It’s the perfect endurance workout for time-poor Londoners, says co-founder Giles Dean. “Most people don’t have 23 days to compete in a riding challenge,” so 1Rebel’s 45-minute class is structured to test your mental and physical endurance over a shorter length of time.
The music and the laser system are specifically co-ordinated to trigger a “spike” in endorphin levels, otherwise experienced from longer periods of exercise, plus cycling in a pack boosts the feeling of being of being in a “tribe”, says Dean. Others are joining the race: in September, immersive indoor cycling company Peloton will launch its smart spinning bike in the UK, letting you live-stream classes from your home so you don’t have to ride alone.
You can take part as though you were in a studio and the instructor can call you out if you’re not pushing hard enough, while next month, new spin studio FirstLight Cycle will open in Hammersmith with 68 bikes in stadium-style seating. This will rise to 100 after the launch, making it the biggest spin studio in the UK.
There’s a bright idea behind it all: the space will feature a gigantic state-of-the-art, 30ft widescreen, transporting riders to destinations such as Dubai or Ibiza, and instructors will use sound and sunlight stimulation to reflect the energy demands of the class. The technology mimics the natural sunlight you need at each part of the day, awakening the senses in the morning to boost alertness and slowly fading in the evenings to trigger the sleep-enhancing hormone, melatonin.
Classes are 45 minutes and there’ll be a 60-minute version if you want to push your stamina, while Psycle’s new spin class is 90 minutes long to test your endurance even further. The ride is twice the length of the studio’s signature class and features interval training, long hill climbs and sprint work to mimic a road race.
CEO Rhian Stephenson says it’s an effective way to improve performance “without having to put in hours and hours of work”, and there’s a rush to riding as one: Psycle’s two biggest studios have more than 50 bikes each and exercises are set to a beat so you all ride in sync.
“The atmosphere distracts the mind from its usual ‘I can feel my muscles hurting so I’m going to stop now’,” says Natalie Walker, Psycle’s head of ride, plus you’re in control of your own resistance, so you can work at your own pace while training together. Join the peloton.
