vespasianus

I purchased a set of ICAN Aero 40 wheels in July of 2020. Basically, I was looking for a light set of carbon disc wheels that I could try and eventually replace with something “higher end”. Honestly, I am a big guy (6”1, 200lbs) and did not expect them to last long and was planning on replacing them with something else when they broke.

Well, assumptions are not always wise. I have close to 10K miles on these wheels, over the last two years and honestly, I am really impressed. The specific wheels are the Aero 40 Discs. They have the stock ICAN hubs with cartridge bearings, use centerlock for the brake rotors and some fancy spokes (not sure what they are). Weight was supposed to be somewhere in the 1350 gram range and they were basically close to that. 25mm external width and 19 mm internal width. I have run them with 700 x 28 GP5000 with tubes, GP5000 tubeless (700x28) and now with Schwalbe Pro ones (700 x 25mm tubeless) and GP5000 TLR (700 x 25 tubeless). The wheels did not come taped but were easily to tape and use tubeless. These wheels have basically been set and forget it items. I never really notice them – well except one which I will get to. They spin up fast, hold speed well and are OK in cross winds. And the hubs have held up well without any issues (some major rain riding as well). They don’t have the greatest level of engagement points, but the spin freely and don’t seem to suffer the same “drag” issues that other higher end hubs can suffer from (DT240, I am looking at you).

All of this brings me to the one time I did notice them. So, this weekend, while in a paceline doing about 24 MPH, I hit a monster pothole. Ended up crashing badly and cracking the handlebars and the fork legs (not sure if from the impact or the landing). What surprised me is that the front wheel was perfect. Tire did not blow off and the wheel is perfectly true. There does not appear to be any evidence of the impact or anything (on the front wheel).

Can’t say that I am a fan of the rim labels and would prefer a hub with more points of engagement but otherwise, I am highly impressed with these wheels and would recommend them to anyone.

tempocyclist

Ouch! Hope you're not too banged up after your crash!

I've got a fair few miles on the "Aero 35" ICAN wheels (rim brake) and can't fault them. I did go for the upgraded DT240S hubs though.

vespasianus

Thanks. Yes, bruised and cut but otherwise fine. I purchased a set of Farsport gravel wheels with DT240 hubs and think I prefer the crappy hubs on these ICAN wheels. My DT240's are really, really loud but spin down really quickly. I assume they will "break" in and be smoother but 1500 miles in, I kinda wish I saved my money!

The only other thing I am learning is that carbon is strong. These wheels, as light as they are, have taken an absolute beating and have held up without even going out of true. Really, really shocked.

dingels75

I'm another big fan of ICAN Aero 40's. I've put going on 5k on mine and they're as smooth and true as the day I bought them. I weigh between 190-205 lbs depending on the time of year. I built a bike for my 205-210 lb buddy last winter and he rode this entire past season without a single wheel issue. My opinion is these are by far the best wheel deal out there combining quality and price. $700 range, 1360g, UCI approved, what's not to love?

Bald Paul

The ICAN framesets aren't bad, either!

By the way, did you have any words with the people in front of you in the paceline for not calling out "Hole!"?

vespasianus

Not nearly as much as I should have!

tempocyclist

If you can handle watching HAMBINI on YouTube, he was pretty impressed with the ICAN wheel build quality.

Video -

You Tube

rsbob 

Seems like lateral stiffness is the biggest knock. If you have rim brakes, that could be an issue with rubbing? But with discs maybe not so much? I know nothing about lateral stiffness and it shows. To me it sounds like the wheels could flex in corners potentially creating stability issues, but being a recreational rider, how bad could it be? Educate me.

rsbob 

OK, did some investigating - got off my lazy aspirin and this is what I found on Road Bike Review, “the primary loads on the wheels are radial (in plane with the wheel). Although cornering requires lateral loads with respect to the ground, because we lean into corners, the net direction of load on the wheels is still in plane with the wheels.

However, there are (small) lateral loads occurring all the time. They can occur due to rapid steering motions, due to leaning our bodies out of plane with the bike, and sometimes due to the size and shape of road obstructions. Wheels are tremendously stiff to radial loads (typicall 10,000 - 20,000 lb/in of stiffness), but have much lower stiffness to lateral loads (typically only 200 - 400 lb/in of stiffness). So, it doesn't take much lateral load to cause a small amount of vertical flex.

When does lateral stiffness matter? There are a few situations. If you sprint out of the saddle and rock the bike side to side, the rapid up and down loading on the wheels with the bike leaned over can make the wheels flex enough to interfere with good handling. I'm not so sure there are any real power or energy losses in these cases, but it definitely can interfere with the handling of the bike.

In rapid manuevering, a rapid steering motion can generate a relatively high instantaneous lateral force on the front wheel. Although the flex is relatively small, it can result in a certain amount of imprecise handling.

In cornering, the more you are leaning over, the more perfect bike balance is important in holding to a holding a a line. In addition, as you lean over more, the greater affect on small steering angles on the tracking of the bicycle. Also, as lean over, bumps and surface irregularites start to contribute to lateral loads. Therefore, the more we are leaned over into a corner, the more lateral flex affects our ability to hold a precice line.

But, all that being said, I think the importance of lateral stiffness is a bit overplayed. Lateral forces are small enough that lateral flex will be quite small in most riding. A smooth and skilled rider is able to manuever and corner without rapid steering motions, and is able to smoothly compensate small variances in tracking due to the (small amount) of lateral flex when leaned over into a corner. I've got quite a few wheels, and I personally rarely notice a difference in lateral stiffness between them. Even in rapid manuevers, I can notice a difference feel in my flexiest wheels, but it doesn't really interfere with my ability to handle the bike.”

Since I weigh 165 and am not 200+, it may not be an issue for me.

Just wondering about the weights of the posters above and if they notice any handling issues on out of the saddle climbs and during descents?

tempocyclist

Interesting!

I have the rim brake ICAN 35's and very tight clearances in the rear triangle (25mm max tyre width). I've not noticed any rubbing during climbing or sprinting, but I am a 140lb weakling...

Maybe if I have a moment later this evening I'll double-check for any signs of paint rub that would point to some flex.

rsbob 

Thanks, much appreciated. BTW 140 is considered svelte.

vespasianus

140 is tiny. In my mind 199 is svelte! (:

DaveSSS 

I still have a frame just like yours, but in the smallest size. Great frame.

There are some great deals on wheels from ICAN, BTLOS, Yoeleo and others.

​​​​​​ I recently received a pair of custom BTLOS wheels with 29mm profile, 25mm hookless internal width and 31mm external width, with Bitex hubs. I've only got a few hundred miles on them. My ZIPP 303s wheels with 45mm profile can get hard to handle in gusty mountain winds, so I bought something shallower.