Originally Posted by
icemilkcoffee
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.
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.
How to tell if your downstroke leg is unweighting your saddle: Pedal at 130-150 rpm. You shouldn't bounce, i.e. no weight is being taking off the saddle. Watch the pros when they're climbing. They don't bounce either. Pedaling is more complicated than upstroke and downstroke.
Besides being much slower, coasting with one leg straight is more dangerous. That straight leg makes it impossible to handle bumps - the bike is being weighted unevenly side-to-side and so will wobble and you're liable to get what moto racers call "a tank slapper.". You can't bunny hop and it's tough on one's butt. Level the pedals and descend like everyone else. Do drop and weight the outside leg when cornering.