Cycling Studio Brings a Greater Sense of Community to Montclair
When riders open the glass doors to the CycleBar studio located on Bloomfield Avenue in Montclair, New Jersey, they are immediately greeted by the freshly painted red and white walls in the lobby. This newly opened studio is part of a national franchise that offers cycling classes that feel more like a rock concert than a workout.
As they check in on one of the tablets, riders find out what bike they will be on during class. Their bike number also correlates with their designated locker, which features a customizable lock code, and a cubby containing a pair of cycling shoes already picked out for them.
Macelon D’sa, the owner of CycleBar Montclair, wanted to do something fun after working in the finance industry for over 25 years. He’s always loved boutique fitness, but when he first tried a SoulCycle class, he felt like he didn’t belong there. Once he tried a CycleBar class, he realized that was the type of studio he was looking for.
“What I loved about CycleBar when I was in Wyckoff was the fact that there was a sense of community,” D’sa said.
He wanted to open a CycleBar in Hoboken, where he lives, but someone already beat him to it. That’s when he and his wife started planning on bringing one to Montclair instead.
“Montclair reminded us exactly of Hoboken — we loved the diversity, we loved the people, we loved all the little shops and how everybody knows each other,” D’sa said. “We thought, ‘What better place to bring a concept like CycleBar to here in Montclair?’ Montclair is such a vibrant town with such a sense of community.”
D’sa encourages his team to celebrate people’s diversity and differences. Cycling experts, professional athletes and beginners all have a similar experience here. He says that once the music starts playing, it’s like everyone is dancing on the bikes together.
Riders probably never dread coming to a CycleBar class because all they have to worry about is showing up — the rest is already at the studio. It provides free water, fruit, hair ties, ear plugs, towels and even body wipes that can replace a shower.
The studio itself, called the CycleTheatre, is structured like an amphitheatre. The 50 bikes are lined up in rows, which are elevated in the back. The lights are dimmed, energy is always high and the instructor’s bike is on a platform facing the rest of the riders.
No two classes at CycleBar are the same. Each instructor has a different personality — some choose to play music videos on the screen, like Rahmael, while others are more zen and encourage riders to close their eyes, like Charlie.
Kelly Carroll, who graduated from Montclair State University in 2012 with a dance degree, is a another high-energy CycleBar instructor. During class, she sometimes gets off of the bike and dances.
“I love the way you can connect with the riders, and I love the community it creates,” Carroll said.
She took cycling classes for a while and eventually realized she wanted to be the one up there teaching. So after teaching yoga for four years, she then became a cycling instructor at the CycleBar in Wyckoff in October 2016.
“It’s more than just riding a bike,” Carroll said. “It becomes a lifestyle and a community that helps people through stuff that happens in their lives. They come in here and it’s 45 minutes of their day when they get to shut all that out. We’re the ones who pick them back up when they need it.”
CycleBar Montclair offered three weeks of unlimited free rides to celebrate the studio’s grand opening. This opportunity gave everyone a chance to come in, meet the instructors and try the classes.
Though $199 each month for unlimited rides is a hefty price to pay for fitness, the studio already has a handful of regular riders. The staff members pride themselves on treating everyone like an individual person — not just a number or a sale.
Local resident Paolo Peralta has taken a class every single day since CycleBar Montclair opened. He used to be a bike messenger in New York City, so he eventually turned to cycling studios instead.
“I saw all of these studios popping up, so I got interested. I tried each and every one of them,” Peralta said. “Now that they opened one up right here, it’s very good.”
Peralta prefers these kind of studios over gym memberships because there is someone there to push you harder, rather than standing in front of a rack of dumbbells not knowing what to do.
The first ever CycleBar studio opened up in Boston in 2004 by Bill Pryor and Alex Klemmer, siblings who were craving a consistently addictive cycling experience. Their studios have since expanded to cities all over the country, including Montclair.
In an interview on CycleBar’s blog, Pryor spoke about how rewarding the entire experience is for him and Klemmer. “We are making people healthy and happy. What could be better than that?” Pryor said in the blog post.
Even though the Montclair studio has only been open for about a month, it’s already a huge hit in the community.
“People are coming in with a smile on their face, and they’re leaving with a smile on their face,” D’sa said.
