Do you ride with your knees bent?

[MadVlad]

Im curious what other people do as far as stance. I myself have a tendency to ride just like I stand normally, not sure if thats great for my knees on a non-suspension wheel, but if I try to squat it gets tiring and unpleasant pretty quick, so Im curious what others do.

[Carl Svanfelt]

It depends on the circumstances. On smooth asphalt, I stand upright in the same way as without a wheel. But, here in Finland, the city does not maintain the cycle paths as much as the carriageway. The cycle paths have a lot of potholes and bumps from tree roots. So on complex surfaces, I bend my knees a little. My maximum speed is 25 km/h, although the Tesla can be driven at a higher speed.
Ride safe out there!

[0000]

Besides what @Carl Svanfelt said, orienting your body closer to the ground allows you to ride more aggressively too, especially on dynamic surfaces.

For example - aggressive trail riding involves lots of bent knee/quad action, lower back muscle activation (forward leaning), and constant upper body repositioning to maintain speed/grip through dynamic terrain, especially on a non-suspension wheel. It can be a workout, but you get used to it over time.

Another benefit with maintaining an aggressive stance is you're usually in a better position to handle a fall as well should something go wrong and happen quicker than you can react to.

It's all relative - I sometimes staight-leg it on trails when my knees need a break, although there's a little more to it than that to do it safely.

[alcatraz]

Easiest way to fall is with straight legs going over something you didn't see. 

It could be possible to ride relatively safe with one straight leg.

You don't need a big bend to get most of the safety. Just don't lock your joints.

[bpong]

before using pads, i rode my non suspension eucs with slightly bent knees.  after installing the pads, i now ride with my knees bent more, constantly.  i never ride with near straight legs - its harder on my knees,  and when large bumps are hit, its easier to get bumped off the pedals.

[Guillaume_k]

I’d avoid riding with straight legs for all the reasons mentioned above. You’ll end up hurting yourself. If bending your knees is uncomfortable, you may try strengthening your legs a bit and considering doing a few sets of squats every now and then.

[Funky]

More or less after riding same paths, you already have memory of places where it got some "bumps" in road.. So you already bend knees before the bump happens. (I'm talking about roads/paths that you take daily while riding to job/home, etc..)

At smooth roads/paths more or less straight legs. If i'm starting to ride faster than running speeds, then always bent knees. Same for roads/paths that i have not ridden before.

[Scubadragonsan]

For beginners, rules are necessary. But once you know your machine and the road, there is no straight legs or bent legs better. It all depends on the road and your steering/riding styles. Especially when you are doing other tricky maneuvers, sometimes straight legs and sometimes bent, no hard rules!

[TantasStarke]

I don't ride with my legs locked or anything but I keep my legs fairly straight most of the time, but still slightly bent so I can bend them if need be when hitting a bump or something