It is a track with a mixture of various musical genres – vallenato, pop and reggaeton – and it features indigenous Colombian wind instruments and accordions.

A music video for "La Bicicleta" was filmed on 19 May 2016 in Barranquilla and Santa Marta under the direction of Jaume de Laiguana.

The clip premiered on 8 July 2016 and it features Shakira and Vives traveling with bikes along the Caribbean coast of Colombia, visiting their hometowns Santa Marta and Barranquilla and engaging with locals in dance battles.

A remix version of "La Bicicleta" featuring new verses sung by Colombian singer Maluma was uploaded online on 19 August 2016.

[5] On 21 May 2016, she sat for a press release in Barranquilla, where she talked about the experience of collaborating with Vives on the song, which she described as a "tribute to Colombia in many ways".

[11] The final version of the song was written by Shakira, Vives and Andrés Castro with the same team of people handling its production along with musician Luis Fernando Ochoa.

Afo Verde served as the executive producer, Dave Claus as the mixer and Adam Ayan was responsible for the audio mastering.

[12] "La Bicicleta" opens with an indigenous Colombian wind instrument and it features elements of vallenato, pop, reggaeton and cumbia.

[13] Speaking about its composition, Vives noted how the duo wanted to use millo flutes characteristic of music from Barranquilla and the carnivals organized there, as well as vallenato accordions (played by Egidio Cuadrado) typical of Santa Marta.

[3] According to Ana Marcos of El País the reggaeton is prominent throughout the whole song in order to increase its appeal in disco stations outside of Colombia.

[10] Javier Soto of Univision noted how the opening lines, "Nada voy a hacer, rebuscando en las heridas del pasado", were sung with a lot of passion by Vives, and added that later on, the song managed to "perfectly combine" the elements of vallenato and reggaeton.

[20] A writer of El Tiempo opined that "La Bicicleta" showcased Vives's characteristic sound - a mixture of national Colombian music with urban beats.

[22] In another article for the same publication, called it "song of the summer" which acted as a soundtrack for parties, strolls and gyms at the right time of the year.

[18] A Tiempo.com.mx writer who described "La Bicicleta" as amusing, felt that the duo not only showcased their singing talents in it, but their "beautiful friendship" as well.

[30] The single managed to top the Latin Airplay chart for the week ending 18 June 2016 with 17 million audience impressions.

1 hit on the chart, making him the third male artist with most number-ones behind Ricky Martin and Enrique Iglesias and for Shakira it was the eleventh, tying her with Gloria Estefan.

[31] During the week of its official music video release, "La Bicicleta" made a new peak on the Hot Latin Songs, moving to No.

[2] The duo also wanted to show Colombian culture to its viewers, including "unforgettable places", beaches, football fields.

We strolled happily to several places... And watching Shaki contented, happy, reuniting with her friends, with her people, I think that the video registered a very, very special energy.

[43] On 6 July 2016 Shakira shared a teaser clip of the music video for "La Bicicleta" on her Instagram account, revealing that it would be released two days later.

[46] It opens with shots of Vives leaning on a wall and Shakira in the middle of a group of people who shout out her name and clap their hands while she dances with her hips.

During their stroll, they view various landscapes of Colombia, including the Pumarejo bridge, Shakira's college La Enseñanza and beaches where people are seen playing soccer.

[46] Latina magazine's Nichole Fratangelo concluded how the duo looked like "feeling back at home with friends and fans" and noted "As if the two singers weren't lively enough, they're also seen sporting FC Barcelona soccer jerseys, in support of Shak's hubby Gerard Pique".

She finished her review by advising readers to view the clip in order to catch a glimpse of "all the beauty and fun that is Colombia".

[51] Suzette Fernández, writing for Telemundo deemed it a "beautiful stroll" across Colombia, its culture and people, with a "special touch" of Shakira's hip dances.

[50] Mónica Quintero Restrepo of the newspaper El Colombiano, described the video as "agile and playful" and in the style of the two singers.

[59] Vives appeared the song alone on the latter award show taking place on 17 November 2016 in Paradise, Nevada backed by numerous dancers.

[60] He also gave another performance of "La Bicicleta" on the Argentinian TV show Susana Giménez in the month of November of the same year.

[63][64] Beto Perez, a Zumba dancer invented a workout with a dance choreography for the song, gathering more than 4,000 people in Argentina; his videos of the event were uploaded on Shakira's official YouTube channel.

[69] A writer of the magazine People en Español opined that Maluma added a "fresher imprint" to the song that made it more danceable than the original.