I have a great experience to share with the ICAN SN04 full-suspension fat bike model. It is quite something for a company to open a mold for such a niche bike like this, and after some deliberation between the other full-sus fat models (Angle Sports and Xiamen Carbon-Speed, specifically), I pulled the trigger on the ICAN. The price was $50 more than the competition, but the frame was kitted up with better hardware, screws, and the service was stellar. Shipping was faster than any of the other 10+ open mold frames I have ordered over the years.
Out-of-the-box Impressions
The paint job was spectacular, and the frame came well packaged and really caught my breath when I put it on the stand--it is so well finished! I thought Salsa Bucksaws looked trick, but this thing really does!
Riding Impressions
Geo is very reminiscent of, shall we say, the bucksaw. It rides a lot like a bucksaw, feels a lot like a bucksaw, and similar suspension kinematics. It feels heavy on the uphills, but unconditionally roars on the downhills. That's going to be the reality with most full-suspension fat builds, and I had mine built up with various kits to between 32.5 and 35 pounds. I took the 35 pound build down the trails at Burke Mountain Bike Park in Vermont, and can't forget the priceless expressions on the lift assistant faces when they lifted the fat bike onto the chair. They remarked that they'd never had anything heavier or bigger on the mountain.
At it's best with an ultralight carbon wheelset, 4.0 Jumbo Jims, and a RockShox Bluto fork the bike was ridiculously fun on dry singletrack, but uphills were tough. At it's worse with 4.8" Vee Snowshoe XLs and a Manitou Mastodon comp fork, the bike was alright on groomed singletrack and absolutely lead-heavy uphills--not fun at all.
Maximum Tire Size and Warranty Experience
I broke the rear chainstays with a 4.8" tire fully inflated while running a RockShox Monarch RT3 at ~280 PSI. This tire size is too wide, and I'd never recommend going over 4.5", I don't see why you'd have to. ICAN was extremely fast to reply to my warranty request, however, and sent TWO--not one--replacement chainstays with hardware by express DHL. Absolutely phenomenal service! Absolutely recommend this company.
Afterthoughts
This is not a bike for un-groomed snow, wide tires, or a do-it-all kind of rig. It's very niche, but super-fun on the downhills. I'm a ride-and-sell kind of guy, and I usually get my money back after building a bike. Of 10+ bikes I've built up, ridden, and sold, this was the only one I lost money on, and I lost over $800 on it. But it was incredibly fun to ride when built up at 32.5 lbs, it was just too niche for me and I didn't need FS fat. ICAN has done a wonderful job with the frame design, customer service, and warranty fulfillment, but I would just encourage anyone looking at full-suspension fat to really consider what they are looking for in a bike and how much they are willing to spend.
