Maintaining motivation to ride throughout the off-season is tough, probably because you’ll spend most of your time riding solo indoors, rather than venturing out with friends. That’s why you need a great playlist to accompany you through every ride. Plus, if mixed right, your playlist can encourage you to ride longer or push harder.
Music is actually a proven performance enhancer. When compared to exercising without music, research suggests listening to songs promotes longer exercises sessions and enhances endurance. Also, one comprehensive research review reported in detail how music lowers your perceived effort (how hard you feel like you’re working), boosts your endurance, and pleasantly distracts your mind from pain and fatigue, all of which allows you to push harder and longer than you would in silence.
Of course, you have to find the right list of songs for bike riding to gain the benefits. Here, we explain how to build the ultimate indoor cycling playlist. Plus, we share our favorite songs for bike riding indoors.
How to Choose the Best Songs for Bike Riding
The right songs can keep you in motion. Just take it from one study published in The Journal of Sports Medicine and Physical Fitness, which indicates that exercise is more efficient when performed in synchrony with music—that’s why aerobics and Spin instructors play such high-energy tunes.
So if you want stack your own playlist, make sure you know the typical beats per minute (bpm) of each song, so you can sync your moves to your music. A simple internet search can help you find the exact bpms of all your favorite songs and this chart will help you pair the best songs together for any type of ride.
| Riding Type | Ideal BPM | Best Genre | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Recovery | ~100-110 | Country/hip-hop | ||
| Endurance | ~120-130 | Pop/alternative | ||
| Tempo | ~140-150 | Techno/rock | ||
| Intervals | ~160+ | Heavy metal |
If you don't want to go through the trouble of creating the perfect playlist, then we’ve got you covered. We pulled together this playlist of songs with upbeat tempos and driving beats to help you power through your base miles and early-season intervals.
If you’re looking for a simple way to stay engaged during a base ride, try pedaling to the beat of each song, shifting your gears up or down to help you match the tempo and maintain a steady endurance-level effort. The tempos here vary and will give you a cadence anywhere from 60 to 130 rpm.
These 30 songs will keep you stoked as you build fitness:
Listen on Spotify
1. “Seven Nation Army” – The White Stripes
2. “Pure Water” – Mustard, Migos
3. “Broken Bat” – Sam Lachow, featuring MistaDC and Vrillah
4. “Makeba” – Jain
5. “(Don’t Fear) The Reaper” – Blue Oyster Cult
6. “Drinkee" – Sofi Tukker
7. “RITMO (Bad Boys for Life)” – Black Eyed Peas, J Balvin
8. “Purple Hat” – Sofi Tukker
9. “Se Te Nota” – Lele Pons with Guaynaa
10. “We Run the Night” – Havana Brown, featuring Pitbull
11. “Pound the Alarm” – Nicki Minaj
12. “Alors on Danse” – Stromae featuring Kanye West & Gilbert Forte
13. “Around the World” – Daft Punk
14. “Apeshit” – The Carters
15. “Humble” – Kendrick Lamar
16. “The Don” – System.Inc, Jax Jones, Stefflon Don
17. “Work” – MOTi & Bodyworx
18. “Boss B*tch” – Doja Cat
19. “Believe” – Cher
20. “Problema” – Daddy Yankee
21. “Pressure” – Martin Garrix, featuring Tove Lo
22. “Ayy Macarena” – Tyga
23. “Pepas” – Farruko
24. “Fell In Love With a Girl” – The White Stripes
25. “Industry Baby” – Lil Nas X, Jack Harlow
26. “Surfin'” – Kid Cudi, featuring Pharrell Williams
27. “I Did It” – DJ Khaled featuring Post Malone, DaBaby, Megan Thee Stallion & Lil Baby
28. “Body” – Megan Thee Stallion
29. “Tití Me Preguntó” – Bad Bunny
30. “Lalalala” – Stray Kids
Riley is a writer and outdoor adventure guide currently based in Tucson, Arizona where she leads mountain bike rides, rock climbing, and hiking trips. In her spare time, she writes stories and reviews outdoor and fitness gear. Find her writing in publications including Outside, Lonely Planet, SHAPE, Bicycling, Runner’s World, and others. When she’s not playing in the mountains, she’s probably laying down somewhere or eating (or both).
