Permanent lean to the left - is there a cure?

Hetty Green

Hi all,

I'm new to this forum and fairly new to biking (second season riding, first time on a road bike). I have noticed that I seem to always have a very slight lean, even while riding perfectly straight. My bike leans slightly to the left, and I assume I must be leaning slightly to the right, although this is hard to really know for sure since it's all so slight. It's not the bike, as I noticed it last year on my old hybrid as well. At first I thought it was all in my head, but I have logged enough miles on this new bike now to see uneven wear on the tires. I also feel more pressure on my left sit bone, and sometimes feel as if I'm not centered in the saddle.

I don't know where to start to try and correct this. I suspect that my body is imbalanced, either actual weight or posture that makes me heavier on the right side, and then is compensated by the slight lean of the bike to the left. Or, the bike is not set up properly? Pretty sure all this leaning to the left is not politically motivated...

Anyway, I'm hoping that someone here with more experience can shed some light on this... Maybe it's a common problem? Although I did a search here first and couldn't find any posts relating to it.

Thanks in advance!

jeffcapeshop

i slightly turn to my left, who knows why..

andy_wrx

Is it a problem ?

Perhaps you have one leg marginally longer than the other, a slight twist to the spine or pelvis, one shoulder higher than the other, etc.

None of us are perfectly symmetrical, left to right.

Unless it causes as issue, so what ?

Red Rock

I do the same (bike leans to the left slightly). Like andy_wrx said, none of us are perfectly symmetrical. So unless it's a problem don't worry about it.

Red Rock

System_1

Rotating the saddle might help. I rode for years with my saddle perfectly symmetrical to the top tube until I read an article about a year ago that suggested moving it even a couple of degrees can help with evening out differences in leg length, hip position and power transfer. I moved mine a tiny tiny little bit to the left and the difference in comfort and feel is astonishing.

Hetty Green

Thanks everyone for your replies. I will happily tinker a bit with my saddle to see if that makes a difference.

I also realize that I tend to watch the chain when I shift; a habit that my husband considers astonishingly useless. But, I'm a visual learner, and it helped me to see the movement of the chain as I learned to shift. I think I may have inadvertently set myself up so that looking down to the right was easier. On my ride yesterday I pretended that there was something fascinating about my left foot, and found that looking at it would force me to shift back to the center.

I probably wouldn't even be aware of all this, but I've already had to leave one beloved sport due to an injury brought on by years of training while oblivious to a body imbalance. I just want to make sure I don't ride myself right off my bike!

That said, I will do what I can, and at that point take the advice of all who've said, "Don't worry about it." (I'm also going to quit watching the chain. It works perfectly well without my attention now, and looking ahead is important, or so I'm told.)

So thanks again!

dave7348

Sure the bike's in line?

If the frame is twisted it can have that effect.
Can you ride it no hands easily or does it veer off to one side all the time?

Stand the bike upright (or get someone to hold it) point the front wheel straight ahead.

Walk away from the bike about 10 feet and squat down and look along the wheels from the rear. The rear wheel should block your view of the font wheel. The rear wheel should run over the same bit of road as the front, not create its own track.

If you can see the front wheel sticking out to one side or the other, the bike needs to be trued. If it is, it's a bike shop job I'm afraid unless you are a very competent mechanic.

acorn_user

You might find a bike fitting session helpful.

Anonymous

On my bike I lean to the right more, I also notice my right arm aches abit and also my right leg seems to be the leg that I push the most wit, clipless pedals have helped stop this though.