I posted this question before and it bugs me! I have rode mototrials all my life on the balls of my feet. Started riding bike trials a few years ago and the top riders around me said ride on the arch of your feet, on pedal bike that is. With todays techniques as a weekend warrior it seems like riding on the arches makes since. When riding this way I seem to keep my heels down more and my elbows tend to stay up. I tend to ride more sqaure, if that makes since. One huge weakness I have is not using my legs more, but moving to my arches makes me feel like I'm taking a huge amount of weight off my arms. Feels like I can hop better also, off camber stuff feels extremely akward though. It would take alot of deprogramming to master this new fundamental, I'm confused and not sure if I want to commit to breaking the other foot position. Has anyone talked to talented riders on this subject?

I don't think many people would have given much thought to the actual foot placement, you just ride your bike & your feet find their own place on the rests if this makes sense.

Riding on the arches gives you an axis in which to rotate the foot around the peg, forward or backwards. Riding on the balls or even the toes can give you greater control and traction on uphill off-camber turns. So, ride on the axis if you need the flexability and freedom of movement and move to the balls or toes for the uphill off-cambers.

Edited July 2, 201016 yr by Neil King