Sounds like a good accurate review to me.. I'd buy them , inspect them and have someone do the needed adjustments . Mine came thru same ( bought the 38mm set) a little spoke twist as well, and but else was great. I'll take your advise and have them adjusted when my local shop has the time.
@@JimLangley1 pardon the grammar goof.. was mutitasking. I am enjoying the wheelset. Next uprading my crankset to 105 with A/B ovals. have enjoyed those on my mtb for 4 yrs and it's time to put some on the roadie.
Thanks a lot for watching! I’m happy you enjoyed the review. I have another review of Light Bicycles wheels like this and will have one on Elite Wheels - a gravel set soon in case they’re of interest. Thanks again!
Confirmed what I found on my Ican 38mm 25C clinchers. I fix bikes and tune wheels as a hobby. My spoke tensions were not even when the wheels were new. I measured every single one and graphed it on park tools free online tool. You can get a good idea of spoke tension distribution across the entire wheel. Took a bit of time to get them as even as possible and at the same time true (my OCD). I find in previous wheel repairs for friends that the more even the tensions across all the spokes, the more the wheel is likely to stay true longer and not be affected by stresses when riding. While doing that I also aligned all the blades. Overall very happy with what I paid. The rim brake surface has held up without delaminating or warping down long descents. Thanks for a great review.
Thanks a lot for the kind words and for sharing your nice review of your ICAN wheels, Almon Dao. In the video, I am using my Wheel Fanatyk tensiometer, an awesome tool: www.wheelfanatyk.com/store/digital-tension-gauge/ It has an app for tension charting, too. I like Park Tool's online spoke tension app, too. For others to use it, they need to get Park's TM-1 tool amzn.to/2yYE1oR which is easy to use. And then, they can use the online app here: www.parktool.com/wta and have fun fine-tuning wheels to tension perfection. Thanks again!
I was extremely impressed with your video presentation Jim. Your manner is low key, understandable, and transparent. I never thought much about this process, now I'm thinking it would be interesting to see a video of you evaluating and tuning hard used mountain bike wheels from a downhill racer. Thanks again for the very interesting piece.
Thanks a lot for the kind words, John, I appreciate it and am very happy you enjoyed my video. I work with a pretty talented and daring mountain biker (former BMX national champion). He can destroy any wheel - and I have build him many - some carbon, but mostly aluminum since he hits flies so high, lands so hard and hits so many rocks - and carbon can't handle it. He breaks hub axles, too, and once in a while spokes. He is one of our top product testers. If he can't break it, we know we have something good. Mountain bike wheels are generally much more ruggedly built than superlight carbon road wheels due to the significantly heavier/wider rims. It's easier to build good MTB wheels than it is to build good road wheels because the rims do so much of the work. Thanks again!
Speechless .. i really would like to hear opinions from other professionals.. I do have mine, wont say it out loud, just that trueing standards in europe are "different". The rest is all fine and professional - thumbs up.
Thanks for watching and the great comment, Nico. I'm happy you appreciate my video. I agree about truing standards being different. Some comments here review the wheels. I don't know how many have pro experience, though. Perhaps some will see your request and reply to your comment. I would appreciate that, too. Thanks again!
@@gravelcasualbikepacking5475 that's definitely a good test. I don't know if you saw it but I also reviewed a set of ICAN MTB wheels. I've ridden those a lot and they've held up great too. Here's that video: th-cam.com/video/Bz87vKthgxg/w-d-xo.html Thanks again and good rides!
Good video. I went through the video rather quickly but I didn't see any comments about the hubs and bearings. The hubs are just as important as the rims. I bought some Boyd wheels about five years ago and I had problems with the bearings on both the front and back. Had to be replaced at around 5000 miles. I have a set of wheels with Ultegra hubs with over 25000 miles and they are still running smooth.
That's a good question, Neal. I have about 1,200 miles on the hubs so far, but here in Northern California, we don't see awful weather so I haven't exposed them to much more than rain. So far they are still silky smooth and no worries. There are a few comments from riders who have logged more miles and years than I have and no one has complained about the hubs as far as I've seen. So that's good. Thanks for the comment, Jim.
@@JimLangley1 I'm a old timer and I don't care for the sealed bearings used in most new wheels. I have sets of Campy wheels from the 1980's with many miles on them that spin much smoother than sealed bearings wheels. I haven't found a need for carbon wheels but it's interesting to read about them and you do a great job explaining the pros and cons.
Neal U Appreciate the kind words & I am fond of Campy hubs, too. It’s their adjustability that’s so nice. You lose that with most sealed bearing systems in exchange for supposed easy to replace and inexpensive cartridge style plug & play bearings. But it’s not always easy to replace the bearings and sometimes it’s impossible to remove play in the bearings too, when/if it develops. Still, Phil Wood showed that sealed bearings can work as did Chris King with his sealed headsets. Carbon rims primarily allow lighter wheel weight and personally I do find it noticeable. The wheels sound a little different - the taller, the louder. Braking is not as good as aluminum with rim brake carbon hoops. You do get used to it but in the rain you want to keep it in mind. So there are trade-offs. Thanks for sharing your expertise.
Thanks a lot for sharing your experience with the ICAN Aero 50s, Timo. I'm happy to hear you like the wheels so much and appreciate you sharing with viewers!
UPDATE: For those who requested I do have a video showing tubeless tire mounting. It's in my look at Dynaplug's tubeless tire repair kit here: th-cam.com/video/QbKlnqzWQ3E/w-d-xo.html And here's my video showing how to fix the twisted spoke issue on the ICAN wheels: th-cam.com/video/zszdrNEgSDw/w-d-xo.html Thanks for watching and subscribing!
great review . I have had some Aero 40 disc wheels for 2 years and they are still running as new . On close inspection a few spokes could do with realigning to be perfect ( they are only slightly off) but I am super happy with the purchase and performance so far
Thanks a lot for watching my video, Stuart and also for sharing your review of your Aero 40s. I'm happy to hear they're still running as new and you're very happy with them. Thank you!
Jim, I have the ICAN 38mm Disc Brake Cyclocross wheelset - regular spokes & weight 1645 grams both. They're ridden on my 2017 Giant Contend SL2 Disc Road Bike. They really upped the performance factor of this Endurance Geometry Aluminum framed $1150 bike. They shaved exactly 2# of total bike weight. Was 21.9 stock Now 19.9. Ride is much improved ! Our roads here in Rural E Texas (Tyler area) range from Smooth tarmac to potholed garbage - with too much of the latter. I'm at around 4500-5000 miles ridden. The '4in1' Novatec Hubs are rolling perfectly smooth. At 200# I'm not exactly a lightweight guy either ! I'm thinking I should on general Principles check their spoke tension - as a semi-annual check. These wheels were just $449 shipped. Incredible value ! Thought you might appreciate hearing about my "real world" experience on the Disc version similar to the ones you show in your Unboxing video. I also bought & built up the ICAN A007 Aero Road bike. My review on that build is posted on Amazon under that Frameset listing - mine's the one with Pictures & 'Giant Blue' Color scheme. Built it in late 2015 - fab race bike !
Thanks for sharing your great review of your ICAN wheels, Mother Goose! It's nice to hear how much you like them and how well they're working - especially how they transformed the weight and performance of your bike. Also, thanks for telling me about your Amazon review of their Aero Road Bike. That sounds impressive, too. I'll check it out. Thank you! Jim
You're probably tired of hearing my input but..... I was really glad to hear you say some wheel builders don't use sight to true..... I regularly tell people at the bike shop that I true by ear, and get odd looks, but I'm definitely one of those people that true by ear.
Thanks for watching, Walt, and for another interesting comment. I think I mentioned blind wheelbuilders. They can make as nice a wheel as anyone through listening and feeling. And as we get old our eyes may let us down so truing by ear comes in handy if you’re up there in years, too. Thanks again!
Thanks for watching and the request, Young. I now have videos on a pair of ICAN MTB wheels th-cam.com/video/3yPjw0xgu4U/w-d-xo.html and th-cam.com/video/Bz87vKthgxg/w-d-xo.html And also a pair of LIGHT BICYCLES road wheels in case you're interested: th-cam.com/video/ZO2svtr32tU/w-d-xo.html Thanks again!
Thanks for the kind words, Reinhold. The dishing gauge is hand made from Wheel Fanatyk. Here's more info: www.wheelfanatyk.com/store/wood-dishing-tool/
Fantastic review, especiaqlly the bit about the tire mounting....no other reviews look at that aspect and it is super-important. I just sold a pair of Reynolds Strike SLG wheels because it was virtually impossible to mount, and especially seat, a tire out on the road. I also have a pair of older ICAN wheels and they are much easier for tire mounting.
Thanks for the kind words, Tecno. I hear from more cyclists about difficulty mounting tires than just about any other issue, so you're right about it being very important. These ICAN wheels did a nice job with their fit and ease of tire mounting and removal, which is great to see! Thanks again!
@@JimLangley1 btw what do you think about hubs on those wheels? Are they rebranded Novatec or something like that? I am quite interested in the 55mm version of these wheels but have not found any info on the hubs...
ICAN told me that the hubs are their own design, @@tecnociclista5342. It would make sense if they had them made to their specs by a company like Novatec, but I don't know if that's what they did. They look to be a very minimal design to me and from the overall weight of the wheels, the hubs are likely superlight, too. I won't know how they hold up until I can put some miles on the wheels and particularly do a lot of steep climbing to put some pressure on the front wheel (standing) and rear wheel cassette. Other people who have commented who own ICAN wheels have said the wheels hold up nicely. For more specifics on the hubs you might try the chat function on their website to see if a technical rep will answer. I hope this helps and thanks for the great comments!
@@JimLangley1 Thanks for the insight! My other ICAN wheels are certainly stiff enough but come with Novatec hubs...these look quit flimsy in comparison which is why I was asking :) I did chat to them recently and for my weight (83kg) they actually recommended the FL-line (which come with Novatec hubs) but are a little heavier, I should probably trust them on that but the Aere line is just so temptingly lightweight ;)
Great Review! Thanks for the insight. I was wondering how those budget carbon wheels really stack up against their branded counterpart. Maybe you could do a comparison video in detail. Also great to see that those wheels are not carbon death traps as almost everyone on the internet seems to think.
Thanks for the nice comment, Falkao92. Overall, the people who own ICANs who left comments here like them a lot and say they hold up really well. I own a few pairs of carbon wheels and considered those wheels that I have ridden a bunch when I said what I said during my inspection of the ICAN wheels in this video. The biggest difference is optimized and equal spoke tension in both front and rear wheel and no bladed spokes turned into the wind plus perfect trueness and roundness. FYI: My carbon wheels are Bontrager, Zipp, HED and Neuvation. I hope this is helpful and thanks again! Jim
I bought a couple Ican fatbike wheels in the last year. The 26" ones held up to my 190lbs and 85 lbs of gear fatbike across Utah and Nevada. Amazed how well the held up to some rather extreme beating. I more recently bought their 29" wheels for the same fatbike and they've been good but haven't had to put up with the abuse I put the 26" ones
That's great to hear, Greg. That sounds like an awesome trip riding across Utah and Nevada on a fatbike - well done! Appreciate you sharing your ICAN review very much. Thank you!
Mr. Langley, I ve been watching your videos. They are really great. What bike truing stands do you use? Is there (1) you could recommend? I want to try to custom spoke my wheels with GT SWISS and I need a decent truing wheel stand. Thanks
Thanks for watching, Lucas glad you're enjoying my videos!. In this video I'm using a Park Tool TS-2 truing stand. The new model of this stand is the TS-2.2. They're great truing stands, very easy to use. I have a video all about using truing stands here (it shows a few different stands): th-cam.com/video/JF8p1koGmoM/w-d-xo.htmlsi=pSCGRIIceUtAoO-e And I have a video about my newest truing stand - Park's newest model th-cam.com/video/XqsKUceJzp8/w-d-xo.htmlsi=E_ARbGUTHfCyB_HM You can sometimes get lucky and find a used Park Tool TS-2 truing stand on ebay and other online places. That would be a way to get an awesome stand for a little less. Just check it out carefully and don't buy a damaged one. But the Park's are the gold standard and worth owning and using if you plan to build some wheels. Hope this helps and thanks again.
A killer video, great information. As a mountain biker and someone that has worked in the sporting good industry for 31 years I can tell you that 90% of bike parts are produced in China. There is no doubt the industry has it's boutique brands that product parts and wheels in the US and abroad. Many of the China factories that produce for the "big" brands also sell direct and can provide huge savings. I9 Wheels (produced in the US) starting price is over $2000. I have found a source that produced a killer set of MTB carbon rims for $650 that includes DT-Swiss 350 hubs with 54 engagement. I'm not a wheel builder but I'm able to true my own wheels. I own a Spin Doctor truing stand, a spoke wrench and a Park Tool spoken tension meter all for $135. It's worth the time to true a wheel, makes them last a long time. Saving $600-$1500 is worth the risk in my view. I love technology but in the mountain biking world there are no more manufacturing secrets, all the manufacturer's are producing great bikes. The bike industry uses marketing tactics to convince the end users to believe the newest trend will make you a better rider (slack, headtube angle, geometry, offset etc...). You can find several blind test results on the Internet that used riders ranging from pro's to the weekend warrior were virtually none were unable to pick out any of the differences. A great video of a Pro rider talking about the very slight differences in MTB bikes and what the average rider can do to make his/her current bike perform better. th-cam.com/video/zazQCR5oIyI/w-d-xo.html
When I reviewed these wheels I used the same checks I've used on many other wheels over the years, Chris. Spoke tensiometers were the key tool that allowed putting numbers on wheel builds. Those became readily available to bicycle shop mechanics and wheel builders around 1980. I had a Hozan to start back then and later Wheelsmith's. We checked factory wheels when we sold them back then and right up until today using the basic same steps shown here. What changed since 1980 is that the quality of wheels has improved greatly across the board and that includes spoke, rim, hub and assembly improvements driven by innovation and consistently more powerful computer analysis to determine how the components and overall wheels can be improved. When you check most modern wheels you find that they're excellent out of the box. I kept this in mind evaluating the ICANs in this video. I would not expect to find even the few issues I found with the ICANs with the big brand's wheels. Wheels have gotten much, much better over the years, which is a great thing. Really appreciate the comment!
