To not get the appeal (or cost!) of SoulCycle?

[evilharpy]

A jetsetting acquaintance often tags herself at SoulCycle when she's in the US. I heard they'd just opened in London so thought I might go along to a class next time I'm there... till I looked at the pricing. It's £24 per class (you can buy blocks of classes to get the cost down a bit but not dramatically). For a spin class. If you went to two a week it'd average out at about £200 a month.

I could just about get my head around David Lloyd's pricing and that comes with unlimited classes, racquet sports, nice pool etc etc. Is £24 for one spin class not insane? What's so special about it other than good branding?

[Beldon]

For that price I’d be keeping the bike!

[evilharpy]

I’d want a gold plated bike

I would love to know if anyone has been and what all the fuss is about. I do love a fancy gym (although at the moment mine is a grotty leisure centre purely because the class timetable suits me) but this just makes my eyes water.

[megletthesecond]

I don't know. It sounds wanky but a good gym teacher, music and atmosphere can be worth their weight in gold.

One of our gym teachers does the same routine every week and is playing the same Now Music CD from 2005. Non ironically 😫.

[evilharpy]

Meglet oh I agree. There's nothing worse than a class with shit music.

[BlueSkiesLies]

I don’t get why people don’t get things like this.

Soul cycle is targeted at rich city workers and work hard play hard young professional.

People who value an accessible and effective workout at high convenience and low commitment.

Look at a comparable gym in central Londom and compare prices. You’ll find a decent gym is very expensive, and the class timetable won’t be as good.

We don’t have David Lloyd’s in central London with pools and rackets sports for £200.... land is at a bit of a premium you know!

At least with the pay as you go class options you don’t pay if you don’t go.

You know you can book into a class before work, after work or at lunchtime no drama.

As an aside, these spin studios are very popular and there are now many brands. However soul cycle is very North American and more about looks than performance.

If you’re actually wanting to improve your bike fitness with stats to track, check out Digme. £20 for 3 classes intro offer. You want the ride or perform or perform plus classes, not beat. Beat is for people who don’t really like proper exercise. Digme is also a bit cheaper - it’s like £17 when you buy a block of 10.

To be honest, dropping £17 on an exercise class isn’t an issue for most people in the city. And judging by how hard it is to get into some of the specialist classes that’s only happen a few times a week, there is excess demand and space for more studios.

[BlueSkiesLies]

You might also want to check out Sweat It and Barry’s - they do a mixture of running on treadmills and strength training.

Sweat it is just as good as barry’s and a fair bit cheaper.

The way the instructors manage and pace the class is outstanding.

[evilharpy]

BlueSkies in my London dwelling days I was a member of Virgin Active at Tower Bridge. I loved it. Boutique fitness wasn't really a thing yet though.

Said jetsetting friend does also to go Barry's. I googled that and it looks fun.