would do that and my outside foot would passively drop to make way for more bike lean.
Result: Nailed it. Smooth turn, tight line, great flow and stability.
🧠 The “Tip and Twist” Technique explained
This is the key idea I want to share — a powerful and flexible way to corner on any trail:
Approach: Body position must always be in the center of the bike, whether you are in a tall, relaxed position or a low aggressive position – chin over stem, every time. Body position is a very important base for your cornering technique to work through.
✔️ Step 1: Tip the bike
Start by leaning the bike, not your body.
Keep your body slightly more upright while pushing the bike underneath you toward the inside of the turn.
This gives you edge grip on the front tire to start the carve.
✔️ Step 2: Twist with the hips
As the bike leans, rotate your hips toward the exit of the corner. Essentially pointing your belly button towards the direction you are turning into.
*Bike tip Initiates the run while the Hip rotation amplifies and helps sharpen your turning radius.
✔️ Step 3: Drop the outside foot as and when needed
Use your outside foot as a tool, not a rule.
Drop it only as much as required to stay balanced, grip the trail, and let the bike lean more.
Sometimes you’ll need a full drop; other times, just a little will do.
🎯 Practice Drill: “Adaptive Foot” Cornering
Try this simple drill next time you ride:
What You Need:
A small berm or marked corner (cones, sticks, anything)
Moderate speed entry
Enough room to try multiple lines
Instructions:
Run the corner with pedals level. Note how limited your bike lean feels.
Try it again with the outside foot dropped fully. Watch how the bike behaves — especially on exit. Did you make the exit?
Now do a third run: Let the outside foot drop as and when needed — let it accommodate your bike lean and hip twist so you can lean the bike as much as you need. The foot drop must be a by-product of actively tipping the bike and rotating the hips.
🎥 Bonus: Film yourself for slow-motion feedback — small differences in foot angle and hip rotation are easier to catch on video.
💬 What I Learned
After testing all three approaches, this was my takeaway:
"Using my outside foot as an adaptive tool to accommodate the movement of tip and twist gave me the best control. I could lean in as needed, stay planted, and exit clean."
It’s not about always dropping the foot, or never doing it. It’s about learning when, why, and how much to drop — based on your speed, line, and trail.
🙋♀️ FAQs: MTB Cornering & Foot Drop
Q: How do I know if I dropped too much?
A: If your bike over-leans and drifts wide, you likely dropped too far, too early. Focus on staying dynamic — drop with the turn, not before it.
🚀 Want to Corner Like a Pro?
Join a cornering-specific coaching session with Treadmark in Queenstown. We’ll help you break down your riding technique, build smooth transitions, and get more confident in every type of turn — berms, flat corners, off-cambers, and more.
📆 Book your private or group session here:
👉 www.treadmark.co.nz/mtblessons
📧 Got questions? Email us:
✉️ management@treadmark.co.nz
📧 Have questions? Contact us at management@treadmark.co.nz