Great video. I have been riding ICAN wheels for years, and know a couple of people who race them. I would LOVE to see you do a comparison video with one of the "name" brand wheels. I personally have 4 set on different bikes - 86mm, 50mm rim, 40mm disc, and the original 38mm - they are all amazing for the average rider. I can tell you from personal experience, I would put their wheels out of the box over ANY other wheels - except maybe Schimano. Just my opinion based on my experience including building wheels! Great video. PS - most bike shops do not know there is a spoke twist tool or how to use it. 99.9999% do it by eye.
Thanks for the feedback, John. I was trying to review ICAN's wheels on their own, but as a pro wheelbuilder and a road racer, it's impossible for me not to think about my other aero wheels. I have 3 sets of Bontrager Aeolus carbon tubular wheels that I've raced a lot. Those are all the sizes right up to 90mm profile carbon wheels - I won the CA state championships on the 90mm actually - super-fast wheels!. I put thousands of miles on Shimano's first tubeless Dura-Ace wheels and loved them. I have also ridden a lot on HED wheels and Neuvation carbon 50mm carbon wheels and Rolf wheels, and more brands over the years. In inspecting the ICANs I tried to consider what I've learned from all these other wheels in order to share that as a way to explain what to look for. It's great to hear that you like the ICANs a lot and rate them almost as high as Shimano wheels. That's very impressive. I really appreciate you letting me know how much you like your ICANs. Thank you! Jim
@@JimLangley1 Jim, I thank YOU. I get blasted for talking about how much I like the ICAN wheels on my channel. I respect your opinion and your experience and think that for the price..... an average rider will not go wrong with these wheels. I have also been using a frame that they sent me...... and I have been impressed with that as well. One last thing I will say is that these wheels are better by far, over the "high end" stock Giant wheels that came with my TCR Pro 0. Those have been out of true since day one and have been retrued as well. Out again. These wheels just perform really well in my opinion. Again thank you!!
Beautifully put. But my major concern is of the carbon material and its formation as we all know there is a method carbon fibre sheets are resin pasted together leaving space for bubbles and tiny gaps between the sheets. So how could we possibly know the integrity of the material build up itself? Any insight on this?
Thanks for watching and the nice words, Noel - I'm happy you enjoyed my video. Yes, I have insight on how I know that it's unlikely the ICAN Toray carbon rims have any defects. In my experience building hundreds of carbon rims I can tell you that at the tension the ICAN spokes are at, a carbon rim with voids or other defects will fail spectacularly. It scares you so much you jump. Usually it makes an awful cracking popping sound as you're working on the wheel. Sometimes it’ll split all around the spoke hole track. It makes for an exciting wheel build and it’s good defects show up then rather than out riding when you would get hurt. That's how you know and why I tested the wheels the way I did in the video to determine they're fine rims. Okay? I hope this helps answer your question. Thanks again!
@@JimLangley1 thanks man. Sure I did and always do enjoy your videos. The reason I asked you this is because i had purchased a pair of vuelta 50mm carbon wheels and in a short span of time a portion of the rim braking surface wore out almost like 1mm deep almost killing me while coming into oncoming traffic.also kindly note as I used alloy brake shoes and not carbon brake shoes. So could that have happened because of the wrong brake shoes because now after doing my research I think using wrong shoes were the problem. What would you say about this? Also I'm looking to repair the surface by repasting a sheet of carbon and bonding it with resin. Your insight on this please. Thanks in advance
@@noelbrett7351 sorry to hear about the damage to your rim, Noel - glad you didn't crash! Since they damaged the rim so much those brake pads had to be really abrasive, made of the wrong material. The ICAN wheels come with carbon-compatible brake pads designed for use with the rims. That's often the case with other carbon wheelsets. I have not tried replacing material on carbon rims. There are companies that repair broken carbon frames. Maybe you could contact them and ask if they would give you any advice on repairing your rim? In my area (Northern California, USA), this is the company that's been fixing carbon since way back: calfeedesign.com/carbon-repair/ Maybe if you called them they would be able to talk about whether or not it's possible to fix damage like yours on a carbon rim and how they recommend going about it. I hope they have some good advice for you and that it can be fixed. If not, maybe Vuelta would be willing to sell you a replacement rim at a discount and you could rebuild the wheel. Good luck!
@@JimLangley1 thanks for your prompt reply man. I really appreciate your detailed explanations. I'll get in touch with the and keep you posted. Thanks and take care
I waited years before buying a set of carbon wheels for my SuperSix EVO, but ICAN seemed to have been striving to be that good entry-level set. I managed to score a pair of ICAN Aero 50's and right out of the box, they seemed true & round. Tension felt uniform, but I'm having them installed this weekend and they'll give me a report on any extra tweaking they had to do if any. Honestly, anybody paying anything less than $1500 for a set of carbon wheels should fully expect to have to put in a little wrench time after receiving them. My pair came with Sapim CX-Ray spokes and ICAN's R01 hubs which are supposedly Formula SP-60/SP-201's. I'm going to keep an eye on the freehub body. At 1390g (on my scales), I suspect it's aluminum and hopefully if there are any issues after some real world miles on it, I'll be swapping it out for a steel hub grams be damned. Other than that, the rims themselves looked to be finely finished and I was impressed with them. It's this video that finally pushed me into pulling the trigger on them Jim. Thank you for your work. I'll make sure to share my experiences with them.
@@DCRband WOW! You must've been reading my mind because I was going to post an update YESTERDAY on the wheelset here, but it got by me! BUT...I can report that after a few months of some hardcore riding, they are unbelievably rock solid AND I rolled them on some single track at a mountain bike park (see my "Cunningham Park" video) with my stainless steel custom road bike. I'm stuck on them. I don't see why I'd need to spend $2000 "more" for a set of carbon hoops.
Jim, this is an excellent instructional video. Thanks so much. I do repair and set up my bikes tires and have the basic tools [parktool] and gauges. This evaluation criteria you shared is a great tool. Thanks again. I will follow your posts.
@@stevem2939 haven't tried balancing any road wheels yet, Steve. Silca makes a wheel balancing kit though that I would like to try at some point. It makes sense to me that it might make a difference you can feel on some wheels. Thanks for asking about it.
@@JimLangley1 Hi Jim Thanks for the link. It's a good solution but i'm not entirely happy with it. It looks a little cumbersome and is bound to affect aerodynamics !!! One thing to note is that with Carbon wheels the heavy point is usually at the valve ..... as in the video because the valve is adding weight , but with alloy rims the heavy point is usually opposite the valve which is where the hoop is slotted then welded and pinned. Regardless I use thin lead strips that you buy from aquatic shops and fix these under the rim tape at the required spot.......either side of the valve hole with alloy rims. You make sure though that the wheel is slightly unbalanced afterwards as when you fit the inner tube the valve brings the wheel back into balance. The advantage of under the rim tape method is that you can use less weight because you are furthest away from the hub.....Cheers Steve......p.s I've subbed !!!
With regard to the spoke twist - I’m wondering if they were angled that way purposely? It might be something to do with air dynamics as the tire moves forward and how the air turbulence moves as it goes past/around the tire and rim?
Thanks for the thought, Robert, however bladed and oval spokes have been around since 1977 invented by Swiss pro mechanic Fritz Bruhlman. These wind cutters were designed to have their leading edges into the breeze. Also the ICAN spoke angles are inconsistent so I think it’s clearly accidental. Appreciate you commenting. Thank you, Jim
Thanks, Josh. I hope to have my video showing how to fix the bladed spokes, spoke tension and final true and round sometime soon. I actually got most of it done and had technical difficulties. But that's okay because the reshoot will allow making it better. Please watch my channel for that follow-up video to appear. Thanks for your comment and interest. Jim
Hi Josh, just want to let you know I have a video on un twisting aero spokes now if you are interested th-cam.com/video/zszdrNEgSDw/w-d-xo.html Thanks, Jim
Well done. Just on point, why not use a pair of dial test indicators rather than the point caliper indicators? One could provide an accurate measurement of the rim offset and refer to it as a standard. They are quite cheap to buy too.
Thanks for the comment and suggestion to use dial indicators, Daniele. I was showing what to look for when you're checking wheels with just your eyes, which is the way I think most people will be doing it. But, you are 100% right that for an official QC report, the wheel inspector would use dial indicators to put a number on how out of the true/round the wheel is. Thanks for pointing that out, Jim
Jim, what is your view on Superteam Chinese Carbon wheels. I have never bought a Carbon wheel. Wanted to try a pair. The way tyre was installed over the rim...what a skill...I had to pause to watch it over and over again.
Thanks for watching and the question, Triple Ace. I haven't had a chance to inspect or ride Superteam wheels. They do get very nice Amazon reviews. One thing to check before you buy wheels is what brand of spoke is used. I couldn't tell looking at their website. I would not recommend buying any wheelset that did not use high quality stainless steel spokes because anything else will break if you ride the wheels regularly and for several seasons. What I want in my wheels is DT Swiss, Sapim or Pillar spokes - all very high quality spokes that will last for many years even under the most miles and use. If I were buying wheels I would make sure I was getting one of those brands for the spokes. Okay? I hope this helps. If you buy the wheels, please leave a comment letting me and everyone else know what you think. Thanks again!
@@JimLangley1 Thank you for your time and effort to give a thought to my query. Definetly, I will keep in mind to go for DT swiss Sapim or Pillar spokes when I go for the wheels.
Great review. I would also do a tension balancing test, plucking each spoke and checking the tone. All fronts should have the same tone. Drive side rear has one tone and non-drive a lower tone. It's possible with stiff cross section aero carbon wheels to build wheels that are straight, yet have significantly different spoke tensions due to imbalances. Balancing the tensions creates a more durable wheel that rarely (if ever) required truing, and lasts longer due to balanced stress.
belt tension tone testing is one of the recommended if not the best way to test the cylinder head drive belts on Ducati motorcycles. There are various digital tone tuners, many cross over from the guitar industry. I think you have a good idea and they could serve as another option to get the spoke tension even closer to factory specs.
Thanks for watching and the feedback on using musical pitch for checking spoke tension, Paul. Wheel builders do use pitch for checking tension. But, a spoke tension gauge such as what I show and use in the video is more accurate and easier to use. It removes the element of differences in what an individual hears and how things can be distorted by other noises. But, using pitch is a way to get a ballpark even tension in a wheel and it's useful that way for many builders. Thanks for the thoughtful and interesting comment.
Bought a set of cheap Chinese carbons and the braking was very grabby and pulsing. Used a few different types of carbon specific brake pads with no luck. The last resort was lightly sanding the braking surface but to no avail.
Pulsing and grabbing is usually caused by seams or irregularities in the rim surface, Ramond. It could also have to do with the finish on the rim and even decals/stickers. Sanding the rim can work, but you only want to sand on the braking surfaces not the rim itself. Maybe if you keep trying different carbon compatible brake pads you can find a pair that works. I've had better luck with composite pads containing cork, I believe, than pads containing rubbers. Good luck!
Glad you enjoyed the video, 0 Views! Appreciate you watching and commenting. The wheels have been great for me. I have over 2,000 miles on them plus lots of gravel road rides and haven't knocked them out of true or broken a spoke yet. I'm not hard on wheels and I weigh only 150 pounds so that helps because this model is superlight. Overall, I'm very impressed. Thanks again!
Have similars Icans since 2017 and after several interventions on, the wheels are fine, stable. First of all, those super light Quick Realeases are crap, don't even think using that. Choose a traditional type like shimano's or Campy's. Ican's costumer support are grade "C": since the beggining of use, the rear wheels make noises, pops and clicks. Tried everything, rebuild wheels, change niples, add original Sapin internal washers, mounted everything totally lubricated and the pops didn't stop. The clicks occurred when forced the bike sideways, like climbing or sprinting. The noise really came from rear and, one day, things driving me crazy, tried everything on the bike (changed pedals, chainrings, lubricated every mounted piece of the bike), I tried one unthinkable thing: replace the front wheel. And, for my surprise, all the noises that sounded and poped evidently from the back of the bike, was coming from the front wheel. Knowing this, just applied some oil on the niples (assembled) and it's been month of complete silence on both wheels. So, 2 hints for these great wheelset: use a decent quick realease and before mount the tires, apply some lubricant over the niples. For me, was a great and simple solution. The original ebay listing for my wheelset where kindly modified by Ican, You can ask the company to costumize your product: I've asked to replace the black niples for red ones and add a second freehub (campy) to the set. And all for a fair and affodable price. Thanks for the great review, Mr. Langley.
Wow, thanks for sharing your review of your ICAN wheels, Ricardo - especially all the tips and the secret to fixing the annoying clicking noise. Great job figuring that out. ICAN didn't tell me the wheel could be customized if you order through ebay. That's a nice upgrade to provide. It's also good to know the quick releases didn't work. That's a pretty common complaint with superlight QRs. I'll be watching for issues with mine now. Appreciate you sharing all your insights on these wheels. Super helpful. Thank you, Ricardo!
Nice review! - my biggest concern with cheap carbon rims is not weather or not the wheel's tuning is good (though it should be!) but rather the quality of the layup and carbon fiber composite of the rim. Without destructive testing and engineering analysis, privateer builders & consumers are lost in the desert. Rather than build my own, I chose to buy a set of wheels from a custom builder from central California who's very familiar with the Asian supply chain.
I received a set of Aero 40s in March and there was no twist on the aero spokes! So I think that your pair was an exception. I am quite happy with this wheel set, it's light for climbing, but still with an aero advantage in the flats. I already did a few Marathons up to 300km and never was afraid they could fail me. Only the brake pads that came with them were unsatisfactory. I bought cheap ones from Wiggle (the blue lifeline pads), which perform much better. My only issue was to get a pair of GP5000s on, which was really a pain. Maybe other tyres will be easier to get on.
I didn't know ICAN offered track wheels, Nblinko. But based on the performance of my road and mountain ICANs, if their track models are as well spec'd and built, they should hold up fine even with the added torque from a fixed cog. Track racing is almost a specialty sport so maybe a trackie who owns ICANs has reviewed them at some point here on TH-cam or in print somewhere and you can see how they held up for them?
