As it turned out, quite a few. SoulCycle has expanded to five locations (with six more planned), including one in Bridgehampton, N.Y., where Chelsea Clinton, a loyal client, held a fund-raiser for Haiti in August that collected $118,783. Other fans include Kelly Ripa and Brooke Shields, who come for the improbably energetic teachers: motivational speakers in Spandex who bellow things like “You are strong.” Acolytes weeping on the bike are not uncommon; nor are men yelping for joy mid-ride. Reservations are made online (sessions now are $36 in the Hamptons and $32 elsewhere), and front-row bikes with top instructors are claimed within minutes.
But SoulCycle also now has muscular competition in the form of Flywheel Sports — founded in February by Ruth Zukerman, one of SoulCycle’s original three founders and onetime star instructor, with Tiki Barber, a former professional football player who used to take her class with his wife (Mr. Barber’s affiliation with Flywheel has since ended after news of an extramarital affair surfaced). Two other Flywheel locations have opened, at the Jewish Community Center on the Upper West Side, and in Sag Harbor, N.Y., with five more in the works.
Ms. Zukerman, known for her emotionally charged teaching style, left SoulCycle in November under circumstances that she said she is legally restricted from discussing.
The remaining founders, Elizabeth Cutler and Julie Rice, seem intent on expunging their former partner from their past. The company story at SoulCycle’s Web site doesn’t even mention her. Last Thursday, in a joint interview with Ms. Rice, Ms. Cutler said simply, “Ruth worked with us for a time. We decided to part ways. We wish her the best.” Yet they seemed visibly uncomfortable: hands tucked between their toned thighs, as if bracing for impact.
Read more:In New York, a Rivalry Shifts Into High Gear
