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
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.

[blakeyt93]

Had also been speaking to Ican about potentially buying this frame. Looking forward to seeing the finished product. Thanks for sharing!

[Triexpress]

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.

Hey Serge, I will answer your questions a post some more info later.

I was speaking to Sherry from ICAN whose title is Sales Manager.
Cost for shipping the frame via UPS was US$165 and US$149 per wheel. I then had to pay AU$422 in Tarif tax which is 10% GST for us. UPS contacted me when it arrived in Aus to pay and get it cleared from customs. Everything else was covered by the delivery fee
Delivery was quick, around a week.

I have 25mm tyres on at the moment as these are from another bike. I think I will stick with these for now but may go bigger when they need changing. Some pictures are attached. I will show a better one if the clearance near the bottom bracket later.

The front end is what I like and don’t like on this. The way the top tube and head set/stem are in line like most of the top TT bikes and the mono riser is what I like. ICAN refused to make any changes to the front for me and said it was a standard which is fair enough.
There are so many 3rd party adapters and kits out there but I haven’t seen anything yet. The risers may be a standard size and common part, if so there could be flat plates available to purchase. I will cut the plate to remove the pole connectors and fit something better and with some additional angle. The way the cable is routed in the plate is good and nice and clean with no cables showing.
The base bar is what they call 40cm which is centre to centre or 42cm from outside to outside. As far as I know there is no alternative but I didn’t ask the question.
To be honest I have never thought about the width but I suppose it’s not needed and is extra weight and drag I guess.

Some other things I have noted whilst building is the use of Torx head bolts on the riser. I’m not sure why they used this but it just means you need 2 more tools with the Torx sizes in your kit.
Also the frame is designed for 140mm rotors so you would need the adapter on the rear calliper if using 160mm. This is probably standard but something I didn’t consider and had to buy.

[klindsey00]

how is the clearance between the seat tube and the rear tire as well as the chain stays near the BB?

[Triexpress]

how is the clearance between the seat tube and the rear tire as well as the chain stays near the BB?

Looks like there is 10mm or more each side. This is with 25mm tyres

[Triexpress]

So the bike has now been assembled. I still need to adjust it to suit me but its pretty close at the moment.
The adjustment on the seat seems to be quite far back. I like the end of my seat in line with the crank and this is right at the end of adjustment. My other Cervelo P3 and Giant Trinity were much further forward. Maybe a different seat could give more adjustment. The set clamp looks to be identical to the Cervelo P3 clamp

The plate at the top of the riser looks proprietary. I have had a quick look for the riser/spacers but cant find anything even on ICAN's website and AliExpress. If you want to add different aero bars you will either need to use the existing plate or try to make one that fits.
The risers have like a male and female end that interlock with the base bar and the top plate or angle riser. This gives them stability and is very solid which you want for the riser and aero bars.

All cables are routed in the riser and down through the stem inside the bearings.

I had to cut the fork stem when assembling the bike. Next time I would ask ICAN to do this, there is no reason why they cant as you don't adjust the bar height, its in line with the top tube.

[Triexpress]

Assembly drawing and Handlebar drawing attached for more info on how it goes together.

My next task is to add some storage to this bike. I will have a BTA (between the arms) bottle holder on the front end either 1 or 2 bottles if I can find something and use a holder behind the seat.
In the V at the bottom bracket I was looking to find something that fits to use as a storage box or get one 3d printed. Better still would be one that attached to the seat post and seat post down tube. Im not sure if there are any out there that fits or if I can get one 3D printed.
I will see what my chances are of a CAD drawing from ICAN.

I have edited my post above about no Torque settings. ICAN have now supplied a drawing with this info.