@@JimLangley1 Yeah, they offer an 88mm i think, a tri-spoke, and a five-spoke. They use sapim x-rays and a rebranded formula hub or something on the 88mms. I'll keep lookin' for a review of them : ) thanks!
Jim, can you explain why the wheel doesn't need to be centered in the caliper, and you can just look at the left arm to check trueness? If you were building the wheel from scratch, would you center it?
Thanks for watching and the great questions, Stafford. To answer, on a good rim (one without any issues), both sides of the rim should be the same. If that's the case it doesn't matter which side of the rim you look at to check trueness since both sides show the same perfection or imperfections in the rim. I don't try to look at both sides of the rim at the same time. I could try to do that but it's a little bit like trying to read the left page of an open book with your left eye and the right page with your right eye at the same time - not easy to see at least for me. So, I will typically use the left pointer gap to check for trueness and then use the top of the pointer placing it beneath the rim to check roundness. The truing stand I'm using in the video is a Park TS2 and all Park stands that use this design have a self centering feature that can hold the wheel/rim centered between the caliper/pointers. However, lots of things affect this and if anything is off, you can end up with the rim sitting closer to one side than the other. For example, if your wheel gets pushed sideways the axle rocks up on one side in the Park axle holder and that moves the rim out of center. I mainly use the centering feature as a ballpark measurement/gauge to give me an idea how close to centered the rim is over the axle. I then check this more exactly using a dishing gauge. If I didn't have a dishing gauge I'd be sure to check and double check that the wheel sits completely seated in the Park jig's axle holders and that nothing else is affecting the wheel centering. But when checking wheel true on new wheels, it's quick and easy to put the wheel in the stand however it sits and use one pointer to check. I just occurred to me that it could be the camera distorting what's shown a little, too. To get the camera to show the gap and how true wheels are I have to experiment. Most of the shots are taken with an iPhone which has its cameras on the upper left. I don't know for sure but some of the off centeredness might be due to the camera. Hope this helps explain. Thanks again!
I have the 50 and 38 wheelset and the spokes keep breaking, at least 5X each since the 2 years I've owned them. You also have to have a lot of patience and persistence in mounting tires on these wheels. Definitely keep two tire levers in your saddle bag, otherwise you're stuck with a flat tire cause you won't be able to remove tires without them.
Thanks for sharing your experience with the wheels, iam2nd2011. Sapim spokes (in the ICANs I reviewed) don't usually break, so I wonder whether your wheels are built with something else or if something else is causing them to break, such as low spoke tension. Usually, both issues can be addressed and fixed. Regarding tire mounting, tubeless tires can be tough to remove because when inflated they essentially lock onto the rim - the beads get trapped up on the high side shelves on the rims. It can be super difficult to get the beads to budge off their locked position. You need good tire levers to get the beads to move off the shelves and into the center of the rim. Two tools I've been using lately are Topeak's Shuttle (has a big handle and a thin tip) amzn.to/2Z3nQ0r. And Silca's new steel-core levers. They have thin, stout tips that make prying tight tires up and over the rim easier. silca.cc/collections/mobile-repair-1/products/tire-levers-premio We need better tools for tubeless tire removal but no one has invented anything yet. I have some ideas that I think could work.. if it turns into anything, I will let the bike world know. I hope these tips helps you tame those tires in the meantime! Thanks again for the feedback on your wheels! Jim
@@JimLangley1 I have taken my wheels to my LBS everytime I break a spoke and they've checked tension and trued them as needed. I own 12 bikes and have had my share of different wheelsets and by far, these are the most difficult wheels to get tires on and off. Even a seasoned mechanic at my LBS commented on the difficulty it takes to get the tires on. The 50mm front wheel has been sitting idle since early spring due to another broken spoke at a bike rally. I'm not convinced that the problems I have on these two wheelset I own are an isolated case since they are different depth and bought them at different times. And yet, they both have the same issues. I bought the 30mm first and after 4 trips to my LBS with broken spokes, I contacted ICAN about the issues I've had with them. I decided to not send them back due to cost of shipping. A few months later, I inquired about the 50mm thinking I might have better luck with them. They actually gave me a price break since I had so much problem with the 38mm. To my disappointment, I experienced the same issues with the 50mms. Without the broken spokes and tire mounting difficulties, I think these are pretty solid alternative to the overpriced Zipps, Enves and other brand name wheels. I gave my 404s to my son and been riding the 38mm Icans since he's not as patient dealing with the tire and spoke issues. I don't put a lot of miles on the Icans anymore and definitely not taking them to any bike rallies due to fear of cutting my ride short due to another broken spoke. BTW, I requested ICAN to send me several extra spokes for each wheelset when I ordered the 50mm and I've pretty much gone through all of them.
@@iam2nd2011 thanks for taking the time to elaborate and explain your broken spokes and tough tire mounting issues on your ICANs. I only have the pair they sent me so it's important for owners like you to tell everyone here how their ICANs work for them. You and one other person told me in the comments here that the Continental GP 5000 tubeless tires were super difficult to mount. So, I went to the Spokesman Bicycles shop here in Santa Cruz and bought a tire ($94.95 for one!). I then mounted it on my ICAN wheel to see how hard it is to put on my wheels. It definitely took some effort to put it on, but I was able to do it with only my hands (I have been putting on bike tires professionally since 1970 - so I know every trick). The Hutchinson Fusion 5 tubeless I mount in the video was a little bit easier to mount. Again, though, that's just on my ICAN sample set. Your wheels could be tougher - there could be something different. I just wanted to share what I found putting the Conti on mine. I will be doing a video on tubeless tire mounting sometime soon to share tips. Thanks again! Jim
Proper educational videos. One weird question: could the spoke twist be on purpose, for the blade to meet a headwind in a softer angle? Did the non drive spokes had the same but opposite twist (mirrored angle)? I don't imply it is a good thing, but maybe you can cheat wind tunnel results that way?
Thanks for watching and commenting, Drou, appreciate it!! Another viewer asked the same question so it’s a good one. The thing is the spokes were randomly twisted - no plan to it. I was building wheels when aero spokes were invented too and never heard any design calling for twisted spokes. So I think they were just wrong. Thanks again!!
I would think the "twist", if a spoke was twisted from tightening the nipple, the direction would be down (the direction of tightening) vs up. Maybe the holes on the hub aren't drilled straight. It seems pretty consistent.
You're asking a good question and I can't answer why these aero spokes are twisted out of the aero plane the way they are Geeios. My best guess is that these wheels were built by a robot and it was set wrong. But I don't know for sure. I usually see the twist as you described. This is unusual. Thanks for the comment!
I enjoyed.this video very much. I've only owned one set of tubless road rims, Bontrager AeolusXXX4s and was under the impression that ease of tire installation was due to the tire as opposed to.rim design. I recently had a horrible experience trying to take off and reinstall the OME Bontrager R3 TLR Hard Case tire, which I was happy with performace wise, but was consisdering switching tires for installation ease. Is the rim really going to be.the determining factor?
Thanks for the comment and question Pat. Yes, the rim design has a major impact on how easy it is to install and remove tires. But, it also has a lot to do with the understanding of the person installing/removing the tire. Also, the setup of the tire and rim strip/tape can make a big difference. In most cases if the rim is designed with a reasonable rim "well", the deepest portion of the rim, you can get the beads down inside that and that will make the slack in the tire for easier install/remove of tires. But, if the rim maker did not provide a rim well or too shallow of one, that can make it a lot harder to put on/take off tires. Before giving up on a wheel or rim, I would recommend getting a second opinion on ease of tire on/off. I have helped teach many riders how to take off and put on tires that they thought were "impossible" to get on/off. The technique used is very important and it's not obvious. The biggest "secret" is to work carefully to keep the tire beads down in the deepest part of the rim all around the rim. That will create the slack that makes the tire loose enough on the rim to slip up and over the sides and in place and also to lift it up and off the rim. I have an old story about this on my bicycle website here with more tips: jimlangley.net/wrench/flattiresbyhand.htm Hope this helps and thanks again!
Wow Jim, thanks for detailed reply, I appreciate it. I've only had these rims for 6 months, so with the exception of a roadside repair, have not had any experience changing tubless tires. I did get some Hutchinson, moving up to 700×28, so I'll be giving those a try soon.
Enjoying your excellent TH-cam videos..... Two questions: 1) Should we buy nipple washers when building a carbon fiber wheel set? 2) Most, if not all online spoke length calculators are specific to j-bend spokes versus straight spokes such as the DT Swiss 240S for straight spokes. That makes spoke calculations almost impossible w/o the DT Swiss online spoke calculator. However the results tend to show that left side spokes to be different length from right side spokes for disc brake wheels/hubs! Have you experienced this?
Appreciate you watching and the kind words, Graydon, thank you! On your questions, when you purchase a carbon rim the manufacturer should specify in the instructions or on a spec sheet on their website, etc., whether or not they're to be built with nipple washers. If I'm not sure, I will reach out to the maker and ask for technical support and ask them. Not all carbon rims require them but some do so it's best to check. I rarely build with straight pull spokes. But when I do, I will do what you're doing and use the calculator from the company that made the hubs and spokes. And I would expect the spokes to be different length on the right and left due to the way the rim is dished to the right for rears (to account for the cassette/gears) and to the left on front wheels to account for the disk/rotor. Not all wheels are that way but most are. Okay? I hope this is helpful. Thanks again and happy wheelbuilding!
Thanks for watching, Michael. I build wheels for a wheel company, not for individuals very often anymore. The labor rate for wheel building depends on the builder and the full spec on the wheel so it varies a lot. It might be as little as 40 per wheel up to a lot more. I hope that's at least a little helpful and thanks again.
@@michaelbritton9778 I’m happy to explain more Michael if you will explain what you mean by “doubtful.” In the context of our thread so far I don’t understand what their is to doubt - that’s my question.
I have a ICAN wheelset just like this, with 40 mm rim deep, and they are exactly as you told. They roll super nice, but the front wheel rubs the brake pads everytime I get out of the saddle, even though I weight just 135 lbs. I always thought the front spokes could be a little tighter, and you just confirmed that. If I tight them a little bit, would it prevent the rim from rubbing the brake pads?
Yes, it should fix the brake rub problem and it should make the wheels feel better overall, since a wheel with loose spokes can feel "vague" - as if you're not solidly connected to the road. I think you will appreciate the difference. Thanks for the comment!
Hi i have the same problem with my FL40 icans if i grab the back down post and push the top of the wheel i can easily move the wheel by 6 or 7 mm. Did u get your problem resolved?
I’ve owned two sets of Chinese aero wheels (CSC brand) and have had no problems. I’m not fond of the braking surface one the one non-disc wheelset, but not sure if anyone else’s is better
Thanks, Morgan. You can try different types of carbon brake pads and sometimes improve the braking on carbon rims that way. You might try that and see.
Wow I am a casual bike enthusiast and I knew none of the stuff the only thing I knew about wheels was the treeing of both ways . Sideways and up and down and I knew the spokes had to be tight. Everything else I didn’t know. Very interesting well explained and informative video thank you. Have you ever heard of supposedly the better wheels made by this company called vuelta. I have a pair of vuelta corsa team v wheels. They weigh in minus the rim tape at about 1475-1500 Grams. What I would like to know have you ever heard of this company. And what do you think about this company if you heard of it. Thank you very much. And I am a new subscriber this is my first video that I have watched that you made
Thanks for the comment, Richard and nice words. I'm glad you liked the video and I appreciate you subscribing to my channel. Thanks a lot. Yes, I have heard of Vuelta (the company has been around for over 25 years as far as I know), but I don't have any actual experience working on or riding their wheels so I can't comment on the company or its wheels much. I did visit their website www.vueltausa.com/vuelta-wheel-parts-56/vuelta-road-wheel-parts.html to see their latest products and they look nice. I would need to learn more about the specifics of their components in order to have a better idea of what goes into their wheels. But, from what's shown on their website, they appear to have a range of wheels at attractive prices. Thanks again! Jim
Good job Jim. Are you going to show people how to rectify the spoke twist and inadequate tension problems you identified? Also it would be useful to explain how you determine the correct or optimum tension for a particular wheel. Finally are you aware of any authoritative published sources for trueness and roundness acceptance criteria? I think your 1/2mm is a very fine tolerance appropriate for top class (and top price) wheels only, and I would consider +/- 1mm to be acceptable for the majority of general usage bicycle wheels. What do you think?
Thanks for comment, Henrybikeman! Yes, I now have a video showing how to fix aero spokes that have been overturned so they are twisted and not aero anymore. Here's a link: th-cam.com/video/zszdrNEgSDw/w-d-xo.html Regarding optimum tension for wheels, it's best to use a tensiometer. That's because wheels need the spokes to be so tight that it is difficult to feel by hand when the tension is right. The spokes will feel tight way before they are tight enough to make a good wheel. Tensiometers come with charts that tell you for the type and diameter of the spokes in the wheel what the reading on the tensiometer's gauge translates to in KGF (kilograms force). For me, what I am looking for before I'm finished with a wheel is readings indicating that the tighter side spokes (right rear/left front on disc front wheels or either on non disc fronts) is in the 105-115/120 KGF range. Evenness of tension readings is important, too. I don't measure the other side of the wheels because those spokes are as tight as they are going to be as a direct result of the tighter side spokes. Though you can certainly measure all the spokes if you want with a tensiometer. And, for trueness and roundness, I would say that if your customer can see that the wheel is out of round or out of true, then it's not true enough. I know that you can't feel it when a wheel is a little out of true and round, but if a pro builder is putting their name and reputation at stake, they typically try to get the wheels as perfect as possible. Some rims can have bad seams or slight issues with the carbon, etc. but for me, I will try every time to get the wheel as close to perfect side-to-side and up-and-down as I can. Ideally I wouldn't see any deviation in the spinning wheel. But for that you need a perfect rim and you don't always get perfect rims. When they're not perfect, I still try to get them as perfect as possible and hope they're .5mm or better. If I had a wheel that was 1mm out and that was the best it could be, I could accept that only if it was impossible for me to make it any better and I knew that the wheel was otherwise a great wheel. Okay? Hope this is helpful - appreciate you commenting bikeman!
