Categories: Fitness

Come Fly With Me!

On Saturday afternoon, after having run the Jingle Bell Jog in the morning, I got talked into trying Flywheel with my friend Sara in the afternoon. I ended up accidentally leaving her at our high school reunion, so I felt like I couldn’t say no to her Saturday. Plus, I really wanted to try Flywheel!

I went on their website and booked a bike in the 4pm class with Chris T, who is a really cute guy that looks like he’s in his early 20s.

The classes are usually $30, but I found a coupon code and ended up paying $20 for it.

[via]

What makes Flywheel different from other spin classes?

First of all, there’s those two bars. You use them towards the end of the workout for a section of arm exercises. There’s also a little screen on the left of the bike that shows your torq (basically how much resistance you have on the bike), your RPM, and two different numbers that show total power burned and the current power being burned. There’s also two giant flat screens that show a leaderboard of who’s burned the most.

What I liked:

The room was completely dark, which was mostly a good thing. I liked that I couldn’t really see myself in the mirror and that others couldn’t see me, either.
There’s complimentary bottles of water and Powerade Zero when you walk in.
The class fee also includes free shoe rental. (Sara said their clips are a little different than usual spin shoes, so it was nice to not have to lug mine.)
The instructor. He was adorable and played lots of fun, poppy music.
I liked that there were numbers to associate with the amount of resistance on the bike, rather than “just turn it more!”
It was a really good workout!

What I disliked:

I also disliked that it was dark, and I couldn’t check out my form in the mirror (and compare it with everyone else’s, which helps sometimes.)
I also disliked the torq board, mostly because my legs were so tired from the race that I was always second to last on it.
I disliked the little monitor on the bike sometimes, too, because it is nice to just ride by feel–especially since spinning is not my primary form of cardio. I focus so much on numbers in my running that the numbers on this little monitor were a little much for me at times.

How is this different from Soul Cycle?

This felt like a better workout than Soul Cycle, although I did like the sort of spiritual side of Soul Cycle.

Would you do it again?

For $30 a pop, not often! I liked it, but other than the torq board, Equinox spin classes are pretty similar–and also have the little screen with all kinds of stats, too.

NYC fancy-spin-class people: do you like Soul Cycle or Flywheel better?

Theodora Blanchfield

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View Comments

Jess says:

December 12, 2011 at 9:26 am

That's becoming an age old question here in NYC. =) It totally depends on my mood.

Although, I don't like the torq board and always opt out for being on it. I don't workout to compete with others I workout for myself.
Corrie Anne says:

December 12, 2011 at 10:13 am

Adorable instructors don't hurt!!! I would love that there's a number associated with the resistance!! That really bothers me when I feel like I'm just guessing. And it's totally like a secondary or farther down the list form of cardio for me!! Haha.
Cait @ Beyond Bananas says:

December 12, 2011 at 10:27 am

Interesting! I think I would like to try it, but that is expensive. I prefer the classes that are included in my gym membership.

I also think I'd get too competitive with myself with the monitor...
Jen Correa @ Mom's Gotta Run says:

December 12, 2011 at 12:21 pm

At that price, I'll have to take your word for it. :)
Kimra says:

December 12, 2011 at 1:27 pm

I like the idea of having numbers associated with my spin (I *hate* being told "crank it more" or "hit your 85% level" -- look, yo, I'm not an expert spinner, I have no idea what my *anything* is). BUT I would also want to keep those numbers to myself!
- Theodora says:
  
  December 12, 2011 at 1:40 pm
  
  @Kimra: I think the fact that I was doing the workout on tired legs, and for the first time, made me care about the board a lot less, since I knew there was no way I would be "good" at it.
Dori says:

December 12, 2011 at 2:08 pm

I like FlyWheel so much better. So much that I just bought a package! SoulCycle is a bit too competitive, I got yelled at by an instructor for not pedaling to the beat.
- Theodora says:
  
  December 12, 2011 at 2:23 pm
  
  @Dori: Whoa. When the instructor asked who was a first-timer, and I raised my hand, he came over to chat with me. I mentioned that I'd run a race in the am, so if I was sluggish, that was why. I did that just in case he was a yeller... (he wasn't.)
Teanna says:

December 12, 2011 at 2:52 pm

Definitely FlyWheel any day. Free shoe rental, lost of complimentary stuff, great, fun instructors, and their classes are less per class.
KAY says:

December 12, 2011 at 3:17 pm

I love, love Flywheel (but have yet to try Soul Cycle)! Where did you find the coupon code?
- Theodora says:
  
  December 12, 2011 at 3:20 pm
  
  @KAY: I think it was Yelp10--I think I found it on Yelp months ago, and my computer autofilled it when I registered. It may only be a first-time thing.
  - Rachel L. says:
    
    December 12, 2011 at 5:20 pm
    
    Soul Cycle also has a first timer discount - they don't advertise it on the website but call and ask for it. I think it's something like $20 and you get free shoes.
Ashley @ Coffee Cake and Cardio says:

December 12, 2011 at 5:12 pm

Man, I would LOVE to try Fly Wheel! I wish it was in DC.
Keren says:

December 12, 2011 at 5:21 pm

I totally agree. I tried out FlyWheel in Chicago (although here it's only $25/ride here, but that is still SUPER pricey)and I loved it. I'm uber competitive so I loved watching my power go up even though I almost threw up at the end. Good workout I guess :)I just joined Equinox in Chicago. We are lucky we have such great spin classes at our gyms!