On Thursday afternoon, I flew to Miami for a long weekend. I’ve wanted to try FlyWheel for awhile now and when I saw they had a studio in Miami Beach, I signed up for a class Friday at noon. Your first class is always free so this made it an economical option as well. 
When you walk in to the lobby, you are greeted by a bright space with a waiting area, branded merchandise, and schedule up on a chalkboard.
My shoes fit and appeared to be really new. You cannot wear sneakers with the bikes and unlike SoulCycle, the shoes at the Miami beach location are included in the cost. While I already mentioned that your first class in Miami is free, the subsequent classes are $22 (which is average for studio spin).
The seats were set up in a stadium seating like fashion. I was most excited about the “torque” board I had heard about. I would have to wait for class to begin to see what it was about but you can see in the picture below that it’s just two TV screen/Computer monitors. I thought it was going to be like the Biggest Loser weigh in screen on the Ranch from what friends had told me.
I quickly found out that the board is not on the entire time. The instructor can choose to turn it on and off throughout the class. It was our instructors 3rd class teaching at FlyWheel. I will admit, it was not therapeutic like some cycling classes hope to be but it was a good workout! The bottom of my ponytail was drenched by the end of class.
What was different about FlyWheel? The bikes have a little computer like device that tells you how much tension or “torque” you have on your bike (you can see them in the photo above to the left of the tension knob). It also tells you nicely what your RPM is. I have not ridden a bike that does this during a class. It combines those numbers to give you a power reading which accumulates during class and is what you essentially compete against with the other riders. Instead of choosing a torque based on RPE (rate of perceived exertion) like SoulCycle and Recycle, the instructor tells you what range to put your torque between. Instead of cycling to the beat, he instructed a certain range of RPMs. Usually this was in sync with the music. Sometimes I went faster than normal and other times a little slower. I did not turn up the torque as high as I would have for some of the climbs if I was not instructed to keep it between a specific range. We didn’t pile on the resistance consistently. We usually left it at one place and changed our RPMs. We did 1 song of arms which was challenging for the most part. We used bars instead of dumbbells and was comparable to other cycling classes that incorporate upper body. We did not do any pushups or crunches but did a couple booty taps. Pushups and crunches are not my favorite for getting an effective workout but I do find they can break up song and help the class to fly by as I feel like I’m dancing to the song rather than working out.
Overall, I liked the class. Somehow I convinced Roomie to try his first cycling class ever. He is doing the triathlon with me in June and I thought it would be good for him to experience what a cycling class is like to pick up the pace a little bit. His thoughts were that he expected it to be much harder. I think had the instructor increased his suggested torque, Roomie’s thoughts would have been otherwise. He liked the class though too, so that was a win! Since it was only the instructors 3rd class, he probably is getting used to the Torque recommendations for the students. I mean, the noon class on a Friday doesn’t tend attract the most rigorous athletes in most gyms so he very well may have been playing to his perceived audience. Who knows but he was good at pushing you when you wanted to go easy and played great music.
The torque board would pop u every 5-10 minutes for a minute or two and then the screen would go black. Not many people participated in the board but I did and loved it! Afterwards, there were no locker rooms but there were private showers and lockers. Kinda cool but probably a pain in the morning if people are coming before work. I don’t know the area so this might not be a problem for the clientele – but good to know.
I loved this tank leaving the studio but decided against adding to my expanding drawer of workout tank tops. The braided straps and longer backside are not only cute but thong friendly. I hate when I’m working out and keep having to pull down my shirt or up my pants to avoid the dreaded thong show. (This happened to me in college in the weight room one day and my “friend” decided to tell me later that night at a party. I was mortified.) My top for class was one of my favorite Oakley Women tanks that did not ride up!
After posting that I was going here on Friday a few Instagramers said they couldn’t believe I hadn’t tried it yet while others said that they preferred another cycling studio. Have you tried it yet and what’s your take on the class compared to the other popular hybrid cycling studios?