Thanks for the kind words, Paul - glad you liked the video. I don't know the bearing sizes. I haven't had any issues with the bearings so I haven't needed to look at them. I searched ICAN's website to see if they sell replacement bearings and/or show the size and I didn't find any information. The hubs are ICAN R01 - so what I think you should try is contacting the company through their website or other contact information. They have a chat function that pops up when you go to their website and that has worked for me - though I did have to wait overnight for them to reply due to the time difference. If you'd rather call or email, if you go to this page and scroll to the bottom you'll see all their contact info: icancycling.com/products/aero-40-road-wheels-us?_pos=3&_sid=ec1ec10e1&_ss=r I hope this helps you find the specs on those bearings.
That is great review Jim. I would recommend you to make more comparison reviews for different brands and highlights positive and negative. That would help potential buyers and wheel manufacturers to correct deficiencies.
Thanks very much for the suggestion, Tesla Aficionado (you have a cool name!), and I appreciate your kind words about my review. If more companies send me wheels to try out like ICAN did, I will do more reviews like this. Back before youtube became so great, I did do a few reviews of different wheels for my publication, www.roadbikerider.com. These are written reviews but still informative and interesting I think. To check them out, you can search for them and they should come right up. I reviewed Shimano's first tubeless Dura-Ace wheels and Neuvation's carbon wheels and TruVelo's superlight alloy clinchers. Thanks again for the feedback! I appreciate it! Jim
Hi J and thanks for the question. The ICAN Aero 40 wheels I inspected in this video are on my bike and I've now ridden more than 1,000 miles. The wheels are still performing just like they did when new. So, I'm sure they would work for you. Since you said "entry level," it raises the possibility that you are an entry-level rider. If so, you might not have experience with rim braking on carbon rims. I do not consider rim braking on carbon rims entry level... I consider it an advanced riding skill. With alloy rims and braking tracks you stop much more quickly than you do with the carbon rims. So, you must appreciate this and always be ready to hit the brakes early. If you aren't ready and you have to stop quick and you hit the brakes late, you could easily not stop in time and crash. However, this is how it is with most carbon rims with rim braking. In fact, it's one of the reasons there are so many bikes with disc brakes now. With disc brakes, and if you buy ICANS disc wheels for a disc equipped bicycle, then you will have excellent braking. I hope this is helpful.
I wonder about the hubs,is it a no name hub or ? Is the cassette body soft aluminum that will groove easily? Freehub body seal well or will dirt and water get in easy? It all matters of course.
Thanks for watching and the questions, Brad. The wheels use ICAN’s own hubs. So far in about 2,000 miles of riding I have experienced no issues of concern. So I believe the hubs are quality hubs. Hope this is helpful and thanks again.
Thanks, Denis! Actually, I have never calibrated my Park truing stand - and it's at least 35 years old. It has always worked just the way it's supposed to. In my opinion having used many different truing stands, Park came up with an amazing design with this stand and it's my favorite by far. I do take very good care of it. Maybe if you treat it rough, you would need to calibrate it. But, I baby it because it's so nice. Hope this helps and thanks again! Jim
More important is the importance of spoke tensiometer calibration. I would also do a micrometer reading for the spoke. tolerances can be off even for good spoke manufacturers so if you have a double butted spoke classed as, 2x1.8x2 mm often it can be as low as 1.986x1.796x1.983 might not seem much but it would suggest spoke charts for the spoke using standard sizes could be off even with a well calibrated spoke tensionometer in that case you would have to create a unique spoke curve using a s-loan cell or strain gauge jig for that spoke. Some wheel builders may feel this is not worth the effort but for my mind that extra step ensures that spoke calibration and tension is well aligned. Helps to creat a stronger, safer wheel.
Thanks Math Man, great points. You are correct. Most wheel manufacturers that do high volume production go to great lengths to calibrate tensiometers and measure and test the spokes they spec. Appreciate you sharing your expertise.
Jim, thanks for the video. I gained some knowledge in checking my wheels. One question, where did you get the rubber tip covers on the truing stand calipers?
Thanks, maloneyfm, glad my tips are helping you with your wheels. You can get those tips from Amazon actually (they're called Park Tool 238.2 Caliper Cap). Here's a link: amzn.to/2odVWlG If you have an older Park truing stand, the calipers won't accept the tips because the old calipers don't have the little indent that the plastic tips lock in to. So, to upgrade to be able to use the tips you buy the "Park Tool Caliper Upgrade Kit for TS-2" with the newer caliper arms and tips here: amzn.to/2mFESo6 Okay? One of these will get you going. Thanks again for the comment! Jim
Hi Jim, nice review. I have a question. I have a set of ICAN Classic 38's. I love them, but, shortly after I received them my bike started ticking/clicking. It sounded like bottom brkt area but I went thru everything on the bike. The noise only happens while pedaling, both in and out of the saddle. After going through everything I finally removed the rear wheel and put my old wheel back on. I used the same cassette, skewer, tire and tube. The noise went away. I've switched back and forth many times and the bike clicks when the ICAN wheel is on. I have had the spokes tensioned....the wheel is perfectly true and dished. I have replaced the freehub. I have lubed the spoke crossing, nipples and spoke hub interface. I even put thin strips of plastic between the spokes at the crossings. Nothing helps. Is it possibly the hub bearings? Any ideas?
Thanks for watching, Mantonhouse. That's an interesting wheel noise you're trying to find. I actually have another video all about finding and fixing wheel noises, which is here: th-cam.com/video/sA62X1AXN7s/w-d-xo.html But it sounds like you've already tried most of the usual noise solutions. You asked if the wheel bearing can make noise. They might if the grease is all dried up or used up inside the hub. You can usually tell if a hub needs greasing if you remove the wheel and turn the axle (not the skewer) in your fingers slowly. There should be a nice hydraulic resistance from the lube inside. If it's dry or worse rain got in and corroded it, it'll spin too easily and probably feel rough. If the bearing is loose in the hub or the axle is loose on the bearing or there's roughness, that could be your issue. Another idea is one that would only happen when you're on your easiest/lowest gear. And that would be the derailleur hitting a spoke. That could happen on one wheel and not the other due to a different spoke angle. But again, it would only click or tick on that lowest gears, no other gears. To fix that you can usually very slightly tighten the low gear limit screw on the derailleur to get the clearance needed to stop the contact with the spokes and the ticking noise. If the wheel only clicks or ticks at one point on its revolution, then it might be some issue with the rim at that point. I've seen carbon rims that cracked at the nipple and the cracks were difficult to see without good lighting and magnification. Hopefully that's not the case but it's something else to look for. You might be able to find it by going around the wheel and listening intently while squeezing pairs of spokes to simulate riding. I sometimes ask someone else to listen with me since that person might hear what I can't. One more idea that might work is to ride the bike with a person walking next to you to listen. If you can make the bike tick or click and they can focus on what's going on with the wheel and if there's some pattern, or if they can hear where it's coming from, you might have a clue to what's going on. Hope something here helps you find it. If you do, please share what it was. Good luck!
@@JimLangley1 Hi Jim, Thanks. I'll try your ideas for the hub. Hopefully I'll find something there. The noise happens in all gears. Sometimes it seems rhythmic and sometimes random, happening many times in a crank revolution. The noise is driving me crazy trying to find it. Other than that the wheels look good, feel good and sound good. I don't see a way to attach a 40 second video here. I just let my right arm hang down and aimed my phone at the rear wheel. I had to compress the video, due to size, so the sound was diminished a little....but it is still very obvious. If there is a way to attach a video, please let me know. I will definitely let you know when I find it. Thanks again, Steve
@@Mantonhouse Hi Steve, did you check that the valve isn't hitting the carbon rim? If the valve is even a tiny bit loose in the valve hole in the rim it can hit and make a tick, tick, tick noise that varies in rhythm like you describe. The same tube and tire on another wheel might not make any noise. If you tap on the side of the valve with your finger and it moves and it hits the carbon rim and makes the tick noise - that's what might be at fault. Just in case you already didn't try that, it's one that can be hard to find. For getting a video to me, TH-cam doesn't offer any way to do it but you could email it probably.
Having successfully built one set of amazing carbon fiber 700C wheels for my CF bike, I am itching to do more…….and so I can continue to make use of by ParkTools truing stand etc. Any suggestions on how to find potential customers? And BTW - now I want to build a complete Gravel bike from scratch so I need some hobby income to proceed….
Congratulations on building a pair of amazing carbon wheels, Graydon. Building a new gravel bike with your hand built custom wheels will be another wonderful project. It should be relatively easy to find customers for your wheels. Traditionally, wheel builders not affiliated with a bicycle shop, built their reputation for building quality wheels by building wheels for their clubmates - friends they rode with. As the wheels proved great riding and durable, riders told other riders and you’d get more wheel orders. If you provide reasonable turnaround times and prices and can build custom wheels people are looking for, you can develop a nice little business. As you build your reputation and have some riders who love your wheels, you could then even approach bike shops and see if they’ll send customers for custom hoops your way. These days some shops don’t want to bother with building wheels - too much labor and no profit to be made off it. Plus, it’s hard to mark up the hubs, rims and spokes enough. So that can work. Especially if there are a lot of shops in your area since some might build wheels, others not. Promoting yourself on social media could work nicely, too. You’d probably want to use local media such as the Nextdoor app or even Craigslist, both of which are free. Those are just a few ideas for you to try. Much success! Jim
★ WATCH this video next for a review of another set of Chinese carbon road wheels by Light Bicycles th-cam.com/video/ZO2svtr32tU/w-d-xo.html
I wish every wheelset review was conducted like this!
Thanks for watching and the great comment, Ain!
yes. Usually its just on "feel", which is completely bullshit.
Sounds like a good accurate review to me.. I'd buy them , inspect them and have someone do the needed adjustments . Mine came thru same ( bought the 38mm set) a little spoke twist as well, and but else was great. I'll take your advise and have them adjusted when my local shop has the time.
Thanks for watching and the comments on your ICAN wheels, appreciate it!
@@JimLangley1 pardon the grammar goof.. was mutitasking. I am enjoying the wheelset. Next uprading my crankset to 105 with A/B ovals. have enjoyed those on my mtb for 4 yrs and it's time to put some on the roadie.
It's great to have a real technical review and not only see enthusiast say "wow, they work, they're great"
Thanks a lot for watching! I’m happy you enjoyed the review. I have another review of Light Bicycles wheels like this and will have one on Elite Wheels - a gravel set soon in case they’re of interest. Thanks again!
Confirmed what I found on my Ican 38mm 25C clinchers. I fix bikes and tune wheels as a hobby. My spoke tensions were not even when the wheels were new. I measured every single one and graphed it on park tools free online tool. You can get a good idea of spoke tension distribution across the entire wheel. Took a bit of time to get them as even as possible and at the same time true (my OCD). I find in previous wheel repairs for friends that the more even the tensions across all the spokes, the more the wheel is likely to stay true longer and not be affected by stresses when riding. While doing that I also aligned all the blades. Overall very happy with what I paid. The rim brake surface has held up without delaminating or warping down long descents. Thanks for a great review.
Thanks a lot for the kind words and for sharing your nice review of your ICAN wheels, Almon Dao. In the video, I am using my Wheel Fanatyk tensiometer, an awesome tool: www.wheelfanatyk.com/store/digital-tension-gauge/ It has an app for tension charting, too. I like Park Tool's online spoke tension app, too. For others to use it, they need to get Park's TM-1 tool amzn.to/2yYE1oR which is easy to use. And then, they can use the online app here: www.parktool.com/wta and have fun fine-tuning wheels to tension perfection. Thanks again!
Jim, you're a natural. This video is fantastic, I learned alot. Subscribed!
Thanks for watching and the kind words, Björn, I'm happy you enjoyed the video and found it helpful.Thanks too for subscribing - much appreciated!
I was extremely impressed with your video presentation Jim. Your manner is low key, understandable, and transparent. I never thought much about this process, now I'm thinking it would be interesting to see a video of you evaluating and tuning hard used mountain bike wheels from a downhill racer. Thanks again for the very interesting piece.
Thanks a lot for the kind words, John, I appreciate it and am very happy you enjoyed my video. I work with a pretty talented and daring mountain biker (former BMX national champion). He can destroy any wheel - and I have build him many - some carbon, but mostly aluminum since he hits flies so high, lands so hard and hits so many rocks - and carbon can't handle it. He breaks hub axles, too, and once in a while spokes. He is one of our top product testers. If he can't break it, we know we have something good. Mountain bike wheels are generally much more ruggedly built than superlight carbon road wheels due to the significantly heavier/wider rims. It's easier to build good MTB wheels than it is to build good road wheels because the rims do so much of the work. Thanks again!
Speechless .. i really would like to hear opinions from other professionals.. I do have mine, wont say it out loud, just that trueing standards in europe are "different".
The rest is all fine and professional - thumbs up.
Thanks for watching and the great comment, Nico. I'm happy you appreciate my video. I agree about truing standards being different. Some comments here review the wheels. I don't know how many have pro experience, though. Perhaps some will see your request and reply to your comment. I would appreciate that, too. Thanks again!
Wow, Such professional review, thank you Jim ☺
You're welcome!
Hi, I was wondering how are you going to improve those things that Jim mention on the review, they seen great!!
isn't youtube banned in china?
I have never been to China, so I don’t know, Nick. But I do watch lots of what I believe are youtube videos made in China.
@@nickgentleman9440 vpn easy
I have a set of ican wheels they have been great so far
Thanks a lot for watching and sharing that your ICAN wheels have been great too, appreciate it🙏
@@JimLangley1 i have them on a gravel bike so they take a beating
@@gravelcasualbikepacking5475 that's definitely a good test. I don't know if you saw it but I also reviewed a set of ICAN MTB wheels. I've ridden those a lot and they've held up great too. Here's that video: th-cam.com/video/Bz87vKthgxg/w-d-xo.html Thanks again and good rides!
Great video! And it's so nice of you to reply to some commentts and offer tips. A man as true as the wheels he builds!
Glad you liked it, GoodWoolfine and I appreciate the kind words, thank you.
Good video. I went through the video rather quickly but I didn't see any comments about the hubs and bearings. The hubs are just as important as the rims. I bought some Boyd wheels about five years ago and I had problems with the bearings on both the front and back. Had to be replaced at around 5000 miles. I have a set of wheels with Ultegra hubs with over 25000 miles and they are still running smooth.
