CycleBar Pedals Into the Denver Tech Center Today

Denver is finally getting an indoor cycling studio, as CycleBar starts rolling today in the Denver Tech Center. 

The Cincinnati-based franchise is similar to the popular SoulCycle, which just held pop-up sessions here this past weekend, but CycleBar franchisee and Denver resident Patrick Walsh says the CycleBar experience is unique: part sanctuary and part rock concert. Sessions are held in a darkened room rather than the traditional spinning-class setting of a brightly-lit studio with mirrors from floor to ceiling, he points out, and the playlist helps set the mood.

And although each CycleBar studio has fifty bikes and room for that many riders, the lighting and the instructions allow participants to focus on their individual workouts. “Our CycleStars, or instructors, are the lifeblood of the studio,” Walsh explains. “That’s what makes the experience so special, because they’re bringing amazing energy to every class.”

Walsh was never much of a fitness-class person — he prefers team sports and plays on a men's hockey team — but says wanted to find a business that would serve as a distraction from running his commercial real estate firm, and started researching what kind of exercise options Denver might be missing. “In talking to people who are in the fitness industry, I learned that spinning and indoor cycling is something that people are passionate about,” Walsh recalls. “Instructors grow close to regulars who show up three times a week, and people keep coming to a studio because they really want to be there. CycleBar is unlike anything we have in Denver, and it’s exciting for us to bring it to this market.”

When Walsh and his wife decided to bring a CycleBar franchise to Denver, they scouted a handful of potential locations in Highland and along Colorado Boulevard before deciding on the Denver Tech Center. Their studio is next to Comedy Works South in the Village Shops at Landmark, at 7600 Landmark Way, Suite A-201, in Greenwood Village.

“Every time I go to the Landmark there’s more synergy, more people — and we’re actively seeking out those people,” Walsh says. “The comedy club draws big crowds that then, in turn, walk to nearby restaurants. I think we could all perform really well together.”

CycleBar locations do not function as membership classes, but rather operate on a pay-as-you-go basis with options to buy class packages.
The DTC spot will launch a soft opening today, February 1; for the first ten days, the studio will offer private preview rides for any interested group or organization of fifty people or more. Between February 11 and February 20, CycleBar will be giving away free classes for any interested individual. Walsh estimates that the studio will give away 2,500 free classes in the first twenty days, then begin offering paid classes on February 21.

Initially, the DTC CycleBar will offer morning, midday and evening classes; Walsh says the rates will be comparable to those of other boutique fitness classes, beginning with a drop-in price of $22 per session (a water bottle and clip-in shoes for those without their own are included in the price). The studio is equipped with four tiers of fifty bikes total, two eighty-inch screens, full LED lighting and a DJ booth; after the class, participants will receive an e-mail with their performance metrics and the playlist they heard during class.

For more information about CycleBar, visit dtc.cyclebar.com. Groups interested in hosting a private preview ride during the first ten days should e-mail [email protected].