Hi! How’s it going? I’m so excited to share another new studio with you today. If you’ve been reading B2B for a while, you know that I LOVE trying out new studios. Whether it’s indoor cycling, bootcamping, yoga’ing or barre’ing, if there’s a new studio or a new-to-me workout, you better be sure I’ll be there checking it out! (Full list of studio reviews here.)

So, when the owner of Handlebar Indoor Cycling reached out to me to see if I wanted to attend a ride on their opening weekend at their new Harvard Square location with other bloggers and people in the media industry, I obviously jumped at the chance to check it out.

The best part? I was able to invite a friend, so obviously my sister came along with me since she loves indoor cycling!

The class was at 10:30 and we made sure to get there with plenty of time to get settled. Handlebar was SUPER generous for this event and not only provided us with a complimentary class and shoes, but a really terrific swag takeaway package.

I also love how organized everything was- made for a great experience. The water bottles, tank top, protein bar and free class voucher was just icing on the cake!

I love the words on the back of the tank and on the water bottle- so inspiring!

Anyway, back to the workout. Elise was our instructor and she was fantastic! The ride was different than most indoor cycling studios in that even though we rode to the beat, a lot was endurance and hills and she was constantly asking us to “add a slice” (turn it up a bit), which is not something I’m used to. I like to sprint or I like heavy resistance, I don’t like to sprint AND add resistance 😉 But it was good- very challenging! We also spent most of the class in the saddle, which isn’t my favorite, but we kept busy with various upper body choreography so it wasn’t so bad. What I love about indoor cycling/spinning is it’s such a foreign territory for me when it comes to teaching, so I have no expectations or “oh, I would’ve done this instead of that” thoughts like I can have when I go to a class that I can teach. I always learn something new, which is something I enjoy.

The room was big and with 35 bikes, it can accommodate a big group. All bikes have a great view of the instructor. Danielle and I were assigned to bikes basically in the middle of the room which was perfect- I don’t really want to be in the front row because I like to watch others, but I also don’t want to be in the back!

Post class, we were treated to juices from Liquiteria, which also has a Harvard Square store location.

While we toweled off from class and enjoyed these juices, I was finally able to meet fellow Boston Bloggers Nicole from Pumps & Iron and Allie from Allie Wears. You should check out their blogs if you haven’t!

Since we were heading to Vermont right from class, we were SO grateful that this studio had showers (the other two Handlebar locations don’t have showers). The locker room/bathroom area was really nice- something I always appreciate since I’m generally in less than stellar group locker rooms.

All in all, it was such a fun event and I’m so thankful for the opportunity to go to it! Here are some more studio details:

• New Rider Deals– $10 first ride, $100 first month unlimited
• Standard Prices– $24/class and multiple packages
• Class Schedule
• Studio Details- 35 bikes, a reception area for check-in, complimentary towels for class & showers and both Men’s and Women’s restrooms and showers.
• Parking- Metered parking
• Public Transportation- .3 miles from the Harvard Square T stop and .7 miles from the Central Square T stop

If you’re looking for a new studio to check out- you’ve got to get over to Handlebar’s new Harvard Square location- attention was paid to every detail when building the studio!

Questions for you: What’s your favorite type of class to go to? Do you prefer spinning or indoor cycling? Have you ever been to any Handlebar locations?