This New Philly Spin Studio Combines the Best of SoulCycle and Flywheel

Photograph courtesy Revel Ride.

When it comes to big indoor cycling chains, people tend to fall into two camps. There’s the SoulCycle people (carefree, passionate, filled with good vibes) and the Flywheel people (driven, competitive, filled with self-motivation). But a new Philadelphia spin studio, Revel Ride, wants to create a space for both.

The studio, which is currently slated to open in April, is the brain child of Philly trainer Jamie Promislo, who’s been teaching dance and spin classes in the area for the past seven years. For her new indoor cycle concept, Promislo wanted to cater to both types of riders — those who like music and rhythm-based classes, like SoulCycle, and those who like more competitive and stats-driven classes, like Flywheel.

“SoulCycle has their clientele and Flywheel has their clientele, and generally they don’t overlap. I want to offer a place that has a little bit of everything for everyone,” says Promislo.

There will be three different types of classes offered at Revel Ride: “Revel in the Rhythm,” which will be more choreographed and all about moving to the music — with no screens or monitors to ruin the vibe. The second style of class will be “Revel in the Fight” which will be all about the competition — both with yourself and others in the class. In the “Fight” classes, each bike will have a monitor to tell you how hard you’re working, and at the front of the class, there will be a leader board (yep, like at Flywheel) which will show who’s pedaling the hardest. Afterwards, riders will be able to check out their class stats on the Revel Ride app.

Finally, there will also be a “Revel in the Ride” class, which an in-between class is for those who can’t decide between — or just don’t care about — Flywheel and SoulCycle. This class will also have a leader board, which, rather than ranking people, will show riders in different color zones based on their effort.

Revel Ride owner Jamie Promislo. Photograph courtesy Revel Ride.

The two-story gym will feature a 1,000-square foot studio with 30 stadium-seating Stages SC3 bikes. The locker room will feature 60 lockers, two showers, and towel service. In the lobby, Promislo says there will be iPads for checking into class and merch and apparel to shop.

But because Promislo realizes that you may not be able to work your schedule around when *your* style of class is offered, she also says the classes will alternate times — so one day will have “Revel in the Fight” at 7:30, the next will have “Revel in the Rhythm” in that same time slot. Additionally, if you do find yourself in a “Revel in the Fight” class, but don’t want all that data staring you down, you can switch off your bike monitor — and opt out of the leader board.

Promislo is currently shooting for an April opening date. When the gym does open, it’ll be located at 1632 South Street — and Promislo tells us they’re planning to offer new clients a week of free classes. Until then, we’ll be keeping an eye on Instagram and waiting excitedly to try it out.

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