A New Cycling Studio

*Update June 2017 – CycleBar opened a location just down the street from me in Fulton Market. They are continuing to expand in Chicago!*

Today’s fitness blog post is for my suburbanites and women in other cities. As you probably know, spin classes are sweeping the nation, but the downside can be that the studios aren’t in all cities yet. Studios devoted solely to spinning seem to traditionally open in larger cities first, like Chicago, or trendy, wealthy neighborhoods, like the Hamptoms. Luckily, there’s a cycling studio out there that sees the missed opportunity. CycleBar  has been popping up all over the country with locations in suburbs or smaller cities like CycleBar Wellesley, CycleBar Hyde Park, CycleBar Cincinnati and CycleBar Royal Oak. I recently got to try CycleBar Burr Ride and loved the tough but fun workout that combines some of the best elements of other cycling studios.

CycleBar Burr Ridge celebrated its grand opening in June and seemed ready from day 1 to to rock its customers’ workouts. When I arrived, I was excited to find a water station with several temperature valves and water bottles. I can drink a whole bottle in a cycling class, hydration is so important! I entered the cycling studio to great music pumping through speakers and an energetic instructor ready to show us the ropes. As we started pedaling, I was pleased to see a scoreboard that showed us how we measured up to fellow riders. I really like a competitive aspect to help me ride my hardest. For those who’d prefer to focus on their personal ride instead, you’re able to do that too. Our instructor didn’t turn the screen on again until the end.

CycleBar in itself is not too different from other studios I’ve been to. And I think is a good thing. The top cycling studios seem to have the right ingredients for tough workouts and strong followings. (These include great tunes, challenging routines and a community atmosphere.) What they’re missing are franchises in smaller cities. These are the cities CycleBar is now popping up in. So if you’re ready to see what these cycling studios are all about, now’s your chance. CycleBar is going to open more 100 more locations by the end of the year. Check if there’s a location near you.

Thanks Sarah for being my cycling buddy, and thank you CycleBar for having me!