I have patellafemoral too.
What works for me is:
-stretching with near religious zeal
-tight cassettes, small steps between gears
-short cranks
-keeping the cadence up and pedal pressure down
-oh, and knee warmers as weather dictates

Knees generally don’t mind bending as such. It’s The bending-under-load they object to.
You can reduce that by using a lower gear and a higher cadence.