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Hey! I’m writing an article on the best songs to mountain bike to and need some data! If you all could be so kind and would like to lend me your opinion…
What are your favorite top three songs to listen to while you ride? (Artist + Song Title)
Thank you for your responses!
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I don’t like to listen to music while riding but on the way to the trails I have a few must listens to get me ready:
Show Me How to Live – Audioslave
Only – Nine Inch Nails
War Zone – Slayer
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I listen to a lot of Alice in Chains and Pearl Jam in my car while I’m on my way to the trail head, but once the keys are out of the ignition, it’s nothing but the rustle of leaves and tires. I can’t do music while I ride.
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I don’t have music when I ride, but in the car I got my JAZZ on!
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“If You Want My Body and You Think I’m Sexy” by Rod Stewart.
Which is also the song I want played at my funeral, for the record.
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Once on the trail, it’s the “music” of creation only — the wind, the whispering pines, the scree and leaves under the knobbies, the melodies of song birds, cries of the red tail and golden eagle, the knocks of a woodpecker, the approaching thunder … … too much to miss on the trail to put headphones in. Before that it mostly a mix of bluegrass, old and new folk, indie folk, carefree country, country rock, and newer renditions of old hymns and gospel music.
Too many old folk songs to name
Anything Chris Thile
Pretty much anything mandolin, fiddle, banjo, flat pic, dulcimer, and bass
Calling out your Name, Creed, Peace, I’ll Carry on, — Rich Mullins
Free and Easy Down the Road I Go — Dierks Bentley
I Want Crazy — Hunter Hayes
Carolina in the Pine — especially bluegrass versions
Pretty much anything from Home Free
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Hey Jenny, Let me throw a curve into your data collection. I have several traditional Mongolian songs I like to listen to before I ride here. Here is one that is a remix of maybe the most famous traditional song in Mongolia. It is called “A Praise to the Altai Mountains”. It is put to a bit more western melody. This will introduce you to the very unique Mongolian Huumei (throat singing).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HqXuG0sykmE&index=20&list=PLyx5vAVcmql5CSnGg5EOQRq0ZOfGE6CGn
Here is a more traditional version of the same song:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R_u7t5bQwcY
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Like most others I dont listen to music while I am riding trails, however I do use fast paced or hard hitting music to keep me going when I am training on steep fire roads.
I songs that keep me going:
“Sabotage”- The Beastie Boys ( more of a hauling a** song than grinding up a hill though)
“Back In the saddle again”- Aerosmith
“Paradise city”-G&R
“Enima”-Tool (especially when I am feeling disappointed in the human race)
“Eye of the Tiger”- Survivor ( just kidding)
“Walk”- Pantera
Just about anything from Rage Against The Machine.
And I always like to start off any ride by jamming with my man Muddy Waters -Mannish Boy gets me fired up each and every time without fail.
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Thanks for tackling this list, I’ve been wanting to see something like this for a while now! The challenge is mountain bikers are a pretty diverse group of folks with different tastes in music genres, let alone artists and songs.
My vote is for songs that have appeared in viral MTB videos, like Runaway by Houston from Danny MacAskill’s Imaginate video. Whenever I hear that song it reminds me of the video, which makes me want to ride like Danny!
Interesting that many answers so far suggest 1990s alt rock. Is that just because a lot of us are Gen Xers here or because there’s something about that music that really connects to the glory days of MTB?
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Jeff, in that vein, a recent Santa Cruz ad used the song “Higher Power” by Joe Gideon and the Shark. I love that song, and every time I listen to it now it makes me think about biking through Scotland like Steve Peat.
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I’m on who doesn’t listen to music on the trail. Before and after is a different story. Most often, I’m like arkinet above laying down some jazz jams on the way to the trailhead. But I have very broad musical tastes, so it could also be anything from classic rock (The Who, Blackfoot, Foghat, Hendrix) to progressive rock/metal (Yes, Rush, Dream Theater, Fates Warning, Kansas) to heavy metal (Iron Maiden, Black Sabbath), blues (Buddy Guy, Albert Collins, Johnny Winter) or even some Funkadelic. After the ride, it’s likely to be mellower (Dan Fogelberg, Moody Blues, Gordon Lightfoot) or classical (Haydn, Brahms, Dvorak), or even some new age (George Winston, Michael Gettel, Philip Aaberg, David Arkenstone) or Native American (R. Carlos Nakai, Jack Gladstone).
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Aquarius – fifth dimension
Riders on the storm – Doors
Hill Climbing, usually Keep Truckin – Grateful Dead.
