GREEN BAY, Wisconsin (NBC 26) – It costs more to hold supplies for a local bike shop. As a result, Matt Fisher sometimes has to share unfavorable news with his customers.
“Parts are an all-time premium and the bikes that have these parts naturally reflect that,” he said. “We can feel that they are upset.”
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And Fisher says expensive or unavailable items like frames and wheels don’t just affect the Broken Spoke Bike Studio in Green Bay.
“We see across the board that bicycle prices are rising by 25 to 40 percent,” said the manager.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that consumer prices were up 7 percent in December year over year. It is the fastest rise in inflation in nearly 40 years.
“Your long-term goal is to keep it around 2 percent a year, and there are several things you can do to keep that number closer to 2 percent,” said Hobart financial planner Andrew Hermsen.
Add to this the high inflation and Fisher struggles with long delivery times.
“When I place an order with Shimano, I am happy to have it now when I am 18 months old,” he said.
But Broken Spoke is struggling to order early and in bulk. And Fisher says that usually brings cheaper inventory prices.
Rich Pedroncelli / AP
CORRECTED DATE – Chevron gas prices above the $ 5 mark are displayed in Visalia, Calif. On Tuesday, November 16, 2021. (AP Photo / Rich Pedroncelli)
“It’s the only way we can really hold the margins and kind of keep this thing afloat because we see a lot of people doing it differently and it doesn’t work very well,” he said.
Fisher believes that costs in the bicycle industry will continue to rise. Still, he says his customer demand is high.
“Often times we get those $ 10,000-15,000 bikes into the building and ask, ‘What are we going to do with them?'” Fisher said. “And we sell it 24 hours later. It helps that there is now a line for every bike.”
Economists expect interest rates across the country to rise to control rising inflation.
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