Spine is straight, shoulders are relaxed, elbows are bent towards the earth. This is used on a seated flat road with light resistance, as during the warm up, cool down, and recovery portions of the ride. The hands rest lightly on, or grip, the straight part of bars, as on a mountain bike. Spine is straight, shoulders are relaxed, elbows are bent deeper towards the earth when seated. This is used for seated climbing, standing tall, seated and standing accelerations, and jumps.
Wrists are always relaxed and supple with little flexion.
As always, there is no weight on the hands. The hands rest lightly on, or grip, the far ends of bars. This is used for climbing out of the saddle with heavy resistance only. Spine is straight, shoulders are relaxed, elbows are dropped towards the earth, and the entire upper body is parallel to the ground. Again, there is no weight on the hands.