Looking to get a spin class in during my stay in Amsterdam, my sister suggested Rocycle. According to her the best spin studio she had heard of (she is not a fan of spinning herself so she based it on word of mouth, advertising etc). Booking was an easy process, online and a decent selection of classes and hours were available. I booked at 6pm ride and looked forward to some major calorie burning because when i come to Holland my diet is abnormally heavy on cheese, fries and drop because the Dutch do those things best!)
I have to admit it I love spinning but my experience with spin studios does not include Soulcycle ( *Gasp, i know*). I started doing classes in my work gym with great reaults on really old bikes with heavy use of resistance. Then I joined a newer boutique spin studio that followed the soulcycle craze, Flywheel. I fell in love with the concept of a leaderboard, off the bike damcing, click in shoes and the awesome music. Fast forward 5 years. I join the Peloton craze and get myself a bike, do live classes at the comfort of my home and drop into their NYC studio every so often for a real ride.
So what do I think of Rocycle?
The space: the check-in area, roomie, white with the juice bar and boutique space to buy some wares is awesome. The locker area is very crowded but manageable, and the showers were impecacle and have all of the ameneties I have been spoiled with back home. Great body and hair products? Check! Free water, towels, hair dryers, razors, ponytails and cutips?check! The actual studio space was probably the most underwhelming part. Probably due to the positioning of the bikes, am used to the stadium seating setup myself, which allows you to see the instructor better.. But it made most use of the space (more bikes fit) and the lighting worked well.
So here comes the not so good: the bikes. So in terms of look and seating comfort it is en par with other bikes I have tried (exception the Peloton but thats a
different concept and they created their own awesome bike). Moving between the low resistance to just a tiny turn, lets say 15 degree turn on the knob, was a huge jump. I could not find my groove the entire class, i was either pedaling and bouncing all over the place or really treading mud at the touch of the dial. It just felt odd and being off the seat a lot you are just asking for an injury.
Then was the class itself: Since i admittedly dont do Soulcycle, known for their frequent dancing and off the saddle spinning at low resistance, I have to caveat that half of it was me getting used to the 90% off the seat routine. I tend to be maybe a third or max half of the class off the seat myself. But it was hectic, and I noticed some really poor form just girls trying to keep up with the fast routines. Oh and the push ups... I gave up halfway through the class due to the aforementioned issues with the bike and it was really too much arms. I felt the spinning was more of an afterthought. Had I had a better grip on the bike I would have just chalked it up to my own routine being different. In the arms routines I also saw pretty poor form and it would be good if the instructor called it out. For example reminding students to keep elbows tucked in and stable, and avoid "swinging the dumbells" and tacking on enough resistance to stabilize yourself while doing it. I spin 3-4 times a week and i was petrified of hurting myself. Not sure a newbie wouldnt risk a pulled muscle. There is a ton of say how bad on the bike arm and ab routines are on the joints and back long term, but I know it is something I really enjoy myself as i get to work with core and arms, so good advice on doing it wisely is really important.
Then the juicebar: Yum! I saw the typical things, organic pressed juices, shots, energy balls, etc.
So was I disappointed? Just a bit, I have also only done one class and other instructors might be more my style. I also maybe had a bad bike. All in all, I want to give it another try before I leave and trying to make the schedule work. The boutique spinning studio concept was definitely achieved otherwise. read more