Fitness tech brand Wahoo puts tariff surcharge in its shipping costs

Wahoo has a new cycling radar for $199.99, but it sneakily costs a lot more thanks to China tariffs.

May 9, 2025 - 21:28

Tariffs have come for another tech product. This time, it's the company Wahoo, which makes bike computers and similar gadgets. The company's first cycling radar has gotten a tariff-related price increase, but you won't notice it until you hit the checkout page. That's where Wahoo seems to have tacked the cost onto the shipping fee, and it's a whopping $50.

According to cycling blog DC Rainmaker, Wahoo buried the tariff surcharge for the TRACKR Radar in the shipping options. The gadget costs $199.99, but when you go to the checkout page, the economy shipping fee now starts at $50 (it goes up to $75 for FedEx two-day shipping and $85 for next-day shipping). So for U.S. customers, the TRACKR Radar will cost you a minimum of $250, plus tax.

By comparison, the cost for shipping in Europe starts at zero euros for economy and ten euros for express shipping. That points to one very likely explanation: the Trump Administration's 145 percent tariffs on exported goods from China has struck again.

Wahoo confirmed that the $50 shipping cost was a result of the tariffs. In a statement to Mashable, they said, "with the situation on tariffs rapidly changing, it is not practical to frequently update the Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Price (MSRP). We have therefore made the decision to communicate a tariff surcharge throughout the customer journey and implement it on checkout."

Mashable has previously reported on tariff-related tech price increases from Anker, Asus, Microsoft/Xbox, Wyze, and popular sex toy brands.

Ray Maker, the blogger and cyclist behind DC Rainmaker, shared these screenshots with Mashable:

wahoo checkout showing $50 shipping cost

The TRACKR Radar will cost at least $50 in shipping fees for U.S. customers. Credit: DC Rainmaker

wahoo checkout showing zero euro shipping cost

European customers don't have the same problem. Credit: DC Rainmaker

The Wahoo TRACKR Radar is made in China, unlike the Wahoo BOLT 3 and ROAM 3 GPS devices, which are made in Taiwan and also launched this week. As DC Rainmaker noted, the BOLT 3 has a more reasonable minimum shipping cost of $15.

Screenshots of the checkout page show a note saying, "a service charge has been applied to this product. This charge has been applied to the shipping total." Clicking on the hyperlink takes you to a page on the Wahoo site explaining, "due to recent changes to our global supply chain, we find it necessary to implement a service charge on orders shipping from our US Warehouses," noting how the rising costs have specifically impacted delivery costs.

From this standpoint, it makes sense to bake the added cost into the shipping fee. But it might come as jump-scare for U.S. customers towards the end of their purchase. Retailer REI, which also sells the Wahoo TRACKR Radar, has instead just added the cost increase to the overall price of the device, listing it for $250.

Keep checking Mashable for our latest tariff news and explainers, from delayed Nintendo Switch 2 preorders to reports of iPhone 16 panic buying.

UPDATE: May. 9, 2025, 3:51 p.m. EDT This story has been updated with a statement from Wahoo.