The Missoula Mercantile has welcomed a boutique spinning studio to the roster of restaurants and retail stores slated to open later this year on its street front.

SobbaCycle, a beat-based cycling studio, will claim about 1,600 square feet of space within the Mercantile building this fall, providing Missoula residents with an experience originating at the company’s first outlet in Whitefish.

“It’s been really well received in the community and I know that people seem excited about it in Missoula, so we’re really happy to bridge that gap,” said Perrey Sobba, owner and founder of SobbaCycle.

The studio will have 20 bikes and host about 25 to 30 classes each week for 45 minutes. It’ll also sport an athleisure boutique with clothing brands like Splits59, Lululemon and others.

Sobba has always been active, having been a dancer, figure skater and skier all her life. She moved to Boston for college, and discovered beat-based cycling and fell in love.

The exercise routine is low impact and easier on joints and muscles, Sobba said. Pedaling resistance can be adjusted, and upper body weights can also be used during workouts. 

The goal is to sweat and cleanse the body, Sobba said.

“We want you to come in and get a really great workout, but we also want you to leave feeling better than when you walked in,” Sobba said. “We want to make sure that your experience from when you walk in the door to the time when you leave is really fabulous, whether that’s on or off the bike.”

Perrey Sobba, Kaitlyn Sleichter and Sydney Munteanu work through the paces at their Whitefish studio. (Courtesy photo)
Perrey Sobba, Kaitlyn Sleichter and Sydney Munteanu work through the paces at their Whitefish studio. (Courtesy photo)
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SobbaCycle also partners with charities and other organizations to help raise funds for certain causes. 

In Whitefish, the studio partnered with Charity: Water, a nonprofit organization that brings clean drinking water to developing nations. All proceeds raised during the class went directly to the organization. SobbaCycle also raised funds for RATPOD, an annual 127-mile cycling tour through the Pioneer Mountains of southwestern Montana.

Right now, Sobba is making those connections within Missoula while construction continues at the Mercantile.

“With Missoula, we just really want to grow roots with organizations in the community and partner with them in different ways,” Sobba said. “We don’t have one cookie-cutter model. We found those charity rides to be really successful because it’s 45 minutes where we can raise quite a bit of money. We’re open to other ideas.”

SobbaCycle prides itself on the rider and instructor relationships, continuously seeing improvement in cyclists when they hit a milestone number of rides. 

The studio also hosts groups and parties.

“The music is extremely important,” said Marlow Schulz, an instructor for SobbaCycle. “It allows the mind to rest. You know that feeling when you’re listening to a song that you love and all of a sudden five minutes have passed and it’s already over. We want the whole 45-minute class to feel that way.”

 

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