Connect
To Top

Meet Julian Loveday of CycleBar Gilbert

Avatar photo

Today we’d like to introduce you to Julian Loveday.

Julian, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I left the corporate IT World at the end of 2018 and decided that I wanted to be an entrepreneur. I had been in IT for 34 years from England to Canada to Denver. After talking with a franchise consultant and looking at a number of different types of franchises in various industries, my wife, Karen and I decided on CycleBar. I have been a keen outdoor cyclist for a number of years and enjoy staying fit and active after playing rugby for many years at the international level for Canada. We went to the CycleBar Corporate offices in California and really enjoyed the culture and the product. We decided to go for it and started building CycleBar Gilbert in the SanTan Pavilions. We opened our doors to the public on January 28th and started to build our membership base.

Unfortunately, the Coronavirus came along and we had to close our doors on March 16th. This made for the worst St. Patrick’s Day ever but we are looking forward to coming back with a bang, not a whimper, as soon as the governor allows. We have a 2500 square foot studio with 50 state-of-the-art bikes and high-end audio-visual equipment. The sound and lighting system make for an incredible rding experience with so many like-minded individuals who love to ride to the beat of the music. It is an amazing workout and you don’t even notice how quickly 45 minutes go by. We like to say that we know how to “Rock Your Ride.”

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
I don’t think that starting a business is ever a smooth road, but we certainly did not expect to have this Coronavirus crisis thrown at us. It will truly be a testing time for everyone and it has been accentuated for us because we just opened our doors to the public. COVID-19 aside, we had decided to go with a successful franchise to help smooth the road with a proven formula. Regardless there were still the normal problems with delays in getting permits. We were fortunate in that we had a great general contractor to work with. The actual building of the studio went very well but then we struggled to find enough instructors to come to our CycleStar Bootcamp to get certified. We finally got that sorted out and the bootcamp went ahead at the beginning of January. All nine of our potential instructors passed to become certified CycleBar CycleStars.

Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about CycleBar Gilbert – what should we know?
We are a boutique fitness studio that specializes in great indoor cycling classes. Quite simple really but the difference is that we create a community of like-minded people who love music, people and riding. We offer five different types of rides, from the Classic Ride for the people who love to hear and ride to the music to the Performance Ride for those who are a bit more competitive and like to see their standings on the leader board at the front of the class. We have a mix of other rides in between to suit everyone. There is never any pressure to keep up or compete and you always have the option to not have your name shown on the leader board. The CycleStar will encourage you to go at your own pace and set your own goals. They are there to help you get there. Everyone gets emails their statistics after each class to show their Average RPM, Maximum RPM, Average Power in watts, Maximum Power, Calories burned and distance in miles. You do not have to share this with anyone but it helps you set your own goals. All results are stored so that you can track your progress. The Bar part of CycleBar is an option of a four or six pound weight that is used for one song during the course of each 45 minute ride to give an upper body workout too.

We also offer friendly after ride activities for members to get to know each other. For example, Wine Down Wednesdays is a chance to relax after a great ride at the end of the day and have a glass of wine with some new friends. We also have CycleGives rides which we do to raise money for charities and group rides for work place colleagues or sports teams. We love to meet our members and get to know them. I like to differentiate it by using the analogy of the Cheers television program from the ’80s. Isn’t it nice to go where everyone knows your name. Since re-opening on May 25th, we have limited our class sizes to 14 members and 30 minutes to observe proper social distancing rules. It is a slightly different experience compared to 50 bikes but safety and health comes first.

Any shoutouts? Who else deserves credit in this story – who has played a meaningful role?
For me, the support of my wife, Karen, has been instrumental, especially with the onset of the pandemic. She takes an active role in the operation of the studio and loves hanging out with the members after class. Our General Manager, Kelly, has also been a big part of the growth of the studio along with all our CycleStar instructors and Sale Associate staff (CycleBar Experience or CBX). CycleBar Corporate has also been of great assistance, especially Jess Kern from the head office in California, who has assisted us with our Grand Opening and our pre-sales efforts.

Pricing:

  • Pandemic special – Until May 31st, $10 for the first month of unlimited rides and $129 per month (regular $149) for life, with a minimum 3 month commitment.
  • 25% off all retail items such as leggings and workout gear from many brand name vendors

Contact Info:

Suggest a story: VoyagePhoenix is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.

Related Items

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

More in