The Dailey Method – U Street

With all the boutique spin classes on offer, most studios focus on what makes them stand out, whether it’s riding to the beat or an emphasis on metrics and RPMs. At the Dailey Method, the Cycle 45 class unfortunately misses the mark in both categories. With a great location, welcoming and kind staff, and a beautiful lobby area, it was all the more disappointing to find a lackluster space, outdated Schwinn bikes, and an unstructured, unchallenging class.

RUNDOWN

WORKOUT

From the start of the class through the last song, we rode for the most part at the same pace. The songs on the playlist all had similar BPMs, so the class felt like one long warmup. Overall, the class struggled to define any structure from start to finish.

The outdated Schwinn bikes at The Dailey Method have a small screen to show RPMs and resistance metrics, but they do not light up unless you press a button. It was annoying to continuously fumble throughout class with the button while trying to figure out if our pushes were heavy or fast enough. We turned our resistance up and down throughout class but there weren’t any cues from our instructor as to where we needed to be. Instead, she appeared to just be reading numbers off her phone to indicate how many RPMs we should target and how much resistance should be on the bike.

There were no weights used during Cycle 45. We did a series of two sets of ten push ups on the bike—five wide and five straight up and down. This contributed to the class feeling like less of a total body workout.

There were some nods to other spin class structures: when Ariana Grande’s “Breathin” came on we were invited to “close your eyes and just listen to the music” which felt very similar to a “soul song”.

INSTRUCTOR

Danielle, the instructor who was subbing, greeted us as soon as we walked into the studio. She helped me get checked in, showed me the cubbies, and was so sweet and welcoming! She introduced herself but didn’t give an overview of the class or describe what our goals were for the workout.

Her demeanor throughout class was kind but lacking in presence and connection. She didn’t make eye contact with individual riders or seek connection with us as we rode. She gave general reminders about form, but didn’t get off the bike at all to check on individual riders. In all honesty, this may have been because the bikes are so close together and hard to navigate around. Her energy was a little low and she seemed almost timid.

The sound system made it difficult to hear Danielle, but she didn’t talk much during class anyway.

Danielle seemed like a kind and caring person, but it felt like she was just another person in class along for the ride rather than a fearless leader guiding us through a specific workout.

SPACE

As soon as you finish trekking up the uneven (yet charming) staircase to the studio, you’re immediately greeted by a friendly and welcoming front-desk person and the instructor. They help you get checked in on the iPad and show you the cubbies. The cubbies didn’t have any doors or locks, but they assured us that the front door to the studio would be locked during class.

The waiting area is charming with an inviting couch and cool décor. It’s clean and bright and inviting. The bathrooms were clean, but small. Showers were available, but we didn’t get a chance to look inside—they were already occupied after we retrieved my belongings from the cubbies after class.

The actual workout space is the opposite of the waiting area. Cramped, musty, and weirdly set up, the ONE studio space is uninviting to say the least. The room is split into a barre area and a spin area with no wall in between. There are twenty bikes crammed into the corner of a room dedicated to spinning and a vast space for barre that almost mocks you as you gaze at the expanse. Not a great space to actually work out, but a lovely reception area.

There is minimal retail available at this location, but nothing that made us excited or tempted us.

There is no equipment for rent—make sure to wear sneakers to your cycle class! Shoes do not clip into the pedals; the bikes just have straps that are adjustable to hold your foot in place. They were uncomfortable and we’d definitely recommend a thick-soled sneaker to protect your arches.

There was a bottle filling station that offered filtered water, but we didn’t see any coolers to buy beverages.

Overall: very clean and friendly with a beautiful waiting area, but the actual studio space is uninviting to say the least.