friday1970

Being a teen in the 80's, I loved good heavy metal. Stuff like Megadeth, Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, etc. And then into the 90 with more metal, stuff like Soundgarden, Pantera. And then into the early 2000's with Slipknot, Disturbed and others.
While I rode a bit in my teens and twenty's, I really didn't start getting serious until my mid to late 30's. And I tried to listen to metal while riding. It just didn't seem to fit. It just..I dunno...not much of a motivator.

A few years ago, my daughters were into the anime/kpop scene. They offered to upload some of the more techno kpop stuff to my phone. I've always thought this stuff to be a bit cheesy. But being bored on a long ride and not wanting to listen to my metal tracks, I decided to pull up their playlist and...it wasn't that bad! Nice upbeat music, good steady beat, and it put me into a good mood. If anything, it was a good beat that seemed to fit much more nicely with cycling than guitars and screaming.
I do remember liking of the of the early EDM stuff, like Technotronic, Labouche, Snap!, etc. .These got uploaded to my playlists, and they fit nicely into my long rides too.
With the advent of streaming radio on smartphones, I've searched several stations. I've settled on one that always fits cycling, PulsRadio Dance.

Now, Ive read that as people age, their music tastes do too. And this might be the case. But for now, the upbeat EDM stuff seems to fit my cycling best, and that seems to be the genre I listen to most now, even on my drive to work.

TLDR:
Cycling made me find music more suited for this activity. and upbeat EDM type stuff has fit the bill to much that I now rarely listen to the stuff I did when I was younger.

Has cycling influenced anyone else's tastes in music as well?

DorkDisk

I don't listen to music while on a bike. My taste in music, and its importance in my life has changed over the years.

indyfabz

No, and I also do not listen to music while I ride.

Reflector Guy

I don't listen to music when I ride, but as a piano/keyboard/synth player I sometimes have melodies running through my head. If I can sync them to the cyclic rhythm that comes from pedaling the bike, so much the better!

GlennR

I don't listen to music when i ride.

But i'm still finding Grateful Dead concerts i've not heard on Youtube.
https://www.youtube.com/results?sear...=grateful+dead

_ForceD_

I’m in the “don’t listen to music when I’m riding” group (although if I’m doing that rare stationary ride I will). Yet, there seems to always be a song in my head, sometimes depending on where I am, I may sing it out loud. And it’s things that I pass during the ride that get the song in my head. I pass a street sign for “Schoolhouse Ln.” and I think of Alice Cooper’s song School’s Out . I pass a mailbox with the name “Tanner” on it and I think of Harry Chapin’s song “Mr. Tanner.” A Corvette Stingray or Jaguar XKE pass and I think of Jan and Dean’s Deadman’s Curve. And so it goes.

Dan

Thomas15

I have tried but cannot really get comfortable listening to music while on my trainer and Zwift. Sometimes on a long rail trail ride with no traffic I will listen to some music but true confession it's really just background noise.

rsbob 

“Has cycling influenced anyone else's tastes in music as well?”

Riding has not changed my musical tastes, in or out of the saddle. Since I tend to ride three or four roads leading from my house over and over, and don’t ride with anyone now, I find listening with one ear nice. Depending on my mood, I will listen light classic rock, Pink Floyd, Cat Stevens, Tom Petty, etc. If I know I am going out to hammer, I amp it up considerably with my new favorites, German Industrial Metal, Rammstein, Eisbrucher and the like. But then I have a German background and find the language suits that genre.

Cmichini

I play music via my cell phone's speakers (mounted to my handle bars), typically streaming Sirius XM radio, most often the 70's/80's pop station.
The music is reminiscent of my youth, with a good beat and upbeat/positive songs.
keeps a smile on my face, and my toes tapping.

spelger

can't listen while riding but do while on the trainer. and yeah, i get the kpop stuff, my kids liked it a couple of years ago. its the beat that keeps me going. sometimes my cadence matches the beat quite well and when that happens riding on the trainer is so easy.

CargoDane

I usually listen to some podcast - most often in just one ear. Fun stories and comedy radio dramas. When I do listen to music on the bike, it's usually either happy music - well, what I find happy - including punk and opera - or very aggressive music. I have always had a very wide taste in music, so as long as it is something that fits the mood (i.e. I'm happy when I'm on my bike), I'm good to go.

I-Like-To-Bike

My musical tastes haven't changed much in the last 50 years; R&B/Soul then and now. The songs and music of few artists since the 70's have too much appeal for me other than Prince, Madonna, Michael Jackson, George Michael and Whitney Houston. I used to listen to R&B all the time (Cassette player, CD player then mp3 player) when riding, but for the last 15 years or so, I usually listen to audio books. Occasionally for a change of pace I listen to a playlist of soul/R&B on shuffle mode. The latest playlist is attached.

