It’s acquired cult-like status in New York and elsewhere in the US. It counts A-listers among its fans. And now the therapeutic cycling experience known as SoulCycle is coming to London.

Lady Gaga, Chelsea Clinton, Jake Gyllenhaal, Katy Perry, Bradley Cooper and Tom Cruise are among those who pedal away on static bikes in candlelit studios, where participants whoop with excitement, drink in pop psychology and even weep over the handlebars. Such has been its success, the New York-based fitness company plans to double in size by the end of 2015 and make a foray overseas, starting with Britain.

“We’re planning on London in the next year,” confirmed Gabby Cohen, SoulCycle’s marketing director. “We really try to have more than one studio when we open.”

Are Britons ready for a fitness brand whose studio walls bear the words: “Athlete, Legend, Warrior, Renegade, Rock Star, SoulCycle”, with its mix of aerobic intensity, clubby atmosphere and motivational coaching? SoulCycle will be preceded by much hype from America – and probably some controversy over high prices and unusual methods.

“I’m sure they’re bracing themselves in London,” grinned Janet Fitzgerald, an instructor at SoulCycle in Manhattan, who had just finished transporting a class of 60 through 45 minutes of frantic pedalling in place, supplemented with nuggets of motivational philosophy and novel exercises.

SoulCycle has grown from one studio in Manhattan in 2007. The brainchild of two businesswomen who found gym classes boring, it now has 30 studios across New York, the Hamptons, New Jersey, Connecticut, Los Angeles, Washington DC, Boston and San Francisco. The aim is 60 by the end of 2015.

At Fitzgerald’s class, a mostly female crowd filled the mirrored studio. Each pays $34 (£21) per class. “Tighten your guts, relax your minds, badasses,” Fitzgerald shouted. “Woot!” and “Yeah!” was the response as participants dipped up and down in sweaty unison. Hip-hop boomed, the warm room dark except for dimmed spotlights around the instructor.

“I want to feel your hunger for what you want in life, and what you’re prepared to do to achieve it,” Fitzgerald called out. “Whoop!” some shrieked.

“If I feel something is stuck in my life, I talk to myself and then I go, ‘Grrrrr’,” Fitzgerald snarled. “Grrrrrrr,” the class growled back.

Riders then took small weights wedged under their seats and began a series of little arm exercises, still pedalling. “Reach for the stars, pull down what you need,” called Fitzgerald. It felt like a nightclub crowd high on ecstasy and it was easy to see why people describe SoulCycle as “tribal”. Then came other exercises not usually performed while static cycling: pushups on the handlebars and “tap-backs” – bobbing forward and back while standing on the pedals.

“Reach up. Grab the miracles you’ve created today,” said Fitzgerald. She formed the yoga prayer pose and the class intoned: “Namaste.”

Outside, Katie Gray, 38, a communications manager, said: “I’ve been coming three or four times a week since March and I’ve lost 10 pounds without changing my diet. It’s therapeutic and I like Janet, she’s so giving with her spirit. There are times I’ve cried on the bike and Janet is right there, giving me a shout-out.”

Three SoulCycle classes cost $102. That’s compared with $190 monthly membership of luxury gym chain Equinox, or typically $99 a month for membership at a less glitzy club.

Graphic design student Rachel Lindover, 23, takes up to seven SoulCycle classes a week and admitted she affords it because her parents supplement her income. “I’m addicted. It’s such a soulful experience – it’s transformed my thinking. Like, that growling today? That’ll help me when I need to overcome things,” she said. Lindover wants to become an instructor.

The instructors all seem to be strikingly good-looking and have often trained as dancers, actors or even college cheerleaders, although sports certifications are optional. The company trains its instructors for 12 weeks.

Not everyone is a fan. Jeff Young, a fitness trainer and sports medicine coordinator for a group of New York hospitals, said that doing mini-pushups, abdominal crunches and upper body and core exercises while on a bike had “no real benefit” other than burning a few calories. “People like to follow fads and what the celebrities are doing.”

Julie Rice, SoulCycle’s co-founder, responded to the criticism, saying: “We hear from riders on a daily basis that SoulCycle is changing their bodies and their lives. Our riders not only see incredible physical changes, but are feeling stronger and more confident. We have an on-staff doctor of physical therapy who has helped us craft the programme to ensure its efficacy, strength and safety.”

But how the soul aspect of SoulCycle translates in the likes of Kensington or Bloomsbury remains to be seen.

“My husband and I both go,” said Manhattan rider Kim Bassin, 46, a personal trainer. “It seems cultish, but that’s what makes it better.”

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