The United States started enforcement of tariffs on $200 billion of Chinese goods. Of the goods affected by the tariffs are bicycles and bicycle parts.
In Thiensville at Extreme Ski & Bike, Vice President Karrie Timm says she's not happy about it, but it's for the greater good.
Timm says the tariffs are not what she wants, but she says she trusts President Donald Trump to make countries like China pay. She knows that, in turn, her costs will go up on practically everything in the store.
"A lot of the accessories as well, which have already kind of gone up, but those have been little bits and pieces," said Timm. "The bikes have gone, they've gone full across the board price increase."
The DeStefanis family is a fan of bikes. Husband John DeStefanis says he breathed a sigh of relief since they already bought their bikes a few weeks ago.
"I don't know if it would have prevented me from buying them but I'm certainly glad that we got them before the tariffs are in place," said DeStefanis.
Several Wisconsin bicycle shops echo Timm saying that customers will see higher prices this coming spring. Timm says there are some bikes already in store that won't change in price.
She adds that the price increases won't be as bad as everyone thinks since the market has been low for a while and some vendors have been absorbing some of the costs. Many Wisconsin bike shops say it's too soon to know the exact costs for any specific item. So, for now, we'll all just have to wait.
