I've been riding a pair of ICAN Aero 35 Disk wheels with thru-axles and ICAN hubs for 2 years and they work great. About $655 and $100 shipping to the US.
I've had them on both of my road bikes for nearly 3 years. Thousands and thousands of miles. One rim set (50 mm) and one disk set (55 mm). They have stayed true, they're light, and I like them a lot. Both of mine have their own hub, at least not Novatek. I think they call it R01 hub. I will buy from them again the next time I buy wheels. I have one of their road bike frames too. I love it.
I have been riding the 45mm version of this exact rim for a year now and I love them. My rear needed some tensioning when they arrived but ICAN helped me get it fixed with no issues - since then I have put a couple thousand miles on them and they have been great.
Novatech hubs are good quality for the average rider and racer under most conditions. They're fairly reliable and hold up well for the money as long as they're given proper care and loving. The big point is how reasonably priced the range is, including wheels that feature DT hubs (which I suspect are made by Novatech per DT spec - but I'm just saying). That said, if I woke up tomorrow and decided to join the sheep and purchase a carbon wheelset, it would probably be any of the wheels ICAN has on offer. Keep up the good work!
I've built some training wheels with novatecs, they are nothing special honestly. For the price it's good, but you are not getting quality that's for sure. They totally work
@@Megadeth6633 I agree. If you need a decent hub to build a wheel, Novatec is a reasonable choice for money. Indeed nothing special, but they're there.
ICAN finally gets a proper roasting. Thank you. I ❤ mine and I'm glad one of the bigger channels (i.e. Hambini) gave them a good look. I can see that the "sponsored" channels don't wanna touch 'em. I ordered my 1370g (on my scale) Aero 50's with Sapim CX-Rays and their Formula hubs which up until now (even after rough New York City streets & mountain bike single track trails) are still as right as rain. The LBS I had them checked at before I mounted them told me they'd never seen a wheelset tensioned so well from the factory.
"These Boutique wheels are absolute SHIITE!" Love it! This is why I tune in and why I'm a Hambini Fan! HHHHEEEEELLLLOOOOOO ThePENIS working! Stay strong my friend. P.S. I recently purchased your BB for my 22' Specialized Allez Sprint Disc. It's the bees knees! Cheers from the Filthy streets of NYC.
back 1984 i spent 660 bucks on a bike and people thought i was nuts, i was 15 years old. 660 dollars in 84 was a lot for a peddle bike. this bike was night and day compared to K-Mart bikes.. the ease of the peddling, how it costed, the biggest thing was how light it was.
When I was 18 a pint was £2.50 and was over 5% ABV. 20 years later and I'm lucky to get a pint for under £6 and they are around 4% ABV.... So not sure what your point is here.
Thanks Hambini. Have you done a Lightbicycle review? Also they have a regular and pro series, maybe a general review and comparison video would be good. I'd also be curious to hear what you think of Onyx hubs. I'm fascinated by the sprag clutch design that features instant engagement and silent freewheeling. A bit heavy for road riding but I think the design is so great that I'm tempted. Thanks again and cheers.
Thanks for the detailed review. I also have the same question as mrgreekbeek. Perhaps you could do a video on some of the more popular hubs so our choices when wheel building are more engineering based instead of being based on anecdotal evidence or media hype. Thanks again for the great reviews and actual information.
RAF 13 hub. My wheel builder chose it. Even some e commerce wheel builder said it's there choice. Although my wheel builder did state it's all about the bearings. Hubs don't matter much if the fit is ok. Hence I went with Ntn bearings
I am one of those happy customers. And yes, I have gone through rear hub bearings on both my rear road wheels (heavy rider on crap roads). I have another set I have been using on gravel with DT hubs that are still perfect.
Had a set, could not get my Vittoria Corsa Control tires to seat on these wheels. Once I did the air kept escaping and getting flat. I sent mine back within 2 weeks but when I was riding them I really like the ride on our crappy roads. Ended up spending more and getting the Winspace, no problems with these after 1 season.
Great Video, i waited on a Review for those Novatec Hubs. They are also available with a Carbon Middle Spacer going for 135.-$ Front/Rear. A Set of DT350 Straightpull is around 225.-
Top class, reviewing the things normal people actually use. Talking of such I have seen much on youtube of reviews of the Winspace T1500 Frameset. However I am interested in the SLC2.0 Frameset. I think I know a 5 year old that I would like to see give it a reeming... Does it hold up?
@@LoscoeLad thanks for the info. I would love to see that. Hoping it’s got a run brake option, I don’t hate disc brakes but I want t do a rim brake builds
This is a very comprehensive review. thanks for sharing. do you have anything comparing to the big brands like DT swiss, Zipp etc?. you mentioned you hate DT swiss hubs, can i ask you why? i was thinking about getting some but now im skeptic...Cheers
I Have their Aero55 Wheels. Bought a few years ago and never had an issue. Put about 10k on them on my bike to work bike. Only real difference I find is the braking (RIMS) compared to my Giant Racing wheels is defiantly not as good. But overall for the money, cant go wrong.
I was waiting to see if you would review these wheels, finally just ordered a set anyway. They showed up yesterday and I put 50 miles on them. Initial thoughts are positive and it’s nice to have them confirmed. The price difference to go up to a set of elite drives just didn’t seem worth it.
1 years with Ican FL 50's... Novatech rear hub bearings needed replacement & can't be trued due to seized nipples. Rode nice when new, but need to be re spoked.