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I usually listen to albums while riding, but these are a couple of favorite songs that come on while riding:
Henchman Ride – Testament
Hanger 18 – Megadeth
Across the Sea of Madness – CAGE
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One Big Holiday – My Morning Jacket
on repeat……
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Like most, only in car on way to TH:
Deftones – Head Up
Ice Cube – No Vaseline
Anything from Alkaline Trio
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I don’t like to ride with earbuds in. Constantly falling out, and I think it’s safer to be able to hear what’s around you. That said, my ‘internal soundtrack,’ limited to a top-3 would be:
Golden earing – Radar love
Beastie boys – Sabotage
Ram jam – Black betty
I can’t stop pedaling while those songs are playing. They turn climbs into rises.
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I have a playlist specifically for riding entitled “A bsolute f*ck-all devastation” (Separate “A” so it shows up and the top of my playlist offerings). It is an amalgam of hardcore punk, metal and noise at high speed, volume and nastiness compromising nearly 20 hours of music. Lots of stuff, but I like it all and it is all very energetic. Some examples…
and a couple of oldies from when I was wee tot for good measure…
All of these drive me to stomp on the pedals and destroy anyone riding in front of me…in the most affectionate sense, naturally. 😉
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Hello! I am a hard rock/metal head! Pop Evil, Amon Armoth, Shamans Harvest, Avenged Sevenfold, In This Moment, Slipknot ..the list can go on and on…I never listen while riding though messes my concentration so before and after a ride always! However I shoved the headphones in my ears one time a year or so ago while riding. There was this one switchback I just couldn’t get through no matter how I tried it. This time i made it like a champ as I was coming out the other side Slipknot was hammering in my ears the vocals went “a long time ago we discovered nothing could stop us…..” damn what a moment. Any other 50ish metal head mountain bikers out there?
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Motorhead: Crazy Like a Fox
Judas Priest: Desert Plains
Robert Calvert (Hawkwind): Ejection
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I don’t listen to music on the trails either, just to make sure I can hear anyone or anything (critters) that might be around.
my mental prep
New Orleans – Joan Jett… Or almost any Joan Jett, she still rocks.
Reach for the Sky – Social Distortion
any song by The Offspring
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If I can only pick 3…
Moe. “Rebubula”
Deftones “Be quiet and drive”
Foo Fighters “Everlong”
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So i literally created an account just to provide some input… seriously.
Below, in no specific order, is my current playlist. Note that I train with music and usually race without. This is especically true of the centuries.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tuTz-ocpFV0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ALcdFAAojt4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5yymONwzP7o
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1CNiChT7sQE
Hope this helps
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R.I.P. Biggie! 20 years ago today …
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Right now?
Grouplove – Good Morning
Empire of the Sun – High and Low
Night Riots – Breaking Free
Anything in the Modern Alternative Rock genre is my go-to anywhere including the trail. But I mix it up with pop, hip-hop, motown too when I need variety. I usually only wear headphones on the trail if I’m close to certain that I’m the only one there (off times, etc.) and once I see the first other rider the headphones go off.
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What about listening to the birdies? I bike to get out in nature. I have trouble understanding riders who want to shut that out with headphones and I despise the knuckleheads who bring speakers in to the woods.
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What about listening to the birdies? I bike to get out in nature. I have trouble understanding riders who want to shut that out with headphones and I despise the knuckleheads who bring speakers in to the woods.
Speakers are lame…no matter how awesome your tunes are (mine freaking rule!!! Still, you nimrods will probably hate them) someone thinks it sucks and NO ONE wants to hear it. Yes, you too @presali.
That said, I like having my own soundtrack and after years (back to walkmans and cassettes, no shit) of trial and error, this is the best bang for your buck. You hear everything around you as well as your tunes and yet you won’t bother anyone. Party.
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Monstercat – Best of Future Bass Mix 2016. It’s a huge conglomeration of like 15 songs. However, I rarely ride with music.
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I have to agree with Joe. Tunes in the car before and after rides are great, but blasting music in the woods is not the best idea. Not everyone is gonna like your music, and it’s great ammunition for the anti-biking crowd to get trails closed to bikes. If land managers think mountain bikers are all about blasting music into the sounds of nature, bike access could drop on their list of priorities. I’d love to blast the sounds of Rammstein, the Grateful Dead, and Miles Davis as I roll down the trails, but respecting the parks, nature/wildlife, and other trail users is also important.
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Like many others here, I don’t typically listen to music while I ride. The exception is if I’m doing laps on a meh trail or riding laps around Stone Mountain on a road bike.
