Boutique gym mixes cycling, comfort
All you have to do is show up.
Everything else is here. The clip-in shoes. Clean, thick towels, with shampoo, conditioner, razors and lotion in the showers. Hair dryer, flat iron, cosmetic puffs, Band-Aids.
Grab a huge water bottle, some fruit, maybe a granola bar. Would you like your water chilled, room temperature or sparkling?
Lip balm, antibacterial spray, mints, ear plugs and hair ties are all complimentary. Aromatherapy by Yankee Candle is pumped in the HVAC. There’s no need for a locker key, just make up your own four-digit code and secure your stuff.
This isn’t a spa. It’s CycleBar on Port Washington Road in Mequon, a 44-bike indoor cycling studio that took all the hassle and stress out of getting to the gym and practically turned it into 60 minutes of self-indulgence of the healthiest kind.
Opening a gym or fitness club isn’t always news, but what makes CycleBar, which opened Feb. 13, unique is that it’s been designed as a “boutique gym.”
Boutique gyms try to distinguish themselves from the big fitness facilities by marketing themselves as exceptionally clean, smaller and in more intimate settings, with personal service and amenities.
At some gyms, you’re lucky if you get a towel.
The boutique fitness theory is, if the experience is enjoyable, you’ll come back — even if it means you’re busting your bum to burn 600 calories in a 50minute cycling class.
“I feel like the trend now is towards all-inclusive,” said CycleBar owner Lauren Schroeder. “And the reason why we’re predicting you’ll want to come back is because there’s a certain smell about the studio, a certain way how it looks, it’s always clean.
“I guess you’d say it’s like an escape. You come out feeling like a new person. You’re energized either before work or after a long day.”
Based out of Cincinnati, CycleBar started franchising in 2014. Schroeder said there are now 52 studios open across the United States and more than double that expected to open. This is the first in Wisconsin.
It has the similar trendy concept of a SoulCycle or a Flywheel for athletes looking for a lot more than just a place to sweat, but CycleBar is also pretty cool just for the way the classes are designed.
First of all, there’s no rushing to get there and secure a seat on a first-come, first-serve basis. Reservations for a bike can be made online.
Want the front row by the instructor? Yes, bike 6 please. Want to be in the back row today?
That’s perfectly fine. The three rows of Schwinn stationary bikes are tiered, like stadium seating.
Then lights are dimmed, the music is cranked up in the theater and riders churn out the RPMs.
There aren’t a whole lot of ways to make an indoor cycling class really interesting, but CycleBar has gotten creative. The instructor guides riders to do pushups and oblique twists on the handlebars while still pedaling in the saddle.
Riders also use a 4 or 6 pound bar for arm toning exercises during one song. It’s all optional, too; you can just ride if you want.
Cycle classes are what you make of them. You can ease off if you’re not feeling great or really push, and Schroeder values the high cardio of an indoor cycling class. She played soccer and field hockey at University School, won two field hockey championships at Bowdoin College and is training for the Boston Marathon in April.
“Unless you’re doing sprints, you never get that same burn,” she said. “This is good for cross training.”
But the best part of CycleBar may be the big data. The bikes are all equipped with computer readouts that give the ride time, RPMs, power output and level of resistance, so you have an idea of how far you’ve gone and how hard you’re working.
At the end of class, there’s an email message sent to your inbox with the total results, including calories burned as well as the music playlist the instructor arranged.
Nothing beats a ride outside, but if you’re going to be inside, this is a fun way to do it.
And that’s part of the appeal. Veteran cyclist Janice Levy of Cedarburg said that while she already goes to two other gyms, she would come here to meet up with friends and combine her workout with socializing.
“The amenities are a nice added touch,” she said. “It’s motivating, I liked the lights changing, I like the music, the instructor is motivating and the variety of additional things that they work on was good.”
Some riders may elect to bring their own cycle shoes if they don’t want to share (CycleBar does spray and rotate the shoes on a drying rack).
On Fridays there is a happy hour ride with beer and wine and on Sunday there’s a brunch ride with mimosas.
CycleBar is also open to charities that want to use the space for fundraisers through the Cycle Giving program.
CycleBar is a pay-as-you-go system. Classes are $20 for drop-ins, but there are numerous discounted prepay packages especially right now for new riders.