I talked to the instructor yesterday and he said that he just prefers to do seated cycling hands-free because he likes to use his hands while he teaches, but admitted that it's not important for the students to keep their hands off the bars while seated. OK, I wish he'd said that at the start, but I can live with it.

But he also said that he encourages students to avoid leaning on the bars while standing (unless doing a standing climb) because the more upright position with more weight over the pedals and less over the bars works the core more effectively. I'm not sure I'm buying that claim--any expert response from the spinning instructors or spinal experts here?