CycleBar NoMa

CycleBar—NoMa has not only made its mark in the local workout scene but it’s a spot worthy of a cross-town trip. Its clean interior, dance-worthy playlists, and tough (but doable) classes make for a solid spin experience with heavy resistance.

RUNDOWN

WORKOUT

The CycleBar ride is made for athletes—with aggressive resistance numbers and a projected leaderboard, we found ourselves digging deep. Quick runs out of the saddle are not the norm here. In the vein of other competitive cycling studios, CycleBar bikes have a small screen showing your power, rpm, and resistance level. The instructor called out resistance levels and RPM ranges to match, giving us the flexibility to push ourselves as hard as we wanted. Throughout class, we were given flashes of the leaderboard to see how we stacked up against the room. However, when the board was used for 30 second sprints, the full screen of stats was distracting. Though the studio bikes allow for SPD and Delta clips, CycleBar’s shoes are all equipped with the former, meaning you can unfortunately feel the pedal on your ride.

INSTRUCTOR

Valerie is a southern belle on the outside and a relentless badass on the inside. All we can say is holy shit, and with this sinful Sunday ride, I think Valerie would approve. While giving instructions to newbies before class began, we thought we were in for a light ride that would match Valerie’s cute southern drawl. Once the unedited version of Big Pimpin’ started playing, though, we knew we were wrong. Valerie pushed us HARD throughout class: with two sets of resistance options for new and experienced riders, we found it tough to stay at the bottom of the experienced set (and after all of the time we’ve spent on stationary bikes, we better be experienced at this point). By the end of class we were dripping. Save for an awkward moment when Valerie hopped off the bike to wax poetic about having perspective, she gave us an ass whooping that would make any Southern mama proud.

SPACE

CycleBar’s NoMa location is new, which is evident from clean locker rooms and pristine 55-bike studio. The locker room has two showers with a handful of spaces to store your shower goods in addition to decent amenities and towels. There’s also space with lockers outside of the locker room for those there for a spin and run. Bring your own blow-dryer if you need something stronger than what you’d find in average hotel. You can pick up some CycleBar gear onsite, but we were not dying to buy it. Once you’ve provided your shoe size, your clip ins will be waiting for you in a numbered cubby, making even a last-minute arrival seamless.