CycleBar Is Expanding Nationwide

Cyclebar interior image provided.

In 2005, well before the influx of indoor cycling studios hit Boston, Spynergy opened its doors in Wellesley. Now, it’s going national—and they’ve already sold 30 franchises.

Opened by brother and sister duo, Bill Pryor and Alex Klemmer, Spynergy is now called CycleBar. Pryor says that Spynergy sounded too much like “Spin,” the trademarked term for the original brand of indoor cycling, so to move forward with expansion plans they had to change it. Armed with a new name, the boutique fitness studio has already sold locations in Chicago, Detroit, Dallas, New Orleans, Denver, and more.

“It’s been an incredibly fun family business, and now we’ve taken our model, with a 10-year operating history, and packaged it so that local owners around the country can build these in their own communities,” Klemmer says. “It’s amazing to think this whole thing started with our first small location in downtown Wellesley.”

For Pryor, it was only a matter of time before he took his experience and applied it to his own business. He previously ran a consulting company that worked with cycling studio startups on business planning. Between 2010 and 2014, Pryor says his consulting business worked with more than 75 studios.

In April 2014, Spynergy’s team formed CycleBar Franchising, LLC, in partnership with the Ohio-based St. Gregory Development Group. Together, the companies have spent more than a year developing a turnkey franchise model.

“There are several NY-based, privately-held cycling studio chains,” Pryor says, “[but] CycleBar is the first indoor cycling studio franchise company. This allows local owners to establish studios in their own communities using established best practices and a proven model.”

CycleBar formally launched franchise sales on January 1 of this year and there’s already three CycleBars in operation: the original in Wellesley; Royal Oaks, Michigan; and Hyde Park, Ohio. Pryor says that the goal is to have 15 to 20 studios open this year, and another 75 to 100 in 2016.

“When we started it 10 years ago, we never dreamed our small family business would take off the way it did,” Pryor says.” We’re absolutely thrilled to be able to help other entrepreneurs around the country build studios in their own communities.”

The original Wellesley studio runs 42 classes per week and is open 365 days a year.

386 Washington Street, Wellesley, 781-235-0520, wellesley.cyclebar.com