Checkout

A $4,749 Bike Hints at Inflation Peril Looming for U.S. Economy

The hobby is enjoying a new wave of pandemic popularity — but customers heading to the stores are finding that stocks are depleted and prices have surged.

Customers outside the Trek Bicycle Shop in San Diego, May 15, 2020.

Photographer: Sandy Huffaker/Bloomerg News

Lock
This article is for subscribers only.

Customers crowding into U.S. bike shops are often walking out empty-handed — or if they're lucky, with a bike whose price has repeatedly gone up since last year.

Looking for a Santa Cruz Hightower C R, a full-suspension carbon mountain bike? It’ll cost $4,749, up 10% from earlier this year. But with stocks depleted, buyers probably will be told to wait for the next model, due out this summer, at a higher price.