That's a good question, Neal. I have about 1,200 miles on the hubs so far, but here in Northern California, we don't see awful weather so I haven't exposed them to much more than rain. So far they are still silky smooth and no worries. There are a few comments from riders who have logged more miles and years than I have and no one has complained about the hubs as far as I've seen. So that's good. Thanks for the comment, Jim.
@@JimLangley1 I'm a old timer and I don't care for the sealed bearings used in most new wheels. I have sets of Campy wheels from the 1980's with many miles on them that spin much smoother than sealed bearings wheels. I haven't found a need for carbon wheels but it's interesting to read about them and you do a great job explaining the pros and cons.
Neal U Appreciate the kind words & I am fond of Campy hubs, too. It’s their adjustability that’s so nice. You lose that with most sealed bearing systems in exchange for supposed easy to replace and inexpensive cartridge style plug & play bearings. But it’s not always easy to replace the bearings and sometimes it’s impossible to remove play in the bearings too, when/if it develops. Still, Phil Wood showed that sealed bearings can work as did Chris King with his sealed headsets. Carbon rims primarily allow lighter wheel weight and personally I do find it noticeable. The wheels sound a little different - the taller, the louder. Braking is not as good as aluminum with rim brake carbon hoops. You do get used to it but in the rain you want to keep it in mind. So there are trade-offs. Thanks for sharing your expertise.
I have had great luck with my set of ICANS. I did correct the twisted spokes myself. About 15000 miles on my set now. Recommended!
Thanks very much for sharing your experience with ICAN wheels, Ed! That's great to hear.
I`ve been riding a pair of Aero 50s now for about 1k km and I'm absolutely satisfied. Great wheels, absolutely no complaints!
Thanks a lot for sharing your experience with the ICAN Aero 50s, Timo. I'm happy to hear you like the wheels so much and appreciate you sharing with viewers!
UPDATE: For those who requested I do have a video showing tubeless tire mounting. It's in my look at Dynaplug's tubeless tire repair kit here: th-cam.com/video/QbKlnqzWQ3E/w-d-xo.html
And here's my video showing how to fix the twisted spoke issue on the ICAN wheels: th-cam.com/video/zszdrNEgSDw/w-d-xo.html
Thanks for watching and subscribing!
Awesome!
Excelent!! I bought an Ican Aero 50 mm few months ago, and last week I bought another pair of Aero 40 mm. I really love them!
Thanks for letting me know how happy you are with your Aero 40s, leofonte. That's great to hear. Appreciate it! Jim
great review . I have had some Aero 40 disc wheels for 2 years and they are still running as new . On close inspection a few spokes could do with realigning to be perfect ( they are only slightly off) but I am super happy with the purchase and performance so far
Thanks a lot for watching my video, Stuart and also for sharing your review of your Aero 40s. I'm happy to hear they're still running as new and you're very happy with them. Thank you!
I really wonder about the three thumbs down....
Good job mate,you know how to get them round!👍🙏
Appreciate the kind words, Peske, thank you!
I bought a Chinese integrated stem and handlebar. It's fantastic.
which brand ?
which model and brand please
Thanks for watching and the feedback on your Chinese stem/bar combo, Austin. Good to know!
21:10 tools on the wall... drool. Great review Jim! I hope Ican took notice of the spoke twist and adjusted their QC team accordingly.
Thanks for the great comment Marc. And ICAN told me that they appreciated my review so I think they are listening. Thanks again!
Jim, I have the ICAN 38mm Disc Brake Cyclocross wheelset - regular spokes & weight 1645 grams both.
They're ridden on my 2017 Giant Contend SL2 Disc Road Bike.
They really upped the performance factor of this Endurance Geometry Aluminum framed $1150 bike.
They shaved exactly 2# of total bike weight.
Was 21.9 stock
Now 19.9.
Ride is much improved !
Our roads here in Rural E Texas (Tyler area) range from Smooth tarmac to potholed garbage - with too much of the latter.
I'm at around 4500-5000 miles ridden. The '4in1' Novatec Hubs are rolling perfectly smooth. At 200# I'm not exactly a lightweight guy either !
I'm thinking I should on general Principles check their spoke tension - as a semi-annual check.
These wheels were just $449 shipped. Incredible value !
Thought you might appreciate hearing about my "real world" experience on the Disc version similar to the ones you show in your Unboxing video.
I also bought & built up the ICAN A007 Aero Road bike.
My review on that build is posted on Amazon under that Frameset listing - mine's the one with Pictures & 'Giant Blue' Color scheme.
Built it in late 2015 - fab race bike !
Thanks for sharing your great review of your ICAN wheels, Mother Goose! It's nice to hear how much you like them and how well they're working - especially how they transformed the weight and performance of your bike. Also, thanks for telling me about your Amazon review of their Aero Road Bike. That sounds impressive, too. I'll check it out. Thank you! Jim
You're probably tired of hearing my input but..... I was really glad to hear you say some wheel builders don't use sight to true..... I regularly tell people at the bike shop that I true by ear, and get odd looks, but I'm definitely one of those people that true by ear.
Thanks for watching, Walt, and for another interesting comment. I think I mentioned blind wheelbuilders. They can make as nice a wheel as anyone through listening and feeling. And as we get old our eyes may let us down so truing by ear comes in handy if you’re up there in years, too. Thanks again!
Great vid... Process, judgement criteria and facts, not just opinions! - Extra credit for the Vanagon :)
Appreciate you watching and I'm happy you enjoyed the vid and my1987 Wolfsburg Weekender (the ultimate race vehicle!), Spinnetti - thanks a lot!
This channel is gold! 🥇
Thanks a lot, Paul, I'm very happy you like my videos. And thanks a lot for watching!
More reviews on Chinese wheels please!!
Thanks for watching and the request, Young. I now have videos on a pair of ICAN MTB wheels th-cam.com/video/3yPjw0xgu4U/w-d-xo.html and th-cam.com/video/Bz87vKthgxg/w-d-xo.html And also a pair of LIGHT BICYCLES road wheels in case you're interested: th-cam.com/video/ZO2svtr32tU/w-d-xo.html Thanks again!
I'm such a hack commuter I probably wouldn't appreciate the Great work you do building wheels. Well done!
Thanks for watching and the great comment, Dale!
Very good and informative video, thank you
You're very welcome! Thank you for watching and commenting, appreciate it!
Great clip,awesome visual trueing steps, smart looking wooden dishing arm,and base for the trueing stand.Cheers.
Thanks for the kind words, Reinhold. The dishing gauge is hand made from Wheel Fanatyk. Here's more info: www.wheelfanatyk.com/store/wood-dishing-tool/
Great video, I can watch you test wheels all day long
Thanks for watching and the great comment, appreciate it!
I was in doubt about buying it and your two videos help me deciding in go for it! thanks for your videos
You’re welcome, Jonatas. I think you’ll like the wheels. Thanks for the comment
Fantastic review, especiaqlly the bit about the tire mounting....no other reviews look at that aspect and it is super-important. I just sold a pair of Reynolds Strike SLG wheels because it was virtually impossible to mount, and especially seat, a tire out on the road. I also have a pair of older ICAN wheels and they are much easier for tire mounting.
Thanks for the kind words, Tecno. I hear from more cyclists about difficulty mounting tires than just about any other issue, so you're right about it being very important. These ICAN wheels did a nice job with their fit and ease of tire mounting and removal, which is great to see! Thanks again!
@@JimLangley1 btw what do you think about hubs on those wheels? Are they rebranded Novatec or something like that? I am quite interested in the 55mm version of these wheels but have not found any info on the hubs...
ICAN told me that the hubs are their own design, @@tecnociclista5342. It would make sense if they had them made to their specs by a company like Novatec, but I don't know if that's what they did. They look to be a very minimal design to me and from the overall weight of the wheels, the hubs are likely superlight, too. I won't know how they hold up until I can put some miles on the wheels and particularly do a lot of steep climbing to put some pressure on the front wheel (standing) and rear wheel cassette. Other people who have commented who own ICAN wheels have said the wheels hold up nicely. For more specifics on the hubs you might try the chat function on their website to see if a technical rep will answer. I hope this helps and thanks for the great comments!
@@JimLangley1 Thanks for the insight! My other ICAN wheels are certainly stiff enough but come with Novatec hubs...these look quit flimsy in comparison which is why I was asking :) I did chat to them recently and for my weight (83kg) they actually recommended the FL-line (which come with Novatec hubs) but are a little heavier, I should probably trust them on that but the Aere line is just so temptingly lightweight ;)
@@JimLangley1 have you had a chance to ride the wheels? Any opinion on the hubs yet? :)
Great Review! Thanks for the insight. I was wondering how those budget carbon wheels really stack up against their branded counterpart. Maybe you could do a comparison video in detail. Also great to see that those wheels are not carbon death traps as almost everyone on the internet seems to think.
Thanks for the nice comment, Falkao92. Overall, the people who own ICANs who left comments here like them a lot and say they hold up really well. I own a few pairs of carbon wheels and considered those wheels that I have ridden a bunch when I said what I said during my inspection of the ICAN wheels in this video. The biggest difference is optimized and equal spoke tension in both front and rear wheel and no bladed spokes turned into the wind plus perfect trueness and roundness. FYI: My carbon wheels are Bontrager, Zipp, HED and Neuvation. I hope this is helpful and thanks again! Jim
I bought a couple Ican fatbike wheels in the last year. The 26" ones held up to my 190lbs and 85 lbs of gear fatbike across Utah and Nevada. Amazed how well the held up to some rather extreme beating. I more recently bought their 29" wheels for the same fatbike and they've been good but haven't had to put up with the abuse I put the 26" ones
That's great to hear, Greg. That sounds like an awesome trip riding across Utah and Nevada on a fatbike - well done! Appreciate you sharing your ICAN review very much. Thank you!
Mr. Langley, I ve been watching your videos. They are really great. What bike truing stands do you use? Is there (1) you could recommend? I want to try to custom spoke my wheels with GT SWISS and I need a decent truing wheel stand. Thanks
Thanks for watching, Lucas glad you're enjoying my videos!. In this video I'm using a Park Tool TS-2 truing stand. The new model of this stand is the TS-2.2. They're great truing stands, very easy to use. I have a video all about using truing stands here (it shows a few different stands): th-cam.com/video/JF8p1koGmoM/w-d-xo.htmlsi=pSCGRIIceUtAoO-e And I have a video about my newest truing stand - Park's newest model th-cam.com/video/XqsKUceJzp8/w-d-xo.htmlsi=E_ARbGUTHfCyB_HM You can sometimes get lucky and find a used Park Tool TS-2 truing stand on ebay and other online places. That would be a way to get an awesome stand for a little less. Just check it out carefully and don't buy a damaged one. But the Park's are the gold standard and worth owning and using if you plan to build some wheels. Hope this helps and thanks again.
Great review and info! Thanks for making this video
You're very welcome, Fatty_Matty. Thank you for watching and the great comment!
Good idea adding a white poster board to the truing stand. Might do similar to my (cheap) truing stand :-)
Thanks, Brian. I'm glad you like it, and it's easy to do it to any truing stand - fun little upgrade. Thanks again!
I'll steal this idea for myself. Park only gives you a 2" white landing strip. My eyes need all the help they can get.
A killer video, great information. As a mountain biker and someone that has worked in the sporting good industry for 31 years I can tell you that 90% of bike parts are produced in China. There is no doubt the industry has it's boutique brands that product parts and wheels in the US and abroad. Many of the China factories that produce for the "big" brands also sell direct and can provide huge savings. I9 Wheels (produced in the US) starting price is over $2000. I have found a source that produced a killer set of MTB carbon rims for $650 that includes DT-Swiss 350 hubs with 54 engagement. I'm not a wheel builder but I'm able to true my own wheels. I own a Spin Doctor truing stand, a spoke wrench and a Park Tool spoken tension meter all for $135. It's worth the time to true a wheel, makes them last a long time. Saving $600-$1500 is worth the risk in my view. I love technology but in the mountain biking world there are no more manufacturing secrets, all the manufacturer's are producing great bikes. The bike industry uses marketing tactics to convince the end users to believe the newest trend will make you a better rider (slack, headtube angle, geometry, offset etc...). You can find several blind test results on the Internet that used riders ranging from pro's to the weekend warrior were virtually none were unable to pick out any of the differences. A great video of a Pro rider talking about the very slight differences in MTB bikes and what the average rider can do to make his/her current bike perform better. th-cam.com/video/zazQCR5oIyI/w-d-xo.html
Thanks for the kind words and advice Will and the link to that informative video. Good one! Appreciate your comment! Jim
Wow that was fantastic! Just the kind of details I like to hear!
Thanks, Holirumics!
Good video! Another video showing how you fine tune these wheels would be great.
Thanks for the suggestion, Hawker. I will provide another video on fine tuning the wheels sometime relatively soon. Appreciate your feedback!
Hi Hawker, I now have a video on how to un twist the aero spokes if you are interested: th-cam.com/video/zszdrNEgSDw/w-d-xo.html Thanks! Jim
I'd love to see the test results from a wheel straight from the factory of one of the big brands who charge at least double the price.
When I reviewed these wheels I used the same checks I've used on many other wheels over the years, Chris. Spoke tensiometers were the key tool that allowed putting numbers on wheel builds. Those became readily available to bicycle shop mechanics and wheel builders around 1980. I had a Hozan to start back then and later Wheelsmith's. We checked factory wheels when we sold them back then and right up until today using the basic same steps shown here. What changed since 1980 is that the quality of wheels has improved greatly across the board and that includes spoke, rim, hub and assembly improvements driven by innovation and consistently more powerful computer analysis to determine how the components and overall wheels can be improved. When you check most modern wheels you find that they're excellent out of the box. I kept this in mind evaluating the ICANs in this video. I would not expect to find even the few issues I found with the ICANs with the big brand's wheels. Wheels have gotten much, much better over the years, which is a great thing. Really appreciate the comment!
Great video. I have been riding ICAN wheels for years, and know a couple of people who race them. I would LOVE to see you do a comparison video with one of the "name" brand wheels. I personally have 4 set on different bikes - 86mm, 50mm rim, 40mm disc, and the original 38mm - they are all amazing for the average rider. I can tell you from personal experience, I would put their wheels out of the box over ANY other wheels - except maybe Schimano. Just my opinion based on my experience including building wheels! Great video. PS - most bike shops do not know there is a spoke twist tool or how to use it. 99.9999% do it by eye.
