Standing up v Sitting down on dirt.

[Berin]

Patsy Quick sums it up nicely;

Stand up when you have to.
Sit down when you need to.

If you are riding all day, standing up is going to be hard work.

Likewise, traversing tricky stuff is almost certainly better standing up, since you have much more control and can use your legs to manage the shocks, which despite er-minio’s statement, is exactly the right thing to do. Try riding over washboard or rocky trails sat down and you’ll be bounced off the bike.

Having said that, there was a massive fat Welsh lad who won many enduros and rallies and he never stood up at all. Forget his name but he was fast!

 

[er-minio]

which despite er-minio’s statement, is exactly the right thing to do

That it's a curious thing because I was told not to at Desert Rose Academy, not by her though.
It might, to be fair, also be something they pass along at the basic courses until you build up more confidence and can manage the bike better. For the record, I don't ride offroad with locked knees. I just don't visibly bounce up and down on big bumps as I used to do in the past. There's always a bit of flex.

 

[G&T]

Try riding over washboard or rocky trails sat down and you’ll be bounced off the bike.

Berin...Try riding on a Shropshire road sat down and you’ll be bounced off the bike

 

[Lord Snooty]

I did the Yamaha off-road course in Wales last November. They taught us how to stand up when doing the really tight, nadgery, rock strewn trails. I must admit I struggled with it at first as I didn't feel in proper control of the bike but eventually when I got the technique correct, lock the knees, lean forward then it all started to feel a lot more natural. Would I ever stand on the pegs on the GS going up a gravel drive to a car park, naaa! It is embarrassing watching dicks do this and they are not just confined to GSes.

 

[Lord Snooty]

I've stood on the pegs on my ZZR on the motoway before to allow the Mrs to punch some circulation back into the cheeks of my arse whilst riding; ( and it works).

I've done that as well mate! Sadly, since our accident she won't come on the bike anymore so I have lost that particular service.

 

[snelly]

There's a Muppet round my way who is always standing when I see him on the roads. Maybe just got bad piles

He should be waring a hi vis stating PILES ;

 

[TIJ650]

I rode trial bikes before having a road bike, stood up is as natural as sitting down but you have a lot more control of your bike stood up as your weight can be transferred through the foot pegs for greater balance.
Off road, being able to stand is very important, the worst offenders are the dick danglers where they hover somewhere in between, go on any off road course like the BMW one with Si Pavey and you will be shown the advantages.

Trials bikes are a completely different conversation……..don’t think half of them even have seats?! I’ve watched the 6 Day in Fort William and those guys are true gladiators of the 2 wheeled world

 

[ChasF]

One place I always stand up is on the old railway lines around here. There are no longer any rails or sleepers but the ballast is very lumpy and I find I need to ride quite fast to go in a straightline. I’m sure there are other stances better suited to nadgery and hill climbing. My view is that if speed is not the issue then whatever works for you is the way to go.

 

[Mad Hatter]

Easy, stand up for rough technical stuff then sit down for the smoother stuff to conserve energy and save ageing knees. If you are doing long multi day trail rides I find this works well. If I was doing enduro or rally I’d be standing up a lot more and going a lot faster, but I’m too old for that stuff now.

I do agree with other posters comments though about people riding big adventure bikes on the roads stood bolt upright. I think they just look like nobs trying to look cool

 

[TIJ650]

Easy, stand up for rough technical stuff then sit down for the smoother stuff to conserve energy and save ageing knees. If you are doing long multi day trail rides I find this works well. If I was doing enduro or rally I’d be standing up a lot more and going a lot faster, but I’m too old for that stuff now.

I do agree with other posters comments though about people riding big adventure bikes on the roads stood bolt upright. I think they just look like nobs trying to look cool

This is pretty much where I sit on this (). Technical stuff life water filled ruts, boulders etc I’d stand up. Basically anything that falls into the trials category. Bouncy stuff too otherwise shock will go right up spine. Everything else, pretty much on my ass. Guess it’s all common sense really
Bit like counter steering - if someone told you before you started riding that you had to tug the right handlebar to drop the bike on it’s left ear to go round left handers, you’d say they were crazy! Lol
We don’t think about this - it just comes natural from experience. Same, same basically.
My original issue in this thread was fuds standing up just because they were on a trailie. Journalists especially. The Starbucks brigade are cocks on a completely different level though!!

 

[cookie]

Standing up is one thing, but getting the arse back, lean over the bars with elbows out stance is another whole thing IMLE.

 

[TIJ650]

Standing up is one thing, but getting the arse back, lean over the bars with elbows out stance is another whole thing IMLE.

I did that at 16 on my FS1E to get an extra 0.5 mph
Think they called it the prone position (minus the elbows)

 

[cookie]

I did that at 16 on my FS1E to get an extra 0.5 mph
Think they called it the prone position (minus the elbows)

Left hand should be on the fork leg for maximum wind cheating

 

[JohnnyBoxer]

Having said that, there was a massive fat Welsh lad who won many enduros and rallies and he never stood up at all. Forget his name but he was fast!

Yoshi Adams

 

[Berin]

That it's a curious thing because I was told not to at Desert Rose Academy, not by her though.
It might, to be fair, also be something they pass along at the basic courses until you build up more confidence and can manage the bike better. For the record, I don't ride offroad with locked knees. I just don't visibly bounce up and down on big bumps as I used to do in the past. There's always a bit of flex.

No, you’re not on a pogo stick. But you should use your legs to help absorb bumps and jumps. If you do a jump sat down you’ll probably break your coccyx, and if you do it with legs locked you’ll break your legs.
I think you may have misunderstood - language thing, probably

 

[Berin]

I did that at 16 on my FS1E to get an extra 0.5 mph
Think they called it the prone position (minus the elbows)

Feet over the rear indicators, chin on the tank, Streamliner stylee

 

[Pepsi]

Just do what you feel most comfortable doing. Stand up, sit down, unless you’re riding competitively does it really even matter?
You’ll soon work out what works best for you and then you can build on that if you feel you want to.

 

[er-minio]

I think you may have misunderstood - language thing, probably

ah!

No, no. They were quite clear: "your bike has shocks, you don't have to replicate that with your legs". But also, yes I agree, we're not talking riding with locked knees. You always flex to some extent obviously. What they were advocating against was most probably what I did too when I started offroading and it was the "bouncing" up and down with your body and legs when riding standing up (so much as to reach a seating-like position when the bike was "coming up" underneath you or almost lying flat on the bike under you). That was especially true on long/fast-ish bumps. It also looked fairly ridiculous I think.
I don't do that any longer and ride normally when standing up (absorbing a bit with the legs as you say), at least compared to the various people I rode with offroad so far

I assumed (wrongly) TIJ was referring to something like that in his opening post.

 

[PitaNaanRoti]

Yoshi Adams

I’ll tell him you said that later!

 

[russ996duke]

I stand up on my gs on road but only to relieve pain in hips and knees on long m way slogs.
Does that make me a bad person?