Bob Hunt writes:

The "quiet upper body" riding is a development in the pursuit of
excessive spinning, where saddle bounce becomes a problem. If you
observe anyone racing you'll notice that riders lunge onto the
downward stroke if working anywhere near top performance. This is not
an option but a necessity. Riding with no upper body motion is
possible only when riding at a less than maximum effort where an
optional style is drawn from extra effort, something riders cannot do
for long when working hard. That goes for flats or on hills sitting
or standing where the equivalent is not leaning the bicycle, an even
more contrived style that is possible when riding lower gears than
optimal.

I sense that we are getting close to discussing "ankling", forbid.

You can relax Jobst, we aren't even approaching any "ankling"
discussion.

Whew!

My question was based, not on riding at or near maximum effort, on
riding comfortably in the 20 to 24 mph range. Personally, in those
circumstances I've found a "quiet upper body" approach works well in
reducing fatigue. It felt unnatural when I first started to
consciously try to achieve that about 8 or 9 years ago but the
longer I worked at it, the more relaxed it felt. I'd compare it to
the military posture of "standing attention". That is an extremely
uncomfortable body position at first but once one's muscles "learn"
the pose it actually seems easier on muscles, especially back
muscles, than a casual slouching posture.

What you say seems to support my contention, that to naturally do what
your body wants as you ride hard makes that riding form easier and
more natural. I suspect that you developed the muscles needed to keep
the upper body relatively motionless. I propose that that effort can
better be used to propel the bicycle. To call it a casual "slouching
posture" is begging the question. You cannot slouch when your hands
are on the drops or bar tops, but you can develop muscles that make
that natural.

I think you'll find that trained athletes sit up and ride no-hands in
rest areas (where there are food hand-ups or the field in a stage race
is just cruising. Riders do that and pedal standing occasionally as a
relaxing stretch position. Not moving the upper body is an unnatural
gait and requires effort.

Jobst Brandt