ICAN TT017 TT Bike Build

[Triexpress]

I thought I would post my bike build for this bike to share my experience and views on this bike and my build. Im in the progress of assembling the bike and will post ongoing updates.

The bike is the new TT model from ICAN. I went for this frame mainly because of the front end with integrated handle bars and mono riser. The reviews I found on ICAN seemed to indicate they were some of the better manufacturers from China.
https://www.icanbikes.com/Products-list/carbon-tt-bike-frame/
I also ordered a disc wheel and 80mm dish front from ICAN
https://www.icanbikes.com/Products-list/lightweight-carbon-tt-bike-wheelset-time-trial-wheelset-86c-25-disc/
https://www.icanframe.com/carbon-disc-tt-bike-track-bike-wheel-dc04

Communicating with ICAN was a bit of a challenge because of the language barrier. Using short to the point questions and few per email seemed to work than multiple long questions.

I chose a gloss black frame and matt finish for the wheels. ICAN sent me a proforma invoice with gloss for the frame and wheels and I asked them to change the wheels back to matt finish and update the order. They made an error and supplied gloss wheels from the original proforma invoice. The wheels look OK in gloss, maybe better

The groupset I'm using will be Shimano Ultegra. I wasn't convinced on the Chinese brands and Shimano is what I know and is easily available locally for me. I also had a Shimano crank to use.

Costs
Item           Cost USD   Cost AUD
Frame           $900.00     $1,500.00
Disc Wheel    $565.00     $941.67
Front Wheel    $285.00     $475.00
Shipping         $465.00     $775.00
Import Tax                       $422.00
Groupset & BB               $3,200.00
           Build Total AU$    $7,313.67

Negatives
ICAN do not provide torque settings for the bolts. I have asked twice but they have ignored my request. The seat clamp does have the torque range and the thru axle have these stamped on them.
The ski poles/aero bars are connected to the plate on top of the rise. I don't want these and the only way to use the top plate and mount aero bars like the Winow bars would be to cut them off. The top plate interfaces with the riser or angle piece, so to retro fit one you would need to router or machine it to fit.
There was a minor scuff on the fork. This can be polished out but I let ICAN know when I asked for the torque settings. They immediately sent me a picture of the fork prior to packing which didn't show the scuff and said they would not replace it, even though I didn't ask them to as it was minor. The bike and wheels were really well packed so I don't know where the mark came from. My advise is to film yourself opening the boxes and inspecting the goods as it would be hard to prove if there was damage.

Positives
Carbon looks good. I'm no expert but to me it looks well made
Pricing was good compared to others. If you are in the US it may not be with Trumps new tariffs
Frame design was good for me. It also accepts 32mm wide tyres
The option of custom paint is appealing. I wish I went for the cracked ice paint although the black does look good. Not sure how much extra the custom paint is.

Summary
I'm happy with the purchase so far. You need to accept that after sales service is going to be difficult or non existent, unlike major brand. I'm guessing this will be for most China bikes. Parts may be an issue to get hold of in the future.

I will post more as I get into the build

[Serge_K]

Thanks for sharing! I spoke with Crystal as soon as this beauty came out last year. Very nice to see a real one! I like that it looks a bit like the latest SHIV, meaning less beefy than many of its peers, yet, I assume, just / nearly as fast? And ofc, the 32C clearance.

So, 900 frame, let's say half of the shipping & custom fees for the frame, 465/2 + 422AUD/2, 900 + 465/2 + 274/2 = 1270 USD. I suspect / assume that for Europe, that'd be 900+175 using DDP/DPD, or USD 1075. Does Australia have tariffs? For the EU, a frame costs c. USD 130 to ship these days, and they take care of clearing customs. A TT frame weighs more, so I assume 175 instead of 130 (and it should be less), as it's pretty much charged per kilo.

What tyre width are you using / planning to use? if you put on big tyres, i'd be curious to see photos of tyre clearance.

The big question is around the extensions / plate, then. Is the mono block riser thing standard in the industry? Like is it typical to get a plate & skis from a 3rd party, when you get skis from a 3rd party, or is there an assumption that new skis somehow interface with the existing front end of the bike because there's something standard?
For comfort, i'd probably want to use skis that are more shaped, so i can rest my forearms on the skis, rather than having old school poles like you have here. But is there a standard fitting for these things?
And does ICAN offer options with the front end, or is the version you got the only one?
How wide is the base bar? I dont understand why base bars arent 36cm by default, if not 34. Last time i checked, 36cm base bars didn't exist, which i find shocking.