Thanks for the feedback, John. I was trying to review ICAN's wheels on their own, but as a pro wheelbuilder and a road racer, it's impossible for me not to think about my other aero wheels. I have 3 sets of Bontrager Aeolus carbon tubular wheels that I've raced a lot. Those are all the sizes right up to 90mm profile carbon wheels - I won the CA state championships on the 90mm actually - super-fast wheels!. I put thousands of miles on Shimano's first tubeless Dura-Ace wheels and loved them. I have also ridden a lot on HED wheels and Neuvation carbon 50mm carbon wheels and Rolf wheels, and more brands over the years. In inspecting the ICANs I tried to consider what I've learned from all these other wheels in order to share that as a way to explain what to look for. It's great to hear that you like the ICANs a lot and rate them almost as high as Shimano wheels. That's very impressive. I really appreciate you letting me know how much you like your ICANs. Thank you!
Jim
@@JimLangley1 Jim,
I thank YOU. I get blasted for talking about how much I like the ICAN wheels on my channel. I respect your opinion and your experience and think that for the price..... an average rider will not go wrong with these wheels. I have also been using a frame that they sent me...... and I have been impressed with that as well. One last thing I will say is that these wheels are better by far, over the "high end" stock Giant wheels that came with my TCR Pro 0. Those have been out of true since day one and have been retrued as well. Out again. These wheels just perform really well in my opinion. Again thank you!!
Half of those wheels come out of the same mold. People pay a lot for logos and stickers, same for frames.
Beautifully put. But my major concern is of the carbon material and its formation as we all know there is a method carbon fibre sheets are resin pasted together leaving space for bubbles and tiny gaps between the sheets. So how could we possibly know the integrity of the material build up itself? Any insight on this?
Thanks for watching and the nice words, Noel - I'm happy you enjoyed my video. Yes, I have insight on how I know that it's unlikely the ICAN Toray carbon rims have any defects. In my experience building hundreds of carbon rims I can tell you that at the tension the ICAN spokes are at, a carbon rim with voids or other defects will fail spectacularly. It scares you so much you jump. Usually it makes an awful cracking popping sound as you're working on the wheel. Sometimes it’ll split all around the spoke hole track. It makes for an exciting wheel build and it’s good defects show up then rather than out riding when you would get hurt. That's how you know and why I tested the wheels the way I did in the video to determine they're fine rims. Okay? I hope this helps answer your question. Thanks again!
@@JimLangley1 thanks man. Sure I did and always do enjoy your videos. The reason I asked you this is because i had purchased a pair of vuelta 50mm carbon wheels and in a short span of time a portion of the rim braking surface wore out almost like 1mm deep almost killing me while coming into oncoming traffic.also kindly note as I used alloy brake shoes and not carbon brake shoes. So could that have happened because of the wrong brake shoes because now after doing my research I think using wrong shoes were the problem. What would you say about this? Also I'm looking to repair the surface by repasting a sheet of carbon and bonding it with resin. Your insight on this please. Thanks in advance
@@noelbrett7351 sorry to hear about the damage to your rim, Noel - glad you didn't crash! Since they damaged the rim so much those brake pads had to be really abrasive, made of the wrong material. The ICAN wheels come with carbon-compatible brake pads designed for use with the rims. That's often the case with other carbon wheelsets. I have not tried replacing material on carbon rims. There are companies that repair broken carbon frames. Maybe you could contact them and ask if they would give you any advice on repairing your rim? In my area (Northern California, USA), this is the company that's been fixing carbon since way back: calfeedesign.com/carbon-repair/ Maybe if you called them they would be able to talk about whether or not it's possible to fix damage like yours on a carbon rim and how they recommend going about it. I hope they have some good advice for you and that it can be fixed. If not, maybe Vuelta would be willing to sell you a replacement rim at a discount and you could rebuild the wheel. Good luck!
@@JimLangley1 thanks for your prompt reply man. I really appreciate your detailed explanations. I'll get in touch with the and keep you posted. Thanks and take care
@@noelbrett7351 you're very welcome! Thanks for watching my videos and the great comments/questions, Noel!
This is art! Congrats sir!
Thank you kindly!
Wonderful video! I learned a lot!
Happy to hear it, Daniel. Thanks a lot for watching and commenting. Enjoy your wheel building!
Superb video for any serious diy mechanic! Thanks!
Thanks, Thrasivoulos!
Lovely video. You learn something everyday...
Jim Smith thanks for the comment. I’m happy you liked my video.
I just learned something new today, thank you muchly for your expertise.
You're welcome, Iton!
Brilliant review!
Thanks Chris! Glad you like it. Appreciate you watching!
"Blind builder that dont look at all, they listened" damnnnn, thats awesome.
Yes it is & thanks for commenting. Another viewer reminded me that some of the best piano tuners are blind, which is also impressive.
There is one US master builder that tunes his wheels to the key of F . Gets perfect wheels every time. He plucks a spoke and hits a tuning fork .
Bonjour! Very very instructive. Thank you
Bonjour, Francis! Merci for your comment!
This was very interesting. I learned a lot watching and look forward to your other videos.
Thanks a lot, Brad!
Very informative and useful video, keep up the great work!
Thanks a lot, matt. Appreciate you watching and commenting!
I waited years before buying a set of carbon wheels for my SuperSix EVO, but ICAN seemed to have been striving to be that good entry-level set. I managed to score a pair of ICAN Aero 50's and right out of the box, they seemed true & round. Tension felt uniform, but I'm having them installed this weekend and they'll give me a report on any extra tweaking they had to do if any.
Honestly, anybody paying anything less than $1500 for a set of carbon wheels should fully expect to have to put in a little wrench time after receiving them. My pair came with Sapim CX-Ray spokes and ICAN's R01 hubs which are supposedly Formula SP-60/SP-201's.
I'm going to keep an eye on the freehub body. At 1390g (on my scales), I suspect it's aluminum and hopefully if there are any issues after some real world miles on it, I'll be swapping it out for a steel hub grams be damned. Other than that, the rims themselves looked to be finely finished and I was impressed with them.
It's this video that finally pushed me into pulling the trigger on them Jim. Thank you for your work. I'll make sure to share my experiences with them.
NYCEVO Thanks! I look forward to hearing how you like your ICANs and how they hold up.
any update on the wheels?
@@DCRband WOW! You must've been reading my mind because I was going to post an update YESTERDAY on the wheelset here, but it got by me!
BUT...I can report that after a few months of some hardcore riding, they are unbelievably rock solid AND I rolled them on some single track at a mountain bike park (see my "Cunningham Park" video) with my stainless steel custom road bike.
I'm stuck on them. I don't see why I'd need to spend $2000 "more" for a set of carbon hoops.
Jim, this is an excellent instructional video. Thanks so much. I do repair and set up my bikes tires and have the basic tools [parktool] and gauges. This evaluation criteria you shared is a great tool. Thanks again. I will follow your posts.
Thanks very much for the nice comments, Braulio - I appreciate it and am very happy you find my videos helpful!
Hi Always best to check for play in the hubs before putting wheel in truing stand. Not as important with new wheels but should still be done. !!!
Yes, that’s a great point Steve. Thanks! There’s zero play in the hubs on these wheels.
@@JimLangley1 Hi Jim.... No Problem Do you have any opinions on wheel balancing ?
@@stevem2939 haven't tried balancing any road wheels yet, Steve. Silca makes a wheel balancing kit though that I would like to try at some point. It makes sense to me that it might make a difference you can feel on some wheels. Thanks for asking about it.
Hi Steve - Here is a link to Josh at Silca's video about their wheel balancing kit th-cam.com/video/ZrRbM2BSU8A/w-d-xo.html I hope you like it!
@@JimLangley1 Hi Jim Thanks for the link. It's a good solution but i'm not entirely happy with it. It looks a little cumbersome and is bound to affect aerodynamics !!!
One thing to note is that with Carbon wheels the heavy point is usually at the valve ..... as in the video because the valve is adding weight , but with alloy rims the heavy point is usually opposite the valve which is where the hoop is slotted then welded and pinned.
Regardless I use thin lead strips that you buy from aquatic shops and fix these under the rim tape at the required spot.......either side of the valve hole with alloy rims. You make sure though that the wheel is slightly unbalanced afterwards as when you fit the inner tube the valve brings the wheel back into balance.
The advantage of under the rim tape method is that you can use less weight because you are furthest away from the hub.....Cheers Steve......p.s I've subbed !!!
Highly informative video. Many thanks
Thank you for the kind words, Michael. I'm glad you liked the video.
With regard to the spoke twist - I’m wondering if they were angled that way purposely? It might be something to do with air dynamics as the tire moves forward and how the air turbulence moves as it goes past/around the tire and rim?
Thanks for the thought, Robert, however bladed and oval spokes have been around since 1977 invented by Swiss pro mechanic Fritz Bruhlman. These wind cutters were designed to have their leading edges into the breeze. Also the ICAN spoke angles are inconsistent so I think it’s clearly accidental. Appreciate you commenting. Thank you, Jim
I'd be interested to see you go through these, straighten the spokes and retension, true ect to see if they could be made 'perfect'. Good vid though!
Thanks, Josh. I hope to have my video showing how to fix the bladed spokes, spoke tension and final true and round sometime soon. I actually got most of it done and had technical difficulties. But that's okay because the reshoot will allow making it better. Please watch my channel for that follow-up video to appear. Thanks for your comment and interest. Jim
Hi Josh, just want to let you know I have a video on un twisting aero spokes now if you are interested th-cam.com/video/zszdrNEgSDw/w-d-xo.html Thanks, Jim
Well done. Just on point, why not use a pair of dial test indicators rather than the point caliper indicators? One could provide an accurate measurement of the rim offset and refer to it as a standard. They are quite cheap to buy too.
Thanks for the comment and suggestion to use dial indicators, Daniele. I was showing what to look for when you're checking wheels with just your eyes, which is the way I think most people will be doing it. But, you are 100% right that for an official QC report, the wheel inspector would use dial indicators to put a number on how out of the true/round the wheel is. Thanks for pointing that out, Jim
Thanks for the really good in depth video
You're welcome, Kyle. Thanks for the comment!
Jim, what is your view on Superteam Chinese Carbon wheels. I have never bought a Carbon wheel. Wanted to try a pair.
The way tyre was installed over the rim...what a skill...I had to pause to watch it over and over again.
Thanks for watching and the question, Triple Ace. I haven't had a chance to inspect or ride Superteam wheels. They do get very nice Amazon reviews. One thing to check before you buy wheels is what brand of spoke is used. I couldn't tell looking at their website. I would not recommend buying any wheelset that did not use high quality stainless steel spokes because anything else will break if you ride the wheels regularly and for several seasons.
What I want in my wheels is DT Swiss, Sapim or Pillar spokes - all very high quality spokes that will last for many years even under the most miles and use. If I were buying wheels I would make sure I was getting one of those brands for the spokes. Okay? I hope this helps. If you buy the wheels, please leave a comment letting me and everyone else know what you think. Thanks again!
@@JimLangley1 Thank you for your time and effort to give a thought to my query. Definetly, I will keep in mind to go for DT swiss Sapim or Pillar spokes when I go for the wheels.
@@upward_onward you’re welcome!
Nice review! I have used ICAN road wheelset (another model) since summer 2018 and like them so far, light and strong, not great hubs though.
Thanks for sharing feedback on your ICAN wheels, Shova.
Lol yeah shit hubs only a minor detail huh?
You can contact them and get any hub you want thrown on there - for a price. I got dt240s on there and it's worth every penny
Great review and review methodology! thanks!
You're most welcome. Thank you for watching and the comment!
Great review. I would also do a tension balancing test, plucking each spoke and checking the tone. All fronts should have the same tone. Drive side rear has one tone and non-drive a lower tone. It's possible with stiff cross section aero carbon wheels to build wheels that are straight, yet have significantly different spoke tensions due to imbalances. Balancing the tensions creates a more durable wheel that rarely (if ever) required truing, and lasts longer due to balanced stress.
belt tension tone testing is one of the recommended if not the best way to test the cylinder head drive belts on Ducati motorcycles. There are various digital tone tuners, many cross over from the guitar industry. I think you have a good idea and they could serve as another option to get the spoke tension even closer to factory specs.
Thanks for watching and the feedback on using musical pitch for checking spoke tension, Paul. Wheel builders do use pitch for checking tension. But, a spoke tension gauge such as what I show and use in the video is more accurate and easier to use. It removes the element of differences in what an individual hears and how things can be distorted by other noises. But, using pitch is a way to get a ballpark even tension in a wheel and it's useful that way for many builders. Thanks for the thoughtful and interesting comment.
Bought a set of cheap Chinese carbons and the braking was very grabby and pulsing. Used a few different types of carbon specific brake pads with no luck. The last resort was lightly sanding the braking surface but to no avail.
Pulsing and grabbing is usually caused by seams or irregularities in the rim surface, Ramond. It could also have to do with the finish on the rim and even decals/stickers. Sanding the rim can work, but you only want to sand on the braking surfaces not the rim itself. Maybe if you keep trying different carbon compatible brake pads you can find a pair that works. I've had better luck with composite pads containing cork, I believe, than pads containing rubbers. Good luck!
Great insight into this. Thank you!
How have these been holding up for you?
Glad you enjoyed the video, 0 Views! Appreciate you watching and commenting. The wheels have been great for me. I have over 2,000 miles on them plus lots of gravel road rides and haven't knocked them out of true or broken a spoke yet. I'm not hard on wheels and I weigh only 150 pounds so that helps because this model is superlight. Overall, I'm very impressed. Thanks again!
