Bend the knees or not ?

[Tiewrap]

Jacked the topic from another forum.

Do u believe in riding with bend knees or not ?

This person says bend them : 

 

And here someone who only does it with direct function :

 

In my opinion the basics should be with "straight" legs (mostly a little bend)If u start with to much bend there is little room for action and the weight is easily going more to the back, making things more difficult. (That is a problem I have)

 

 

[totty79]

Knees need to be thought of as part of the suspension absorbing movement or loading the tyre as required so mostly bent.

[stevec]

Slightly bent and at the ready. One interesting thing I've noticed watching top riders is most lock their legs (when possible) while

riding the loop - to conserve energy I presume.

[lineaway]

 You need a friend. Someone to teach you how to ride. Body english is what trials is all about. The only time you have straight legs is to hold pressure. 

[Tiewrap]

It more surprises me that it's being advised to stay low on the bike.

We are being teached by a former pro who says to keep them more straight.

Must say that no YouTube video can compete with lessons in real life.

[YinzerMoto]

Thanks for posting my video. Locked knees have no use in our sport, unless we are tired and just riding down a smooth path. There are times we may straighten our legs out, to prepare for maximum leg travel upon an impact. The best position for turning and riding over slightly roughly terrain is to have a slight bend in the knee. This lowers the center of gravity and put the body in more of an attack position. You will be able to quickly compensate for a terrain change or react to the bike getting pitched one way or the other. 

[Tiewrap]

Very nice that u respond 👍

I agree in a slight bend, but in this video u explain it with a lot more ?

Sounds exactly as with mountain biking. We use the attack position a lot. But it is not ment to use all the time. In our country u see many people use it continue. 

[stevec]

On 1/29/2022 at 9:51 PM, lineaway said:

 You need a friend. Someone to teach you how to ride. Body english is what trials is all about. The only time you have straight legs is to hold pressure. 

If this is in response to my post, I agree completely with what you say about body english and holding pressure. I was only commenting about observations I've made of some top riders when riding between sections. They seem to lock their legs over smooth terrain. I always assumed it was to conserve energy. I've seen top US riders do it and, most notably, Raga at a couple US World Rounds.

Edited February 13, 2022 by stevec

[lineaway]

No I was responding ti the o.p. What a rider does between sections his usually his own personal problem.

[jonnyc21]

In the end I think its really more about compliance in the knees when riding than anything else so if you can have enough bend to be able to handle the riding conditions then your good. 

That said, my vote is bent when practicing.  In my experience when at an event I bend them less than I think so I have a tendency to ride stiff so to help not do that I will often over bend them just a little when I practice so I am not so stiff when in competition. 

Hope that helps.