Originally Posted by
Carbonfiberboy
I do not unweight my butt with my legs when I pedal. I'd be exhausted in 60 miles. I sit on the saddle and pedal circles with my legs, and magically up and away I go. You want no visible upper body motion for long distance work. For short distances that's not so important..
Your downstroke is way more powerful than your upstroke regardless of how much you think you are pedaling circles and pulling up on the backstroke etc.
https://www.bythlon.com/blog/the-myth-of-the-upstroke
So when you are pedaling hard you will be pushing down on your pedals and taking weight off your butt even if you didn't realize it.
Originally Posted by
Carbonfiberboy
When coasting, level the pedals and put a little weight in them. Increase that weight as speed increases until your whole body weight is in them at say over 50 mph. On bumps, lift out of the saddle, back still flat, and take the bumps in your knees like a skier.
That works too, but that sounds way more tiring than just straightening one leg and standing on that leg, which takes pretty much no energy. Your way might be useful for MTB where ground clearance is an issue.