The Foundation of Confident Cornering: A Simple, Effective Technique for Every Rider
Cornering technique is one of the hardest riding skills to break down concisely. Scroll through social media and you’ll find plenty of content, but a lot of it is confusing, overly technical, or even slows riders’ progression.
So let’s strip away the noise and focus on the fundamentals.
There are three pillars of cornering: line, momentum, and body movement.
In this article, we’re going to zoom in on body movement. One piece of the puzzle.
This is the approach I use when coaching riders who want to build confidence and control through every type of turn. It boils down to this simple approach:
Bend your arms and turn your head before you start the turn. Then once you are in the turn, push from your arms into firm, stable legs—similar to the weight shift for a manual.
It’s simple, but incredibly effective.
Why This Works
That initial “arms bent, head turning” setup does two things:
- It helps you load the front wheel early, right at the moment you begin the turn.
- It rotates your shoulders and handlebars in the direction you want to go
As you build speed and experience, this weight shift becomes more of a front-to-center movement. You begin to feel the bike settle underneath you as you lean, rather than wobbling or drifting wide.
And once you’ve mastered that? You can start to exaggerate the movement to manage grip more deliberately—so if you lose traction, it’s the rear wheel that breaks loose first, not the front. That’s the beginning of advanced cornering technique.
The Most Common Mistake Riders Make
When riders talk about “washing out,” they’re usually talking about one thing: losing the front wheel. But the reason it happens is often misunderstood.
As soon as you start turning, your inertia shifts—just like when you brake.
And what do many riders instinctively do?
They push their weight backward.
That might feel stable on a supportive berm, but the moment the trail flattens out or the support disappears, that backward shift unloads the front wheel… and the front tire gives up first.
(Side note: I tried filming a clean example of this—turns out it’s really hard to do on purpose!)
This is also why so many riders feel hesitant to turn faster. If your body is soft, loose, or “squidgy” in the turn, you wont get a preceise turning response from the bike.
Replace Hesitation With Pressure
This approach aims to achieve more by doing less.
By learning to apply pressure confidently through the turn—with your weight balanced between both wheels—you create the stability needed to lean further, carve tighter, and carry more speed without fear of the front wheel folding.
At first it might feel stiff or awkward but it will give a solid base to progress on from.
And it starts with that simple setup: arms bent, head turned, then push into the turn with strong legs.
The Beginning of Real Progression
Once this movement pattern feels natural, you’ll unlock the foundation that all advanced cornering is built on:
- Consistently position weight evenly on both wheels
- Better control over grip
- Predictable sliding (from the rear, not the front)
- The confidence to lean more aggressively
When riders understand this—and practice it—their cornering transforms quickly.
This is the base layer. The first principle.
This is the foundation of confident cornering.