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Megan Cencula
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Megan Cencula
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Megan Cencula
Whatever you do, don’t call it a stationary bike.
There’s nothing stationary about the indoor cycling bikes at Nashville’s newest spin studio, TYLT Cycle. These bikes, created by cycling pros at Southern California-based RealRyder, move. They lean. They tilt.
And TYLT, open in the Gulch since August, is the only studio in Nashville where you can find them.
Designed to simulate the feel of an outdoor cycling experience, TYLT’s bikes challenge balance and demand increased focus across three planes of motion. The leaning, turning, and steering, while increasing the intensity of the ride, helps reduce stress on joints.
All that extra side-to-side motion pays off, too.
“Our bikes definitely burn more calories than stationary bikes because of the recruitment of more muscles while leaning and turning,” says TYLT co-owner Allison Jacob.
While individual calorie burn will differ for each rider, Jacob, who also oversees the regional bridal magazine, The Pink Bride, estimates each class torches between 400 to 700 calories.
Clients can expect a full-body workout in each TYLT class. During the popular Strictly Cycle, riders move through a high-intensity, 45-minute cycle series, climbing hills, whipping through sprints, and popping in and out of their seats. In the new Dirty 30/30, clients ride for 30 minutes, then power through a 30-minute strength training session. Each class is set to motivating, beat-driven playlists complete with LED lights.
“Our experience is modeled after a Las Vegas nightclub,” says Jacob. “Our lights and our sound are unparalleled.”
It’s Vegas, in fact, that reconnected Jacob, a self-proclaimed blackjack junkie, and fellow co-founder, Paige Fuson. The pair, who knew each other from Fuson’s group fitness classes in Nashville, would run into each other at the Vegas airport. Fuson, who had moved to Vegas, invited Jacob to take one of her classes. It was Jacob’s first time on a RealRyder bike, and she was sold.
Soon after, Jacob convinced Fuson to open a cycling studio with her and to return to Nashville. The fitness enthusiasts then recruited their third partner, retired professional football player DeMarco Murray.
And it was Jacob and Fuson’s friend, country music singer Kip Moore, who helped give them their name. After hearing the studio’s original name, Moore wasn’t that impressed, and asked Jacob to describe what made the bikes unique.
“I told him, ‘They lean. They tilt.’ And he was like, ‘Tilt. Tilt!’ And then we got to TYLT Cycle.”
Name cemented, doors open, Jacob, Fuson, and Murray are just getting started.
“I’m so proud of what we’re building because we’re so not done yet,” Jacob says. “Our biggest thing is that we want your experience to be unparalleled and exceed your expectations.”
139 12th Ave N, 615-902-3181; tyltcycle.com