| rev:text
| - I've attended 14 classes here so far - 7 during their free trial run (which was a genius marketing move) and 7 with the 10 classes for $99 pass I bought right after the free class blast ended. Another great offer they have now is if you attend 10 classes between 9/5 - 9/25, you get credited with 10 free classes the next day. Nothing pushes me like an incentive to get something free, so that has kept me motivated not to skip a class!
The Good (why I gave CycleBar 4 stars):
* The classes are intense and effective. I always leave drenched in sweat, so don't even think about hitting up Trader Joe's and Target after class. For the benefit of everyone around you, go to class and then go home and shower!
* The instructors are nice, motivating and supportive. Notice I didn't say they were easy - that's not what they are there for. They push you to do more than you thought you could and I've seen every one of them make an effort to talk to participants before and after class. My favorites are Shannon, the manager who I can already tell will have a huge following, and Christy, who has awesome playlists and even encouraged me to dance on my bike (which is frowned upon in some places).
* The staff is friendly and seemed to recognize my twin sister and I almost immediately as regulars. The twin thing probably helped with their memory, but it is always nice when you can tell they are making an effort to know who is coming and going and you aren't just another face.
* The complimentary water bottles, mimosas after brunch, drinks after happy hour, mints, lip balm, hand sanitizers and fruit are all a nice touch. Hopefully those are permanent and don't go away after they've been open awhile.
The Opportunities (why I took off 1 star):
* The parking lot is going to be a nightmare, especially for the night classes. I almost had an anxiety attack one night when I was circling the lot before the 5:30 class with no empty space in sight. I was about to call and tell them to cancel my class when a lady in the parking lot told me there are spots right behind the building. Yes, there are, but that lot is SHADY and needs to be fixed up before I regularly use it as an option. Once was enough for me.
* A clueless, skinny male must have designed the bike placement for that studio. I couldn't figure out where all the random bruises on my upper body were coming from until I tried to squeeze myself between the bikes yet again and I realized why. If it means putting less bikes in the room, so be it. Getting to and from your bike should not be almost as difficult as class itself. I have no shame admitting I don't always get a wet wipe after class to wipe down my bike because I'm not willing to go through that again!
* Since I already mentioned cleaning, I really hope the staff does more to clean those bikes between classes in addition to asking the class to use wet wipes on their bike. If you want to take people from Flywheel, remember that Flywheel doesn't ask the class to do anything after class ends and I've seen their staff cleaning furiously between classes, even if they only have 15 minutes to do so.
* I wish they had more class times on weekends, especially when they are having challenges to have 10 classes by a certain date. I think a 12:30 class on Saturday and an 11:30 class on Sunday would be successful additions to the schedule.
* I hate the inconsistency with how the "Connect" song is conducted in each class. I loved how in the first few classes I went to, the instructor would tell us to focus on why we came, tell us a speed to aim for, and we'd just zone out while the instructor either stayed silent or said inspirational phrases. Something changed and now half the time they don't even say it's the song to connect and they give instruction! NO! I looked forward to it every class and I hate how now I don't know if we'll have that moment in class.
* I do like this instructor otherwise, but I was furious when I went to a class and the instructor got off her bike and started telling people in the front row to go faster and we shouldn't sit in the front row if we didn't want to set the example. I almost screamed when she HIT ON MY BIKE and told me to pedal faster. Granted, I'd had a rough day at work and it took all I had to come to class instead of zoning out in front of Netflix, but that was the last thing I needed! Part of the beauty of spinning classes is anonymity and not being singled out in the crowd. It's tough for many people to go to group fitness classes because they don't want to work out in front of people and their biggest nightmare is being noticed. They would have never seen me again if that was my first class. Just say no and back away from my bike!
* Beware of bikes 49 and 50 if you don't want to bike in front of the crowd. I was on bike 50 my very first class and I hated it. Everyone can see you clearly and I was very self conscious. Just take them out of the room and keep them around as spares.
|
![[RDF Data]](/fct/images/sw-rdf-blue.png)
![[cxml]](/fct/images/cxml_doc.png)
![[csv]](/fct/images/csv_doc.png)
![[text]](/fct/images/ntriples_doc.png)
![[turtle]](/fct/images/n3turtle_doc.png)
![[ld+json]](/fct/images/jsonld_doc.png)
![[rdf+json]](/fct/images/json_doc.png)
![[rdf+xml]](/fct/images/xml_doc.png)
![[atom+xml]](/fct/images/atom_doc.png)
![[html]](/fct/images/html_doc.png)