The two radio stations that I like to stream while at my computer on the weekend for their soulful and eclectic music are WWOZ from New Orleans and WFPK from Louisville. Outstanding variety.

GlennR

Just yesterday I was on a MUP and approaching a skateboarder. He was weaving side to side, as skateboarders do. I slowed down and called out... no response. So i called out again slowly getting closer. I called again and again finally I was barely going 5 mph and decided to pass. He was VERY surprised when he saw me and started yelling at me. I noticed he had earbuds in and I stopped and said "I called out 7 times. Maybe you should turn the music down and be less self absorbed."

Then he started swearing at me so i rode off.

I was tempted to circle around on the fire road and pass him again, but this time to know him on his a$$. But decided to be an adult and hope someone else does it.

friday1970

To be young and naive again.
On a bike while riding an MUP, you gotta have some rear view mirror thing going on.

GlennR

You need situational awareness.. whatever works. But you can be totally disconnected from the world around you.

Pratt

No, not at all. If I had any it might.

Pop N Wood

No, can't say riding has changed my taste in music. I'm another who never listens to music while riding. Prefer to enjoy the moment.

I do get songs in my head when riding. Get songs when seeing certain objects as well. I sing out loud on the MUPS. Gets people's attention better than bells or on-the-left and usually makes them smile. Always a simple song, I don't have much dynamic range.

hsuBM

I think you’re chicken-egg’ing with pork and beans on your plate.

15-20yo me rode far better with AJFA or Pantera’s Official Live blasting into my clip-on earphones. That intro to “Blackened”?! Holy fekkin isht! “Five” “Minutes” “ALOOOONE!” Hell yeah!

I’m 36 now and mostly listen to either Zero7 & Urban Flora or Thelonius/Stephane Grapelli type music, whether I’m about to get on the bike sans headphones or I’m doing the dishes.

Sometimes I might put DK or Gorilla Biscuits on for ten or twenty minutes before riding and have it bouncing around my head while pedaling.

Sometimes I’ll do the same with Los Panchos or Buena Vista SC.

Sometimes it’ll be “The Bee Made Honey in the Lion’s Skull”.

The only thing that has real effect on my ride is how well I’ve slept and eaten.

home sick today I heard from the bathroom some talk show dude saying that he listens to gut wrenching ballads while working out. Air Supply and Toto?

Troul 

sesame street & then Itchy & scratchy are the jams! 88 miles of that & you'll beat PR everytime. That's if you don't find a fast moving bus to frogger in front of..

Toadmeister

Back in my youth, 80s and some 90s, I used to just listen to the radio while biking. Pop and rock stations.

Nowadays, I enjoy listening to the Blues via YouTube or Amazon music via my phone. Enjoy live blues recordings even more with long jam sessions. I can get into the most meditative zones man.... No drugs or alcohol required.

wolfchild

I don't listen to music while riding my bike, I find it annoying and distracting..

rsbob 

Also listen to podcasts about subjects which interest me. The miles go by faster that way. If I was riding new roads or exploring, then probably wouldn’t listen to anything but the sound of rubber on the pavement.

CAT7RDR

Music while riding? Nah. Riding is time for silent prayer and meditation. If I want music, I'll sing to myself.

Gresp15C

Hard to play a cello while riding.

PDKL45

I listen to podcasts at the end of my commute in both directions, once the bike paths diverge from the adjacent road, so I can use my phone's speaker while it's in a stem bag and still hear it. I occasionally listen to music, especially Goa or Psytrance, if I'm on a long climb with little to no traffic. I am looking at bone conduction headphones right now, so I can listen to podcasts on those cold winter commutes while leaving my ears open to road noise (I'm on dedicated bike paths all the way, though) and other ambient sounds for safety.

Here in Korea a lot of guys have bluetooth speakers, or just use their phones. Being stuck behind someone blaring trot, a local genre, can be excruciating. It's like a German Oompah band got drunk and sentimental and decided to play sad songs with Asian instruments, over a throbbing one-two beat with a schizophrenic saxophonist. It can be a very good workout, though, as you work to pass the trot, and then have to be mindful of the trot chasing you and keep a respectable interval. Older men used to decorate cheap bikes with tens to hundreds of lights--one such guy was my old mate "Lightship Larry"--as well as decorative tchotchkes like old Marine Corps or Army pins with their unit and service dates and blast trot while riding the Han river paths. I actually kind of miss those guys these days, their bikes were artworks as much as vehicles.