Some of the stuff I’m listening to in no particular order:
- Tame Impala
- The Roots
- Anderson .Paak
- Horse Thief
- De La Soul
- D.R.A.M.
- Logic
- Phantogram
- Run The Jewels
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Come on and Dance-Motley Crue
Kyrie-Mr. Mister
Got Your Six-FFDP
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Jump. Van Halen
AC DC. You shook me all night long
Def Leppard. Pour some Sugar on me
music died around 1995 There isn’t much good new music now a days. Even good RAP music died about the same time in the 90’s
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Not on the trails, but on the ride over…
Nirvana – “Downer”
STP – “Sex Type Thing”
Foo Fighters – “Wattershed”
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I don’t often listen to music when I ride but for some reason I often break out into song. Nearly always the same ones:
La vie en Rose
Only the Lonely
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I can loop Supersonic by Bad Religion, that song get the heart and legs pumping.
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I like the songs by RUSH and here are my top 5 riding songs
1. Time stand still
2. Tom saywer
3. Closer to the heart (for mellow rides)
4. Far cry
5. Fly by night
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Feels- Calvin Harris, Katy Perry
Where Is My Mind- Pixies
Streets of Bakersfield- Buck Owens.
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I never ride with music playing, however I always hear “please don’t fall down” in my head a lot.
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While biking, I often listen to post hardcore, metalcore and punk rock bands. Try bands like Sienna Skies, Senses Fail, Adept, Underoath, Rise Against or The Amity Affliction. This music resonates with energy and makes my rides more enjoyable.
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Ha ha I guess you didn’t see the ear bud thread. …… anyways.
Anything with a fast beat or good rock….
AC/DC-Dirty Deeds to get the ride started.
Some Metallica- Sandman
a little Eminem to piss you off, then some Techno or dance to keep it rolling.
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Ramble On – Led Zeppelin
Country Roads – John Denver
Atom Heart Mother – Pink Floyd
Fortunate Son – CCR
Last but CERTAINLY not least…
Bicycle Race – Queen
Bicycle Race just has the exact right pace, vocals (long live Freddie Mercury) , and theme.
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This is kind of embarrassing but I listen to a heavily curated dance/ pop music playlist when I ride. We’re talking Rihanna, Lady GaGa, Kesha, Beyoncé, etc…
I’ve found the beat matches my natural pedaling cadence and makes a great metronome. I’ve tried other music genres (that I actually like) and they just don’t have a fast or consistent enough beat and are just distractions.
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I prefer the sounds of nature and the wind in my ears.
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another one here for no music in the woods, but here’s mine for pre-riding as been mentioned before… ” no one wants to hear your awesome jams ”
but here’s my go to most times pre-ride
Volbeat – Seal the deal
Whitecross – Attention Please
Gary Hoey – Desire
Third Day – Make your move
Brainchild – Mindwarp album
Post ride:
Jazz
Acoustic guitar instrumental – Andy Mckee, Antoine Dufour, Michael Hedges
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I feed off the energy from the newer metal and pop punk groups:
- Linkin Park
- Rise Against
- Avenged Sevenfold
- Trivium
- Bullet for my Valentine
- Sum 41
But not when I MTB…
https://www.singletracks.com/blog/forums/topic/wear-earbuds-riding-on-the-trail/page/3/
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Playing only in my head:
Running Down the Road- Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers
Everything is Broken- Kenny Wayne Shepherd
Ain’t Wastin’ Time No More- The Allman Brothers Band
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I have a long and eclectic ride playlist on Spotify that I continually add to. Some of the tunes I’ve really been enjoying on rides lately include…
“Thunderstruck” – AC/DC
“I Would Love To” – Steve Vai
“Unchained” – Van Halen (really, anything mid- or fast-tempo with EVH playing guitar is great to ride to)
“The Lying Lies & Dirt Secrets of Miss Erica Court” – Coheed & Cambria
“Cliffs of Dover” – Eric Johnson
“Letterbomb” – Green Day
“Severed Hand” – Pearl Jam
“Rockin’ the Suburbs” – Ben Folds
“Till the Morning Comes” – Grateful Dead
“Forks” – Umphrey’s McGee
“Dear Dead Days” – Frost*
“Death By Triple Fiddle” – Joshua Bell & Edgar Meyer with Sam Bush & Mike Marshall
“Razorblades” – Story of the Year
“Feel It Still” – Portugal. The Man
I love extreme metal, as well, and have a ride playlist mostly made up of fast death metal and black metal, but I don’t listen to it much just because it’s obviously louder and that makes it a little more difficult to be aware of what’s around me.
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