A bit too one-sided

[bmccasland]

Another left mounter, although I unclip with my right foot. My brain has trouble with coordination if I try to mount from the right.

And we mount horses from the left because that is the side our sword would be on if we were Knights back in the day. Sword on the left hip, to be grabbed with the right, and proper, hand.

[divingbiker]

I had a mtb crash last weekend because of my right-foot dominance. Stopped to let someone pass, put my right foot down, and there was no ground below my foot. My bike and I tumbled down the hill and I got a handlebar hard to the ribs.

I don't think there's any retraining this old dog so I just have to be more aware.

[Crankin]

Well, I don't mountain bike anymore, but I am so dominant left side when it comes to cycling, it's probably dangerous. I can't even walk my bike on the right side. It just feels wrong.
I am right handed, but I mount and dismount, unclip on my left. I start off with my right foot clipped in, but that's it. When I was mountain biking, I practiced unclipping on the right and I could do that if needed, but on the road, no way. I know when I started riding I was unclipping right, but I changed for some reason, and now I can't do it on the right side anymore. I can't really take my right hand off of the bar, either. I can only drink with my left hand and I can barely signal to make a right turn with my right hand... I do, but I often wobble, or its it's at the beginning of a ride, I am shaky.
I've been riding for ten years and it's not getting any better. I just deal with it. I know my balance and spatial skills suck, so it's not like I haven't had time to practice.

[SheFly]

You'll find that most people mount/dismount on the left side for a reason already mentioned - the drivetrain. In cyclocross, this is the way you are taught.

That said, I have done a flying remount from the ride side out of necessity, but it's never pretty .

SheFly

[Aggie_Ama]

Left side dominant to a fault. When you consider I am primarily a mountain biker AND race mountain bikes I should be able to do either comfortably but I can't. I must unclip left and put left foot down. I am in a moment of "get out now" I can unclip right but it only works about 40-50% of the time, the rest of the time I tumble down.

My husband can do either side without much thought and has been telling me I need to be able to do both. But so far I haven't gotten there, not sure I ever will. Who really wants to work on drills to unclip their non-dominant side? Maybe if I had access to some nice mats to cushion the fall but even grass will bruise my very easily bruising body.

[jessmarimba]

I'm relatively one-sided. I can stop and unclip either side but always mount/dismount from the left (because of the drivetrain! Sure! Of course I was considering that when I learned!...not. More likely the horse thing. ) and always clip in with my left foot first. Riding in neutral I always have my right foot back because I can't seem to get my left heel down if that foot is back and it throws off my balance. Something to work on.

[zoom-zoom]

You'll find that most people mount/dismount on the left side for a reason already mentioned - the drivetrain. In cyclocross, this is the way you are taught.

It will be a LONG time before I do proper mounts/dismounts on my CX bike (some people make this look SO easy/flawless/smooth/graceful), but I am such a left-side mounter/dismounter that it's embarrassing the way I have to walk around my bike to get on, as Hi Ho Silver also stated. I feel like such a moron when I do this.

[Desert Tortoise]

I never thought about mounting only on one side or that it can look silly. I too tend to mount on the left but that is because I carry my bike on my right side so I don't get drivetrain grease on me. I hate it when I get chain marks on me or my clothes. (I have to carry my bike down my long, gravel driveway. Too many thorns hiding in the rocks I discovered 3 flats later.)

Now I will have to try mounting on the right side next ride just to see how it feels.

[Hi Ho Silver]

... it's embarrassing the way I have to walk around my bike to get on, as Hi Ho Silver also stated. I feel like such a moron when I do this.

LMAO, that is exactly how I felt when I did that! I was praying no one saw me. Over 25 years of riding seriously and I cannot mount from the right ...how lame is that?

[Catrin]

I feel SO glad to read that I am not the only one! Granted, I've only been riding on the road just a little over 1 year, but I HAVE to mount from the left side. I MUST start with my right foot on the pedal and my butt on or almost on the saddle. This is how I roll

The latter isn't actually a concern on my Gunnar because I have proper leg extension. The mountain bike is a different story...

[Velocivixen]

I ride with platform pedals and I don't have a kickstand, so I dismount whichever side works out the best. I am left foot dominant on a bike and am ambidextrous with my feet in regard to things like kicking a ball.

[Sardine]

I've just read this thread and it makes me feel a lot better. It seems that it's not uncommon (among TE members at least) to struggle to mount the bike from the right side. I also always unclip on the left when I need to stop during a ride. It helps that we drive on the left, although I've done the same thing when I've toured in France.

Does anybody find it more difficult to do a 360 degree turn bearing left too?

[cosc]

I mount and unclip from the left, too. Several years ago, wearing new shoes and clips I found I couldn't unclip my left foot no matter what I did, so I thought, good thing I've got plenty time to stop, I'll just unclip with my right and put that foot down first. Clipping out- easy beans- slowing,stopping- put foot down - stumble and down I go.
Thankfully that has only happened once.
On my trainer I'll mount and clip in on the right but still not confident enough to try it on the road.

[Catrin]

I've just read this thread and it makes me feel a lot better. It seems that it's not uncommon (among TE members at least) to struggle to mount the bike from the right side. I also always unclip on the left when I need to stop during a ride. It helps that we drive on the left, although I've done the same thing when I've toured in France.

Does anybody find it more difficult to do a 360 degree turn bearing left too?

For some odd reason I turn left easier than right - on pavement. On the trails it is opposite which makes NO sense

[OakLeaf]

It's easier for me to turn left also, on bici and moto both.

Part of it is just that my vision isn't as good out of my right eye, and when I turn to the right, all of a sudden I can't see in the direction I'm going, out of the left eye that I've been relying on otherwise.

Part of it (and I'll bet it's part of your issue too Catrin) is the crown of the road. When you're turning into a downslope - as you do when you're turning right from the right side of a crowned road - your contact patch is reduced in size *and* it's on the wrong side of your center of gravity. Makes for a very unsteady turn.

And then part of it is the smaller imbalances that we all have that I can't quite put my finger on. I expect it's a rare person who does everything with equal ability on both sides.