Have similars Icans since 2017 and after several interventions on, the wheels are fine, stable. First of all, those super light Quick Realeases are crap, don't even think using that. Choose a traditional type like shimano's or Campy's. Ican's costumer support are grade "C": since the beggining of use, the rear wheels make noises, pops and clicks. Tried everything, rebuild wheels, change niples, add original Sapin internal washers, mounted everything totally lubricated and the pops didn't stop. The clicks occurred when forced the bike sideways, like climbing or sprinting. The noise really came from rear and, one day, things driving me crazy, tried everything on the bike (changed pedals, chainrings, lubricated every mounted piece of the bike), I tried one unthinkable thing: replace the front wheel. And, for my surprise, all the noises that sounded and poped evidently from the back of the bike, was coming from the front wheel. Knowing this, just applied some oil on the niples (assembled) and it's been month of complete silence on both wheels. So, 2 hints for these great wheelset: use a decent quick realease and before mount the tires, apply some lubricant over the niples. For me, was a great and simple solution.
The original ebay listing for my wheelset where kindly modified by Ican, You can ask the company to costumize your product: I've asked to replace the black niples for red ones and add a second freehub (campy) to the set. And all for a fair and affodable price.
Thanks for the great review, Mr. Langley.
Wow, thanks for sharing your review of your ICAN wheels, Ricardo - especially all the tips and the secret to fixing the annoying clicking noise. Great job figuring that out. ICAN didn't tell me the wheel could be customized if you order through ebay. That's a nice upgrade to provide. It's also good to know the quick releases didn't work. That's a pretty common complaint with superlight QRs. I'll be watching for issues with mine now. Appreciate you sharing all your insights on these wheels. Super helpful. Thank you, Ricardo!
Nice review! - my biggest concern with cheap carbon rims is not weather or not the wheel's tuning is good (though it should be!) but rather the quality of the layup and carbon fiber composite of the rim. Without destructive testing and engineering analysis, privateer builders & consumers are lost in the desert. Rather than build my own, I chose to buy a set of wheels from a custom builder from central California who's very familiar with the Asian supply chain.
Thanks for watching and the nice comment, Big Wave_Dave. I appreciate you sharing your point of view on purchasing carbon wheels.
I received a set of Aero 40s in March and there was no twist on the aero spokes! So I think that your pair was an exception. I am quite happy with this wheel set, it's light for climbing, but still with an aero advantage in the flats. I already did a few Marathons up to 300km and never was afraid they could fail me. Only the brake pads that came with them were unsatisfactory. I bought cheap ones from Wiggle (the blue lifeline pads), which perform much better. My only issue was to get a pair of GP5000s on, which was really a pain. Maybe other tyres will be easier to get on.
Thanks very much for sharing your experience with wheels, MrSuicycle. Appreciate it!
Thats strange i can get GP 5000s on easily with my FL40 icans
This was really interesting, thank you. I will use this knowledge to check my bikes next spring :)
You're very welcome, Innocentius! Thanks for watching and commenting!
Thanks for the education! Well done!
Thanks for watching and the great comment, Daniel, appreciate it.
great work and demo
Thanks a lot, Allen, appreciate you watching and commenting!
Thanks Jim 🚴
You're very welcome, Aditya.. thank you for watching and commenting!
Excellent video. O learned a lot.
Thanks Anthony!
How confident would you feel in ICAN track wheels? Since they'll take a lot more torque
I didn't know ICAN offered track wheels, Nblinko. But based on the performance of my road and mountain ICANs, if their track models are as well spec'd and built, they should hold up fine even with the added torque from a fixed cog. Track racing is almost a specialty sport so maybe a trackie who owns ICANs has reviewed them at some point here on TH-cam or in print somewhere and you can see how they held up for them?
@@JimLangley1 Yeah, they offer an 88mm i think, a tri-spoke, and a five-spoke. They use sapim x-rays and a rebranded formula hub or something on the 88mms. I'll keep lookin' for a review of them : ) thanks!
@@CAGDESIGNDEVELOPMENT well if you end up buying the wheels, I'll be interested to hear how you like them and how they hold up.
Very good, objective (I think) review!
Thanks, Daniel!
Jim, can you explain why the wheel doesn't need to be centered in the caliper, and you can just look at the left arm to check trueness? If you were building the wheel from scratch, would you center it?
Thanks for watching and the great questions, Stafford. To answer, on a good rim (one without any issues), both sides of the rim should be the same. If that's the case it doesn't matter which side of the rim you look at to check trueness since both sides show the same perfection or imperfections in the rim. I don't try to look at both sides of the rim at the same time. I could try to do that but it's a little bit like trying to read the left page of an open book with your left eye and the right page with your right eye at the same time - not easy to see at least for me. So, I will typically use the left pointer gap to check for trueness and then use the top of the pointer placing it beneath the rim to check roundness.
The truing stand I'm using in the video is a Park TS2 and all Park stands that use this design have a self centering feature that can hold the wheel/rim centered between the caliper/pointers. However, lots of things affect this and if anything is off, you can end up with the rim sitting closer to one side than the other. For example, if your wheel gets pushed sideways the axle rocks up on one side in the Park axle holder and that moves the rim out of center.
I mainly use the centering feature as a ballpark measurement/gauge to give me an idea how close to centered the rim is over the axle. I then check this more exactly using a dishing gauge. If I didn't have a dishing gauge I'd be sure to check and double check that the wheel sits completely seated in the Park jig's axle holders and that nothing else is affecting the wheel centering. But when checking wheel true on new wheels, it's quick and easy to put the wheel in the stand however it sits and use one pointer to check.
I just occurred to me that it could be the camera distorting what's shown a little, too. To get the camera to show the gap and how true wheels are I have to experiment. Most of the shots are taken with an iPhone which has its cameras on the upper left. I don't know for sure but some of the off centeredness might be due to the camera. Hope this helps explain. Thanks again!
I have the 50 and 38 wheelset and the spokes keep breaking, at least 5X each since the 2 years I've owned them. You also have to have a lot of patience and persistence in mounting tires on these wheels. Definitely keep two tire levers in your saddle bag, otherwise you're stuck with a flat tire cause you won't be able to remove tires without them.
Thanks for sharing your experience with the wheels, iam2nd2011. Sapim spokes (in the ICANs I reviewed) don't usually break, so I wonder whether your wheels are built with something else or if something else is causing them to break, such as low spoke tension. Usually, both issues can be addressed and fixed. Regarding tire mounting, tubeless tires can be tough to remove because when inflated they essentially lock onto the rim - the beads get trapped up on the high side shelves on the rims. It can be super difficult to get the beads to budge off their locked position. You need good tire levers to get the beads to move off the shelves and into the center of the rim. Two tools I've been using lately are Topeak's Shuttle (has a big handle and a thin tip) amzn.to/2Z3nQ0r. And Silca's new steel-core levers. They have thin, stout tips that make prying tight tires up and over the rim easier. silca.cc/collections/mobile-repair-1/products/tire-levers-premio We need better tools for tubeless tire removal but no one has invented anything yet. I have some ideas that I think could work.. if it turns into anything, I will let the bike world know. I hope these tips helps you tame those tires in the meantime! Thanks again for the feedback on your wheels! Jim
@@JimLangley1 I have taken my wheels to my LBS everytime I break a spoke and they've checked tension and trued them as needed. I own 12 bikes and have had my share of different wheelsets and by far, these are the most difficult wheels to get tires on and off. Even a seasoned mechanic at my LBS commented on the difficulty it takes to get the tires on. The 50mm front wheel has been sitting idle since early spring due to another broken spoke at a bike rally. I'm not convinced that the problems I have on these two wheelset I own are an isolated case since they are different depth and bought them at different times. And yet, they both have the same issues. I bought the 30mm first and after 4 trips to my LBS with broken spokes, I contacted ICAN about the issues I've had with them. I decided to not send them back due to cost of shipping. A few months later, I inquired about the 50mm thinking I might have better luck with them. They actually gave me a price break since I had so much problem with the 38mm. To my disappointment, I experienced the same issues with the 50mms. Without the broken spokes and tire mounting difficulties, I think these are pretty solid alternative to the overpriced Zipps, Enves and other brand name wheels. I gave my 404s to my son and been riding the 38mm Icans since he's not as patient dealing with the tire and spoke issues. I don't put a lot of miles on the Icans anymore and definitely not taking them to any bike rallies due to fear of cutting my ride short due to another broken spoke. BTW, I requested ICAN to send me several extra spokes for each wheelset when I ordered the 50mm and I've pretty much gone through all of them.
@@iam2nd2011 thanks for taking the time to elaborate and explain your broken spokes and tough tire mounting issues on your ICANs. I only have the pair they sent me so it's important for owners like you to tell everyone here how their ICANs work for them. You and one other person told me in the comments here that the Continental GP 5000 tubeless tires were super difficult to mount. So, I went to the Spokesman Bicycles shop here in Santa Cruz and bought a tire ($94.95 for one!). I then mounted it on my ICAN wheel to see how hard it is to put on my wheels. It definitely took some effort to put it on, but I was able to do it with only my hands (I have been putting on bike tires professionally since 1970 - so I know every trick). The Hutchinson Fusion 5 tubeless I mount in the video was a little bit easier to mount. Again, though, that's just on my ICAN sample set. Your wheels could be tougher - there could be something different. I just wanted to share what I found putting the Conti on mine. I will be doing a video on tubeless tire mounting sometime soon to share tips. Thanks again! Jim
Proper educational videos. One weird question: could the spoke twist be on purpose, for the blade to meet a headwind in a softer angle? Did the non drive spokes had the same but opposite twist (mirrored angle)? I don't imply it is a good thing, but maybe you can cheat wind tunnel results that way?
Thanks for watching and commenting, Drou, appreciate it!! Another viewer asked the same question so it’s a good one. The thing is the spokes were randomly twisted - no plan to it. I was building wheels when aero spokes were invented too and never heard any design calling for twisted spokes. So I think they were just wrong. Thanks again!!
I would think the "twist", if a spoke was twisted from tightening the nipple, the direction would be down (the direction of tightening) vs up. Maybe the holes on the hub aren't drilled straight. It seems pretty consistent.
You're asking a good question and I can't answer why these aero spokes are twisted out of the aero plane the way they are Geeios. My best guess is that these wheels were built by a robot and it was set wrong. But I don't know for sure. I usually see the twist as you described. This is unusual. Thanks for the comment!
nice one Jim
Thanks a lot!
I enjoyed.this video very much. I've only owned one set of tubless road rims, Bontrager AeolusXXX4s and was under the impression that ease of tire installation was due to the tire as opposed to.rim design. I recently had a horrible experience trying to take off and reinstall
the OME Bontrager R3 TLR Hard Case tire, which I was happy with performace wise, but was consisdering switching tires for installation ease. Is the rim really going to be.the determining factor?
Thanks for the comment and question Pat. Yes, the rim design has a major impact on how easy it is to install and remove tires. But, it also has a lot to do with the understanding of the person installing/removing the tire. Also, the setup of the tire and rim strip/tape can make a big difference. In most cases if the rim is designed with a reasonable rim "well", the deepest portion of the rim, you can get the beads down inside that and that will make the slack in the tire for easier install/remove of tires. But, if the rim maker did not provide a rim well or too shallow of one, that can make it a lot harder to put on/take off tires. Before giving up on a wheel or rim, I would recommend getting a second opinion on ease of tire on/off. I have helped teach many riders how to take off and put on tires that they thought were "impossible" to get on/off. The technique used is very important and it's not obvious. The biggest "secret" is to work carefully to keep the tire beads down in the deepest part of the rim all around the rim. That will create the slack that makes the tire loose enough on the rim to slip up and over the sides and in place and also to lift it up and off the rim. I have an old story about this on my bicycle website here with more tips: jimlangley.net/wrench/flattiresbyhand.htm Hope this helps and thanks again!
Wow Jim, thanks for detailed reply, I appreciate it. I've only had these rims for 6 months, so with the exception of a roadside repair, have not had any experience changing tubless tires. I did get some Hutchinson, moving up to 700×28, so I'll be giving those a try soon.
Enjoying your excellent TH-cam videos..... Two questions:
1) Should we buy nipple washers when building a carbon fiber wheel set?
2) Most, if not all online spoke length calculators are specific to j-bend spokes versus straight spokes such as the DT Swiss 240S for straight spokes. That makes spoke calculations almost impossible w/o the DT Swiss online spoke calculator. However the results tend to show that left side spokes to be different length from right side spokes for disc brake wheels/hubs! Have you experienced this?
Appreciate you watching and the kind words, Graydon, thank you! On your questions, when you purchase a carbon rim the manufacturer should specify in the instructions or on a spec sheet on their website, etc., whether or not they're to be built with nipple washers. If I'm not sure, I will reach out to the maker and ask for technical support and ask them. Not all carbon rims require them but some do so it's best to check. I rarely build with straight pull spokes. But when I do, I will do what you're doing and use the calculator from the company that made the hubs and spokes. And I would expect the spokes to be different length on the right and left due to the way the rim is dished to the right for rears (to account for the cassette/gears) and to the left on front wheels to account for the disk/rotor. Not all wheels are that way but most are. Okay? I hope this is helpful. Thanks again and happy wheelbuilding!
Very interesting video a few things I didn’t know as a matter of interest what do you charge to build a pair of Campagnolo alloy rims and hubs
Thanks for watching, Michael. I build wheels for a wheel company, not for individuals very often anymore. The labor rate for wheel building depends on the builder and the full spec on the wheel so it varies a lot. It might be as little as 40 per wheel up to a lot more. I hope that's at least a little helpful and thanks again.
@@JimLangley1 Thank you Jim just a little doubtful on what you mean is it £40 a wheel
@@michaelbritton9778 I’m happy to explain more Michael if you will explain what you mean by “doubtful.” In the context of our thread so far I don’t understand what their is to doubt - that’s my question.
Super! What a pro!
Thanks for watching and the nice comment - appreciate it, Igor!
I have a ICAN wheelset just like this, with 40 mm rim deep, and they are exactly as you told.
They roll super nice, but the front wheel rubs the brake pads everytime I get out of the saddle, even though I weight just 135 lbs.
I always thought the front spokes could be a little tighter, and you just confirmed that.
If I tight them a little bit, would it prevent the rim from rubbing the brake pads?
Yes, it should fix the brake rub problem and it should make the wheels feel better overall, since a wheel with loose spokes can feel "vague" - as if you're not solidly connected to the road. I think you will appreciate the difference. Thanks for the comment!
Hi i have the same problem with my FL40 icans if i grab the back down post and push the top of the wheel i can easily move the wheel by 6 or 7 mm.
