Triumphrat

Mr Bentwrench

Just noticed that Ms B rides with her foot under the shifter. I notice I ride with my foot on top of my shift lever. Her lever came adjusted to a higher angle that lends itself to toe under. She likes it that way. Mine came adjusted somewhat lower with a natural foot over position which I thought was the norm. It's little things you never notice till you ride someone else's bike.

Is it all a just a matter of personal preference or riding style? Any technique or safety issues?

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Wombat

I ride with the ball of my foot on the pegs and move my foot forward when I need to operate the controls (brake or shifter).
This keeps my feet away from the road when I am leaned into corners.

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ssevy

I put a wider peg on my bike, and I adjusted the throw angle so that my foot is over the shifter, but it is easy to get the toe underneath. In most emergency situations, I think it is likely that you would want to downshift for a quick gear change or two for more off the line acceleration. Also, your toe doesn't get stubbed when you are in tight turns and leaning it over, as Wombat already mentioned. Lastly, because of the thickness of my boots, I would have to cock my heel up to keep the toe there, or really cock the toe up to downshift if the shifter's angle was changed enough to keep my foot flat with the toe under, and in both cases, this would be uncomfortable.

kbalch

Exactly.

Your toes shouldn't be near the shift lever, either above or below it, unless you're actually changing gears. Same for the brake.

Ken

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hawk#1

YES on all counts with oothers have put i nvr have my toe any were near the gear lever or brake when am riding more for a safety point of veiw foot resting on brake over heating disk ect

PaulBx

Huh, I'm surprised there is so much variation here. Sometimes I go with ball of foot on peg but usually I have both brake and shifter adjusted so that my foot is on top of them. I'm not too worried about the brake as I think I can feel it if I'm contacting it and I do tend to adjust it low (if anything my tendency is to use too much rear in a panic stop, causing a rear skid that I have to then correct for, so a lower pedal is not a bad thing).

However I might adjust at least the shifter higher (to make it easier to access) and try going all "ball of foot". That does sound interesting. Possible drawback is legs more bent at knees, already a problem for me at my age (I get cramps pretty often). Maybe Mrs. B's method makes more sense for me.

R0B

Well, I have my gear change lever adjusted to just below footrest height, so my foot would rest on top. With regards to the brake I have always ridden with it covered as it can give you control in an emergency that the front can't................Rob

kblahetka

Mine is under or off to the side. I wear a US size 15eeee. I always adjust every bike I own so the shift lever is a little down or I have to lift my foot to down shift

Jag312

I've been riding for years, and I didn't have the slightest idea where my feet were in relation to the change lever or the brake lever. Luckily I keep my bike in either my living room or dining room. Am I the only one who keeps his bike inside the house? So, I ran into the living room and jumped on my bike, and looked to see where my feet were. They are still at the end of my legs, and I guess that's good.

The balls of my feet are just forward of the pegs. The shift lever is below the level of my left foot. When I shift gears, I just move my foot slightly forward and down and shift with my big toe. The brake lever is about even with my right foot. When I apply the rear brake, I just move my right foot slightly forward.

deadman

I ride as per Wombat and others, for the same reasons. Might be worth raising a point here, though, about an issue I've been having:
I found, after changing the chain and sprockets, and oil at the same time, that I seemed to be dropping into neutrals on down-shifting very often. Had me perplexed. But it looks like the problem is that when I replaced the gear shift lever, I put it on a notch more upwardly angled. The result seems to have been that, when I'm downshifting and I lift my foot between changes, I'm not quite raising it enough to release the gear shifter completely, so it won't go down to the next gear. I think it just feels like a false neutral.

The dilemma is that I like the new position for upshifting, as it's easier to get my boot's toe under the lever. So I'm going to try lifting my foot right off the peg when I downshift to ensure clean changes. Really kick it down gears.

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