“Revolutionary New Concept Coming Spring 2016” to U Street

by Prince Of Petworth December 9, 2015 at 9:45 am 44 Comments

1612 U Street, NW

Thanks to Nicole for writing: “looks like new cycle place coming to Vida bldg where spa was.”

I also took a few photos over the weekend. Cycling studios are getting pretty strong on U Street – a SoulCycle just opened at 14th and U St, NW and of course Off Road Indoor Cycling has been open for a few years at 9th and U – though Ride DC did close at 14th and Florida.

looking east toward 16th – RIP Stetsons

J used to be in DC

Spa was never there, it’s in the back. You pass the juice bar and it’s back there.
- bardc
  
  I was confused by that, too. I think this space is where that short-lived Vida restaurant was.
  - J used to be in DC
    
    yes that is the spot
SW Guy

It’s part of Vida. There is similar signage at the Yards location
Nick

I’d love to know how it’s a “revolutionary new concept.” It looks like they have spin and TRX which is already being done by Lava Barre and used to be done by Stroga.
- Philippe Lecheval
  
  It looks like it might be “Hot Cycling.” Similar concept to Hot Yoga, where they crank the thermostat way up.
  - AG
    
    I hope that’s a joke (sorry, coffee hasn’t kicked in yet). Hot cycling sounds like a recipe for heat stroke.
    - Philippe Lecheval
      
      Yeah, it does sound awful, but it also sounds plausible.
  - jumpingjack
    
    That sounds unbearable. I can’t even deal with SoulCycle when they don’t have the fans on.
- AG
  
  The only difference is this is a full service gym versus a more limited studio. Maybe they’re changing their pricing structure to be hybrid of the two?
  - Nick
    
    Yeah that’s not really a new concept though. Balance is a full service gym that offers spin yoga, TRX, etc
    - AG
      
      Do they offer stand-alone prices for those classes? I know a lot of these classes are already included in the regular Vida membership (though they do have extra fancy add-on classes, including TRX), but they don’t have a per-class pricing option for non-members, at least not one I know of.
      - AJSE
        
        I only know about the Balance in Thomas Circle, but yes they do offer a per-class pricing option.
  - J used to be in DC
    
    maybe it’s a way to have more elite classes and earn more money from what was useless space?
- anon
  
  bc the pedals make revolutions each stroke…
Gatag

my home gym (TRX and spin) is revolutionary!
Guillermo Brown

I heard this is going to be a new concept where you do yoga on a spin bike that’s actually half pilates reformer. It’s all the rage
- J used to be in DC
  
  no kettle bells? blah
Em

It’s in the same spin studio, they just changed out the bikes to a new system.
- yesjillsergeant
  
  This is my understanding too. I believe they are getting Matrix bikes that show what training zone you’re in based on watts (power output). Different training zones emit different colors.
  - yesjillsergeant
    
    Oh, and I think they are launching some sort of new HIIT class, maybe something to compete with Elevate and OrangeTheory.
PoPOverWork

Maybe it’s all male spinning- no females allowed. That would be revolutionary.
Rich

Concept=something expensive and not very novel
justinbc

The photos look sort of like the new Peloton bikes, which are actually pretty cool and quite different than a normal cycle studio.
Francesca

BRING BACK RideDC. PLEASE.

SoulCycle is a joke. 15 minutes of feelings, followed by 30 minutes of watching the instructor walk in and out of the studio, ending with 15 minutes of feelings. And then knocking into everyone around you while you pretend to stretch AND feel your feelings.
- jeslett
  
  Ugh, I miss RideDC so much! I refuse to go to SoulCycle, so I’ve been unmoored the last few months. I told myself it was a great opportunity to join the yoga studio two blocks from me, but I rarely go. Once or twice a week I want to go balls to the wall at spin, see my stats to keep myself accountable and know for sure that I can kick all the dudes’ asses at seated sprints, and leave feeling totally spent and accomplished. That is not yoga.
  I’m going to finally bring myself to try a new spin place this weekend, but I live in Park View, so none of them are convenient.
  - lm
    
    flywheel is my spin studio of choice! they have stats/tracking so you know what resistance/RPMs to be on.
  - AJSE
    
    I like Flywheel for stats, but if you don’t feel like paying exorbitant amounts of money or going to dupont, try Wired. They’re in Eckington and around $15 a class and Leti is an amazing instructor.
    - jeslett
      
      Yeah, I miss the stats the most I think, but Dupont is just too far/inconvenient. I think I’m going to try Off Road on U St to start.
  - simit
    
    You could just go for an actual bike ride.
    - jeslett
      
      As noted below, it’s not the same.
      I own a bike, I use it for transportation. I like that I can go to spin and I don’t have to map out a route, find out which trails are safest, try to fit something in before dark, buy a bunch more gear for weather conditions, have issues with traffic, wait at traffic lights, avoid runners and walkers on trails. At spin I get blaring music, someone motivating me to work hard, interval sprints, and nothing to distract me from a workout. Spin isn’t a bike ride, it’s a workout class.
      - simit
        
        You make biking sound arduous. You do it more than once, you have the rhythm down, the routes down, have your spandex hung with care – avoid all those issues. If you need someone yelling at you for motivation, that’s a whole other issue that might require a therapist.
      - Anon
        
        Haha, okay chief, so using your logic, pretty much everyone in the world requires therapy, as I’d wager that the vast majority of people need to be motivated for high intensity exercise.
  - anon
    
    sculpt dc is pretty good.
- kjb27
  
  Try looking for the instructors you liked at RideDC, chances are they’re still around the city somewhere! Shafer, previously of RideDC, can now be found at Equinox Thursday nights and then Reformation 2-3 times a week.
anon

VIDA will close off the second floor stretching area/TRX studio to create a new room for classes.
caballero

I don’t understand any of this indoor cycling stuff. Get on a real bike and enjoy the outdoors. It’s simple, it’s free, and you don’t need an instructor.
- nyterp
  
  No. I don’t want to ride outdoors in the cold. I don’t own a bike, so it’s not free. I have no place to store a bike, so that’s out. I also don’t want to weave in and out of traffic. I also have limited time and lack of motivation. If it weren’t for the blasting music and the instructor telling me what to do, I wouldn’t exercise.
  
  I could theoretically rent a bike, but why go through that hassle when my gym (which I already pay for) has spin bikes.
  
  So I guess I don’t understand why people don’t understand indoor cycling stuff.
- LoganRes
  
  I own a bike, which I mostly use for commuting, running errands, and joy. I’m also an avid rider at Flywheel. Also, I usually ride my real bike to Flywheel! Is that crazy? I don’t think so. Comparing spin and riding outdoors is like comparing apples to oranges.
- jeslett
  
  There are no traffic lights, no need to figure out the safest and best routes, no need to figure out a route that will get you the hills you’re looking for, no worry of being hit by a car, and no need for cold weather gear. Indoor riding is great.
  - justinbc
    
    So confusing!
    - Anon
      
      DOES NOT COMPUTE
AnonMo

At one point I heard that they were planning on using that space on the first floor for a new, fancier spin studio, where you could reserve bikes online, etc. (With what I assumed with come with some sort of per-class pricing plan.) But they just completely re-did the regular spin studio on the 3rd floor and brought in the bikes pictured here (with the really, really cool customized color system!) so I’m not sure what’s going on now. Any VIDA U st staff members on here care to enlighten us?
matt

Based on a recent email that Vida sent to members, this is them advertising new bikes they are getting in their cycling studio.

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