Eric---There's two schools of thought on this. One is that the throwout
bearing must only spin when you want to change gears, or disengage the
clutch for other reasons. It would seem that some of the poorer quality
bearings being marketed don't like to do very much work of any kind. If
you have the one that sings to you as you depress the pedal, then
"riding the clutch" would not be a good choice.
Other hardier throwout bearings don't much care if they spin with the
clutch or not. They are the kind that are preloaded with a few pounds of
spring pressure... like what would happen if you rested your foot on the
clutch pedal as you drove along. It's probably not a good idea to get
into the habit of riding either pedal.
Obviously, if you ride with the pedal depressed too far, your clutch
will slip and wear out prematurely. Not a likely event with our 'heavy'
clutches!
Dick
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