Cycling Soundtracks
The Ultimate Soundtrack for Hitting the Pedals
Whether you are cycling outdoors or using a turbo trainer, exercise bike or spinning bike, cycling is a great way to keep fit and healthy. When the weather starts to turn and the nights get longer, it can be hard to motivate yourself to get outdoors for exercise, so at home equipment can provide an excellent alternative.
But when you’re trying to get the energy and motivation to hit the pedals, what can you listen to keep you going? We conducted research to discover which songs are the most popular for cycling, spinning and turbo training playlists as well as which speedy songs are the most popular to help you keep the rhythm when cycling indoors (remember that listening to music while cycling outside can be dangerous and may distract you from what’s going on around you).
The most popular cycling songs
By looking at the keywords ‘spinning’, ‘cycling’, ‘indoor cycling’ and ‘turbo training’ we surveyed a total of 3,016 playlists and 395,260 songs to find out which were the most popular songs and artists for these playlists.
In top spot, appearing in 80 more playlists than any other cycling playlist is Blinding Lights, by The Weeknd, which is the longest-charting song of all time on the Billboard Hot 100, as well as the second most-streamed song of all time on Spotify, so it’s not surprising that many choose it as their cycling soundtrack too.
The most popular speedy songs
Of course, everybody’s different, but if you’re listening to music while cycling, it’s likely that you want something with a bit of tempo to keep you moving! That’s why we also took a closer look specifically at songs with a BPM (beats per minute) of 120 and over.
Topping the charts here was Shut Up and Dance, Walk the Moon’s 2014 hit. Lead singer Nicholas Petricca has said that he wanted the song to be “an anthem for letting go of frustration and having fun”, which seems pretty suited to a trip on the bike!
The most popular artists on speedy playlists
When it comes to the specific artists that we listen to when we need a high tempo cycling song, artists such as Calvin Harris and Lady Gaga prove to be particularly popular, with other popular pop artists making the top 10, including Rihanna and Katy Perry.