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Fagnou’s parents opened Outter Limits in 1987 and he and his brother have been running it since 1994 — long enough to have “seen everything.” He isn’t particularly worried about a weak dollar, but he is concerned that customers could stop spending if the slide continues.

“Prices are going to definitely go up, so we’ll probably see volume of business slightly decline. How much, I don’t know,” he said.

Photo by Richard Marjan / Saskatoon StarPhoenix

Marcus Storey, who owns the 19th Street store Escape Sports, was pleasantly surprised when prices didn’t go up dramatically last summer. But he knows that’s about to change — and that customers are going to feel it.

“It’s always got to get passed down to the consumer,” he said. “That’s just the way it works.”

Escape Sports is well-positioned to take advantage of the price gulf. Because the store typically avoids blowing out old stock, it can continue selling American-made goods purchased when the dollar was 80 cents U.S. well into 2016, Storey said.

“We can scale back on our buying and not be short of product, because we’re always just packed to the rafters.”

Like Outter Limits and Escape Sports, Doug’s Spoke ‘N Sport does most of its purchasing in American dollars. But according to manager Jason Woytowich, bicycle manufacturers have been “eating” most of the difference to reduce the impact on retailers.

While many American manufacturers are raising prices by between 10 and 15 per cent to compensate for the weak loonie, many of the 20th Street bike store’s suppliers are charging between five and seven per cent more, Woytowich said.

“It’s smart on their part, because if we’re not around, then they’ve got no one to sell to. There is a bit of an adjustment but it hasn’t gone up terrible much,” he said.

Woytowich is under no illusions about the long-term implications of a poor exchange rate — “there’s definitely a delay,” he said — but he isn’t worrying yet.

“In maybe three years, if it stays the way it is, we’ll notice a bigger jump, but right now I don’t foresee anything really changing a whole bunch.”

amacpherson@postmedia.com

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