A quick review on aesthetics and ride feel. It’s worth saying, the frame is ICAN’s own mold, not open. Also, the carbon layup externally feels really clean (unlike some of the mainstream brands I have owned) and the internal carbon finish is very tidy. The only annoying thing with own mold, is that I can’t get a direct mount for the rear derailleur !
In my view, the frame design is heavily influenced by the T47 BB and ACR internal headset, which means that the down tube is proportionally sized to manage the transition between the two - clearly different from the Aethos which has a ‘standard’ external routing headtube and BSA BB.
Whilst, in my opinion, this takes away from the visual appeal, it does mean the BB is pretty stiff! The seat tube again has a wide transition to the BB, but they have used that to thoughtfully route the Di2 cable (see library picture above).
I am guessing because of the downtube size, the top tube is really slight - great for leg clearance. The seatstays are aethos-like, which does give quite a nice ride feel in the saddle. The chainstays are more like an SL7 than an Aethos.
In terms of general feel, it seems to strike a nice balance between light and stiff, but not harsh - certainly no aero claim. I am 72kg and done have much of a sprint, so never going to put a lot of strain on any carbon frame - that said, when I kick, the rear end seems quite well planted, not skipping around like some of my other recent bikes.
All of the above comes with a big caveat - I running 30mm tyres at 65psi on 30/24 rims, which is going to make most bikes feel quite comfortable! I am also in Majorca and the roads are WAY better than the UK.
When I get it back from vacation I will do some back to back tests with my Tarmac SL7, and against the Aethos when I am out in France in a couple of weeks. It will also allow me to try it out on some of my normal routes which will give me a benchmark against times.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
]