Did u get your problem resolved?
I’ve owned two sets of Chinese aero wheels (CSC brand) and have had no problems. I’m not fond of the braking surface one the one non-disc wheelset, but not sure if anyone else’s is better
Thanks, Morgan. You can try different types of carbon brake pads and sometimes improve the braking on carbon rims that way. You might try that and see.
Wow I am a casual bike enthusiast and I knew none of the stuff the only thing I knew about wheels was the treeing of both ways . Sideways and up and down and I knew the spokes had to be tight. Everything else I didn’t know. Very interesting well explained and informative video thank you. Have you ever heard of supposedly the better wheels made by this company called vuelta. I have a pair of vuelta corsa team v wheels. They weigh in minus the rim tape at about 1475-1500 Grams. What I would like to know have you ever heard of this company. And what do you think about this company if you heard of it. Thank you very much. And I am a new subscriber this is my first video that I have watched that you made
Thanks for the comment, Richard and nice words. I'm glad you liked the video and I appreciate you subscribing to my channel. Thanks a lot. Yes, I have heard of Vuelta (the company has been around for over 25 years as far as I know), but I don't have any actual experience working on or riding their wheels so I can't comment on the company or its wheels much. I did visit their website www.vueltausa.com/vuelta-wheel-parts-56/vuelta-road-wheel-parts.html to see their latest products and they look nice. I would need to learn more about the specifics of their components in order to have a better idea of what goes into their wheels. But, from what's shown on their website, they appear to have a range of wheels at attractive prices. Thanks again! Jim
Enjoyed the video, thank you!
You're welcome 123. Thanks for watching!
Good job Jim.
Are you going to show people how to rectify the spoke twist and inadequate tension problems you identified?
Also it would be useful to explain how you determine the correct or optimum tension for a particular wheel. Finally are you aware of any authoritative published sources for trueness and roundness acceptance criteria? I think your 1/2mm is a very fine tolerance appropriate for top class (and top price) wheels only, and I would consider +/- 1mm to be acceptable for the majority of general usage bicycle wheels. What do you think?
Thanks for comment, Henrybikeman! Yes, I now have a video showing how to fix aero spokes that have been overturned so they are twisted and not aero anymore. Here's a link: th-cam.com/video/zszdrNEgSDw/w-d-xo.html Regarding optimum tension for wheels, it's best to use a tensiometer. That's because wheels need the spokes to be so tight that it is difficult to feel by hand when the tension is right. The spokes will feel tight way before they are tight enough to make a good wheel. Tensiometers come with charts that tell you for the type and diameter of the spokes in the wheel what the reading on the tensiometer's gauge translates to in KGF (kilograms force). For me, what I am looking for before I'm finished with a wheel is readings indicating that the tighter side spokes (right rear/left front on disc front wheels or either on non disc fronts) is in the 105-115/120 KGF range. Evenness of tension readings is important, too. I don't measure the other side of the wheels because those spokes are as tight as they are going to be as a direct result of the tighter side spokes. Though you can certainly measure all the spokes if you want with a tensiometer. And, for trueness and roundness, I would say that if your customer can see that the wheel is out of round or out of true, then it's not true enough. I know that you can't feel it when a wheel is a little out of true and round, but if a pro builder is putting their name and reputation at stake, they typically try to get the wheels as perfect as possible. Some rims can have bad seams or slight issues with the carbon, etc. but for me, I will try every time to get the wheel as close to perfect side-to-side and up-and-down as I can. Ideally I wouldn't see any deviation in the spinning wheel. But for that you need a perfect rim and you don't always get perfect rims. When they're not perfect, I still try to get them as perfect as possible and hope they're .5mm or better. If I had a wheel that was 1mm out and that was the best it could be, I could accept that only if it was impossible for me to make it any better and I knew that the wheel was otherwise a great wheel. Okay? Hope this is helpful - appreciate you commenting bikeman!
Awesome review. Would you happen to know the sizes of the bearings for both hubs and hub body?
Thanks for the kind words, Paul - glad you liked the video. I don't know the bearing sizes. I haven't had any issues with the bearings so I haven't needed to look at them. I searched ICAN's website to see if they sell replacement bearings and/or show the size and I didn't find any information. The hubs are ICAN R01 - so what I think you should try is contacting the company through their website or other contact information. They have a chat function that pops up when you go to their website and that has worked for me - though I did have to wait overnight for them to reply due to the time difference. If you'd rather call or email, if you go to this page and scroll to the bottom you'll see all their contact info: icancycling.com/products/aero-40-road-wheels-us?_pos=3&_sid=ec1ec10e1&_ss=r I hope this helps you find the specs on those bearings.
I appreciate it Jim. I guess I’m just looking far ahead. The aero 50s will be delivered to me soon. Again, I really enjoyed your video.
@@paulchan3628 I think the bearings in your new wheels will last as long as the wheels do. Have fun on them and thanks for watching my videos Paul.
this is fantastic
Thanks a lot, Mark. Appreciate you watching and commenting!
Very detailed -thank you!
You’re welcome, Mauricio!
That is great review Jim. I would recommend you to make more comparison reviews for different brands and highlights positive and negative. That would help potential buyers and wheel manufacturers to correct deficiencies.
Thanks very much for the suggestion, Tesla Aficionado (you have a cool name!), and I appreciate your kind words about my review. If more companies send me wheels to try out like ICAN did, I will do more reviews like this. Back before youtube became so great, I did do a few reviews of different wheels for my publication, www.roadbikerider.com. These are written reviews but still informative and interesting I think. To check them out, you can search for them and they should come right up. I reviewed Shimano's first tubeless Dura-Ace wheels and Neuvation's carbon wheels and TruVelo's superlight alloy clinchers. Thanks again for the feedback! I appreciate it!
Jim
Do you recommend to buy a chinese carbon wheelset? if not which brand do you recommend for an entry level carbon 700c wheelset. Thanks JIM!
Hi J and thanks for the question. The ICAN Aero 40 wheels I inspected in this video are on my bike and I've now ridden more than 1,000 miles. The wheels are still performing just like they did when new. So, I'm sure they would work for you. Since you said "entry level," it raises the possibility that you are an entry-level rider. If so, you might not have experience with rim braking on carbon rims. I do not consider rim braking on carbon rims entry level... I consider it an advanced riding skill. With alloy rims and braking tracks you stop much more quickly than you do with the carbon rims. So, you must appreciate this and always be ready to hit the brakes early. If you aren't ready and you have to stop quick and you hit the brakes late, you could easily not stop in time and crash. However, this is how it is with most carbon rims with rim braking. In fact, it's one of the reasons there are so many bikes with disc brakes now. With disc brakes, and if you buy ICANS disc wheels for a disc equipped bicycle, then you will have excellent braking. I hope this is helpful.
Jim Langley Thanks jim, will definitely check that brand and 👍👍 oon your channel
@@jaysville0125 Thank you!
I wonder about the hubs,is it a no name hub or ? Is the cassette body soft aluminum that will groove easily? Freehub body seal well or will dirt and water get in easy? It all matters of course.
Thanks for watching and the questions, Brad. The wheels use ICAN’s own hubs. So far in about 2,000 miles of riding I have experienced no issues of concern. So I believe the hubs are quality hubs. Hope this is helpful and thanks again.
Very instructional. Thanks! A question: how often do you calibrate your wheelntruing stand?
Thanks, Denis! Actually, I have never calibrated my Park truing stand - and it's at least 35 years old. It has always worked just the way it's supposed to. In my opinion having used many different truing stands, Park came up with an amazing design with this stand and it's my favorite by far. I do take very good care of it. Maybe if you treat it rough, you would need to calibrate it. But, I baby it because it's so nice. Hope this helps and thanks again! Jim
Jim Langley Thank you for your reply. It shows how you take care of your tools. I am now one of your suscribers and look forward for your next video.
Thanks, Denis, appreciate it!
More important is the importance of spoke tensiometer calibration. I would also do a micrometer reading for the spoke. tolerances can be off even for good spoke manufacturers so if you have a double butted spoke classed as, 2x1.8x2 mm often it can be as low as 1.986x1.796x1.983 might not seem much but it would suggest spoke charts for the spoke using standard sizes could be off even with a well calibrated spoke tensionometer in that case you would have to create a unique spoke curve using a s-loan cell or strain gauge jig for that spoke. Some wheel builders may feel this is not worth the effort but for my mind that extra step ensures that spoke calibration and tension is well aligned. Helps to creat a stronger, safer wheel.
Thanks Math Man, great points. You are correct. Most wheel manufacturers that do high volume production go to great lengths to calibrate tensiometers and measure and test the spokes they spec. Appreciate you sharing your expertise.
Jim, thanks for the video. I gained some knowledge in checking my wheels. One question, where did you get the rubber tip covers on the truing stand calipers?
Thanks, maloneyfm, glad my tips are helping you with your wheels. You can get those tips from Amazon actually (they're called Park Tool 238.2 Caliper Cap). Here's a link: amzn.to/2odVWlG If you have an older Park truing stand, the calipers won't accept the tips because the old calipers don't have the little indent that the plastic tips lock in to. So, to upgrade to be able to use the tips you buy the "Park Tool Caliper Upgrade Kit for TS-2" with the newer caliper arms and tips here: amzn.to/2mFESo6 Okay? One of these will get you going. Thanks again for the comment! Jim
Hi Jim, nice review. I have a question. I have a set of ICAN Classic 38's. I love them, but, shortly after I received them my bike started ticking/clicking. It sounded like bottom brkt area but I went thru everything on the bike. The noise only happens while pedaling, both in and out of the saddle. After going through everything I finally removed the rear wheel and put my old wheel back on. I used the same cassette, skewer, tire and tube. The noise went away. I've switched back and forth many times and the bike clicks when the ICAN wheel is on. I have had the spokes tensioned....the wheel is perfectly true and dished. I have replaced the freehub. I have lubed the spoke crossing, nipples and spoke hub interface. I even put thin strips of plastic between the spokes at the crossings. Nothing helps. Is it possibly the hub bearings? Any ideas?
Thanks for watching, Mantonhouse. That's an interesting wheel noise you're trying to find. I actually have another video all about finding and fixing wheel noises, which is here: th-cam.com/video/sA62X1AXN7s/w-d-xo.html
But it sounds like you've already tried most of the usual noise solutions. You asked if the wheel bearing can make noise. They might if the grease is all dried up or used up inside the hub. You can usually tell if a hub needs greasing if you remove the wheel and turn the axle (not the skewer) in your fingers slowly. There should be a nice hydraulic resistance from the lube inside. If it's dry or worse rain got in and corroded it, it'll spin too easily and probably feel rough. If the bearing is loose in the hub or the axle is loose on the bearing or there's roughness, that could be your issue.
Another idea is one that would only happen when you're on your easiest/lowest gear. And that would be the derailleur hitting a spoke. That could happen on one wheel and not the other due to a different spoke angle. But again, it would only click or tick on that lowest gears, no other gears. To fix that you can usually very slightly tighten the low gear limit screw on the derailleur to get the clearance needed to stop the contact with the spokes and the ticking noise.
If the wheel only clicks or ticks at one point on its revolution, then it might be some issue with the rim at that point. I've seen carbon rims that cracked at the nipple and the cracks were difficult to see without good lighting and magnification. Hopefully that's not the case but it's something else to look for. You might be able to find it by going around the wheel and listening intently while squeezing pairs of spokes to simulate riding. I sometimes ask someone else to listen with me since that person might hear what I can't.
One more idea that might work is to ride the bike with a person walking next to you to listen. If you can make the bike tick or click and they can focus on what's going on with the wheel and if there's some pattern, or if they can hear where it's coming from, you might have a clue to what's going on. Hope something here helps you find it. If you do, please share what it was. Good luck!
@@JimLangley1 Hi Jim, Thanks. I'll try your ideas for the hub. Hopefully I'll find something there. The noise happens in all gears. Sometimes it seems rhythmic and sometimes random, happening many times in a crank revolution. The noise is driving me crazy trying to find it. Other than that the wheels look good, feel good and sound good. I don't see a way to attach a 40 second video here. I just let my right arm hang down and aimed my phone at the rear wheel. I had to compress the video, due to size, so the sound was diminished a little....but it is still very obvious. If there is a way to attach a video, please let me know.
I will definitely let you know when I find it.
Thanks again,
Steve
@@Mantonhouse Hi Steve, did you check that the valve isn't hitting the carbon rim? If the valve is even a tiny bit loose in the valve hole in the rim it can hit and make a tick, tick, tick noise that varies in rhythm like you describe. The same tube and tire on another wheel might not make any noise. If you tap on the side of the valve with your finger and it moves and it hits the carbon rim and makes the tick noise - that's what might be at fault. Just in case you already didn't try that, it's one that can be hard to find. For getting a video to me, TH-cam doesn't offer any way to do it but you could email it probably.
Having successfully built one set of amazing carbon fiber 700C wheels for my CF bike, I am itching to do more…….and so I can continue to make use of by ParkTools truing stand etc. Any suggestions on how to find potential customers?
And BTW - now I want to build a complete Gravel bike from scratch so I need some hobby income to proceed….
Congratulations on building a pair of amazing carbon wheels, Graydon. Building a new gravel bike with your hand built custom wheels will be another wonderful project.
It should be relatively easy to find customers for your wheels. Traditionally, wheel builders not affiliated with a bicycle shop, built their reputation for building quality wheels by building wheels for their clubmates - friends they rode with. As the wheels proved great riding and durable, riders told other riders and you’d get more wheel orders. If you provide reasonable turnaround times and prices and can build custom wheels people are looking for, you can develop a nice little business.
As you build your reputation and have some riders who love your wheels, you could then even approach bike shops and see if they’ll send customers for custom hoops your way. These days some shops don’t want to bother with building wheels - too much labor and no profit to be made off it. Plus, it’s hard to mark up the hubs, rims and spokes enough. So that can work. Especially if there are a lot of shops in your area since some might build wheels, others not.
Promoting yourself on social media could work nicely, too. You’d probably want to use local media such as the Nextdoor app or even Craigslist, both of which are free. Those are just a few ideas for you to try. Much success!
Jim
@@JimLangley1 - thanks for the encouraging feedback Jim…..best to you and your business.