Sarah not only teaches multiple classes on The Handle Bar schedule but she also manages the Southie studio and is the Director of Marketing. Safe to say that she knows most, if not all of HB riders by name and knows her way around that studio. She confidently lead our class, engaging with all the riders throughout the 45-minute sweat-fest. She threw in a lot of different choreography, some steep hills and plenty of sprints. Sarah’s playlist was on-point. All the songs were short but sweet – none of those 7 minute EDM remixes that seem to go on forever. All in all Sarah’s solid beats set to a variety of movements and speed kept us sweating for the entire class.

Jess is a relatively new instructor at the cult favorite The Handle Bar. She has an upbeat, positive energy that we loved–especially on a Sunday morning when good class vibes were much needed to sweat out the tequila shots from the night before…yikes. In addition to being energetic, Jess also took a straightforward approach to class. The choreography was simple, allowing us to really focus on pushing ourselves to the limit. Bonus for those of you who aren’t fans of the arm series in class, as during this 60-minute ride, Jess opted for sprints instead of the dreaded second arm song.

Raisa Hoffman is the definition of a Handle Bar success story. Rider turned front desk staff turned instructor. You can tell that her riding roots are anchored in “The Handle Bar Method”. As she delivered a classic ride start to finish. Definitely not a drill sergeant, Raisa is charismatic, bubbly, welcoming and encouraging. All the songs on her playlist were manageable as far as speed goes and the choreography won’t overwhelm you – tap backs, crunches, presses, jumps and one around the world to push the envelope.

Riding in Sarah Maguire’s class feels like you’re sitting front row in one of your besties spin classes. Sarah speaks to the class in a genuine, no BS way that makes you feel like you’ve known her for years. She doesn’t hide behind a fake, overly-peppy spin persona. She’s just straight cool. She also jumped off the bike a few times to walk around the room. And when she did, she actually walked allllll the way around the room – addressing people by name and giving snaps. We think she knew 80% of the class personally but don’t let that deter you. She welcomes everyone with open arms. Sarah clearly has a following and we’re drinking the Maguire Kool-Aid.

Elise Memmo (formerly Petersen) is a Master Instructor at The Handle Bar. Being a Master Instructor means that she’s responsible for the training and development of other instructors at HB. We’d say the rest of The Handle Bar crew is in good hands with Elise. She’s a favorite among the HB community and rightfully so. Her classes are almost always sold out so act fast if you want to get into her class. Elise includes lots of choreography so be prepared to crunch, press and tab that a$$ back. Her playlist choices were some of the best we’ve heard out of The Handle Bar speakers…well, if a Selena Gomez remix is your thing. It’s definitely ours.

Eve knows how to have some fun in her classes, we might even go so far to say that she is the most fun instructor at The Handle Bar. She has an infectious, bubbly personality that makes you instantly fall in love with her. But don’t let her spunk fool you – she got a side of nasty. Once you clip-in, be prepared for lots of sprints, fast beats and complex choreography. She also loves playing hip-hop remixes and rap music. Eve is a party on a bike, so if you need an extra dose of energy in your ride, saddle up with E-V-E.

Once you take Candice Peak’s class you’ll realize why she is one of the most sought after instructors on The Handle Bar schedule. We tried to come up with a more eloquent way to say this, but we just can’t, so we’ll keep it simple: Candice is just really good. She provides a solid, no-fuss workout that will challenge both newbies as well as all the spin psychos out there like us. She takes her job seriously and genuinely cares about providing a solid workout for everyone in the class. She’s a true professional who confidently commanded the room for 45 minutes. If perhaps, overly-caffeinated, peppy teachers aren’t your thing, we’d recommend riding with Candice. And fun fact, Candice competed at the 2008 U.S Olympic Team trials in Swimming. #badass

Matt U. (there are two Matts) was a doll! At the beginning of class, he came over to the person next to us to wish her a happy birthday and during class he gave a shout-out to his friend who introduced him to The Handle Bar “almost exactly” two years ago. Matt kept the choreography straightforward, which is totally in our wheelhouse as sometimes over-complicated dance moves can feel forced and unnecessary. Matt hopped off the bike and walked around the room a few times but it felt a little inauthentic, like he only did it because it was in The Handle Bar employee handbook (or so we’re going to assume).

As we mentioned, class started off pretty chill but Matt warned us that there was a “serious hill” in the workout. What he didn’t tell us was that we would be riding that hill to Alannah Myles’ “Black Velvet.” AH-MA-ZING. Matt’s music was fantastically random and slightly hip-hop focused–a nice change from the EDM playlist that’s been blaring in every gym lately. Matt knew how to get our hearts and breathing jacked. It wasn’t a lung burner or anything, but overall a solid workout we truly enjoyed.

Julie is usually the friendly face greeting you from behind the Southie Handle Bar counter, but on a Sunday night at 5pm, she was rocking that podium. We didn’t really know what to expect from newcomer Julie Moody, but we were pleasantly surprised. Her class structure was based on rolling hills (with some hills steeper than others) and simple choreography. But everyone knows, the more you turn that red knob to the right, the less you need choreo to keep it challenging. Julie also had an amazing vibe. The class was about half-full (like we said, it was Sunday night) and she still managed to keep the energy UP.