ICAN triaero A9

[Matt_C]

I have the A9 frame on order and it should be here in a few days. Has anyone here ever bought a frame from ICAN before? I have read some great reviews on their wheels so I decided to chance buying a frame from them. I fell in love with the 2021 Merida Reacto and the ICAN A9 is very similar looking so i just went for it. I'll keep this thread updated with pictures and build progress.

[Smulle]

Funnily enough I was just looking for a frame similar to the Merida Reacto, I'll definitely be keeping this one in mind, looking forward to the build. Can I ask how you were able to work out what stem height? I have been hesitant to go straight to an aero frame for a build as with most other types of frame you have a bit of leeway with where to attach the bars. For this reason I might end up with the A8. Enjoy the build it looks like a great frame!

[Matt_C]

Figuring out the sizing was interesting. I just did my best to compare my old bike geometry chart to the ICAN geometry chart. I also found a rider on the Merida professional team who is exactly my height and I asked him on strava what frame size he uses. I want it for aggressive crit racing so the fit shouldn't be too different to his. As for handle bar size I just went for the narrowest and longest one they had in stock which was 400x120. They do a 38x120 but I would have been waiting weeks for it.

[Matt_C]

Also, even if I do get the wrong size frame, the bike market in the UK right now is so crazy I will be able to sell the bike on for a small profit and use the money to finance the correct size frame.

[Matt_C]

Frame arrived today. Here is a quick picture. So far I am very impressed with the finishing quality. I have internally routed a few cables which was a lot easier than I thought. I am still waiting on parts to arrive. I will continue to update as I build.

[Alex_C]

I have 2 wheelsets (50mm and 86mm) from Ican and the X-Gravel frame+fork. I've had no problems with any of their products. The wheels carried me through thousands of miles of training and a full IM. The X-Gravel frame arrived quickly and had no defects that I could see. I have well over 500 miles of gravel riding on the frame and it has been great. I have confidence in their products. Excellent value for the money, imo.

[Matt_C]

Thanks for the input Alex. You have filled me with confidence! I got the steerer tube cut today and my local bike shop were impressed with the build quality. Here is a quick pic.

[Alex_C]

I had my eye on the A9 but decided to go for a gravel build. Looking forward to your review.

[kisuke3]

Hello. I just got an ICAN A9 the other day and assembled it. The accuracy of the frame was very good.
I won't go into impressions as I haven't run much distance yet, but the flats are as fast as the Bullet Train.

The routing took a lot of time, as did the FSA ACR.

FYI.
Size: 52 (I am 177cm tall, and 82cm inseam)
Group set: Ultegra 8020 (crankset with power meter 6800)
Wheels: Carbonal Tubular Wheels 50mm deep
 Weight: 7.3kg (without pedals and bottle cages)

[carbonazza]

Very nice bike! The painting is great.
Did you weight the frame, fork, bar and post?

[Matt_C]

Finished the internal routing today. It was a bit of a pain but not as bad as I expected considering this is the first bike I have ever built. I think the toughest part was the handlebars but there is are great YouTube tutorials from both ICAN and "OzCycles". Number one tip I can give when routing the handlebars is to tape both the gear and brake cables together and pull them through the narrow hole at the same time. Pictures of the finished routing have been attached. Please don't judge the messy room as it has been a long night

[Matt_C]

Hello. I just got an ICAN A9 the other day and assembled it. The accuracy of the frame was very good.
I won't go into impressions as I haven't run much distance yet, but the flats are as fast as the Bullet Train.

The routing took a lot of time, as did the FSA ACR.

FYI.
Size: 52 (I am 177cm tall, and 82cm inseam)
Group set: Ultegra 8020 (crankset with power meter 6800)
Wheels: Carbonal Tubular Wheels 50mm deep
 Weight: 7.3kg (without pedals and bottle cages)

This post has made me so excited. What an incredible looking bike. Incredibly light aswell for an aero bike!

[Matt_C]

Very nice bike! The painting is great.
Did you weight the frame, fork, bar and post?

I haven't weighed my components because I didn't have an accurate enough scale but at the end of my build I'll do the the old bathroom scales trick and get a good idea of the entire bike's weight. When researching the frame I did find a thread in an Italian bike forum (thank you Google translate) all about the A9 where weight was being discussed. A guy there was a very regular ICAN customer who received an early version of the A9 which was incredibly light and he claimed to have a sub 7kg build but the frame ended up cracking (early prototype like I said). Others have listed weights but unfortunately I cannot remember them off the top of my head. I'll try to track down the thread.

[Matt_C]

Just inserted the bottom bracket. Decided to go with a zitto ceramic thread lock BB. This avoids the hassle of bearing presses as threading the BB together presses the cups into the frame. I must say it went very smoothly. Only thing I am left wondering is what the torque level should be... I have attached some greasy pictures of the BB

[kisuke3]

Very nice bike! The painting is great.
Did you weight the frame, fork, bar and post?

Thank you carbonazza-san, Matt_C-san,

The weight
Frame : 1176g(with hangers, without TA)
Fork : 408g(uncut)
Seatpost : 270g(uncut)
Handlebars: 360g(witdh 400mm, stem length 100mm)
Headset : 153g(without spacers)
Fron TA : 64g
Rear TA : 75g

The TA has a lever, which I thought would be a disadvantage in terms of aerodynamics, so I changed to a flat type.
The flat TA was approx 40g.