Are there going to be any major brands like enve coming up? I know they aren’t sending you the wheels for free but it would be cool to have that in your catalog
Hambini, from a business/engineering point of view, whats the reason the industry is pushing wider, wider, wider so hard? Is it easier (cheaper) for them to manufacture wider rims for some reason? Or is it a case of "we need to start a new trend to get people to buy new wheels and in 10 years we'll switch back to narrower wheels"?
My genuine belief is they need to sell something. A wider rim is structurally much weaker at similar pressures so as a result it REQUIRES a lower pressure to work, the hoop or pull out stress is quite significant. see here www.hambini.com/cycling-aerodynamics-wider-tires-and-rims-examined-in-engineering-detail/
Hambini, can you please do a video about Superteam wheels? I'm very interested to know how they measure up to your exacting standards and scrutiny. Thank you!
These look very similar in profile to my 38mm FarSports wheels, which are a similar price point and also very good to ride. I wonder if they're coming out the same factory.
I built a gravel bike for a friend a few months ago; using ICAN gravel wheelset as is from the factory, no modifications. They struck me as entirely decent. No telling about the hub durability as yet since there’s not been enough usage to report anything worthwhile. The only thing useful I can report is, the freehub pawls had been so liberally greased, and not with a freehub grease (looked like park hpg). The pawls began sticking causing chain slip within 100km. A thorough cleaning and a bit of shimano free hub grease solved it.
@@jerryjanusz1410 I think for aero it’s certainly not ideal. But, every rider has different needs/goals. If you are a strong rider and consistently ride at speeds above 30kph then aero becomes a useful factor. If you’re racing or competing in club events, maybe the aero factor matters. My opinion is, for almost all riders aero stuff is a negligible factor. Even for pro riders stuff like this is “marginal gain” stuff. For most riders it’s a non factor, a marginal loss at most. The same can be said for carbon frames, carbon wheels, and cassettes with higher gear cogs with fewer than 13 teeth. Marketing has essentially mandated carbon as the standard, and higher gearing cassettes, but the difference in weight for carbon, and speed from higher gearing is barely a factor for most riders, but price difference is a factor for all. I have a carbon frame bike, carbon wheelset and lightweight components. It’s a fine ride. I also have two steel frame bikes, one of which has alloy wheels. These are also fine rides, but in addition, more comfortable than the carbon bike. I notice the weight difference when I’m carrying the bike up the 20 stairs from my house to road grade level. :) So it is with the 36c tires I put on the Swiss cross. For most riders, a more comfortable ride translates into doing longer rides. There’s no better upgrade you can do to your bike for improving “ride feel” than 1) using better tires such as open tubulars or tubulars, 2) better tubes such as latex 3) a wider tire. All of these 3 add to a tire’s ability to roll over road irregularities with lower rolling resistance doing so. So, it comes down to whether you need marginal gains like aero savings, which most riders don’t ride fast enough to realize a gain, or ride feel and rolling resistance gains that will be immediately noticeable to any rider. Every rider has different needs. I’m not a racer, I’m a rider. And at age 70, I feel all the aches and pains my body has accrued from the years. I will opt for lower rolling resistance and better ride feel. But I still love riding my carbon bike for other reasons! Thanks for your good question!
@@theunabiker4133 full carbon bikes are good motivation for me since i dont have one. Price is a very big factor for me since i have to have 4 bikes (2 road and 2 MTB) between me and for my son. Our goal is to beat all the ones with full carbon bikes in our group to prove a point that non pros dont need them. I do upgraded 1 RB To a cheap 50mm chinese wheelset (unbrandedsuperteam with cheapest novatech hubs novatech hubs. It is already a year old with almost a more than thousand km and still without any issues.
@@bolboltik4546 good luck with point proving, and it’s nice to hear your novatec report. Buy a carbon frame if the groovy design lines make you happy, or if you carry it for exercise instead of ride it. Otherwise, a good alu frame is cheap and gets you around just fine, or a steel frame if you want to know what people mean by “ride feel”.
@@bolboltik4546 I also ride a well balanced Santini steel bike on Shimano 600 hubs with meticulously balanced tires. Valve comes to a stop at three and nine o'clock. Anyhow. It's fun to compete on the "track" cause crapvelos, BMCs and mostly canyons in my area can't get me out of their slipstream.
have you ever heard wheel set from a company named deerobust? they are quite famous with the lightweight wheels. for example the 30mm deep wheels with 26mm external wide only weigh at around 938 grams with extalite hubs. Im interesting about your thoughts about those wheels, either with the extralite hubs or with the deerobust self made hubs. Also with that super light weight wheels, i thought super light could also mean that the durability of the wheels itself(carbon layer) is worse than a set of wheels that is heavier. so my thought bring me to an ilustration of a chips, when you drops a chips from a certain weight, it will just break easily, meaning that super lightweight wheels also as fragile as that. is that true?maybe you have any plan on reviewing this wheels in the future ✌
I got ICAN aero disk 50mm deep. But I had quite a strugle put the tyre on the rim. Side of the tyre wont sit properly to inner rim edge. Even the rims are true when the the tyre IS on it feels woobly lateraly.
@Hambini. I bought the disc hub versions and had to send them back. The Shimano freehub was to big to fit a cassette on. ICAN CS told me to file the freehub down so I could get my cassette on, which I did. When I rode the wheels I could feel the rear wheel oscillating up and down and when I looked at wheel rotating in a stand you could see the hub moving up and down and the bike rocked back and forth in the stand, which meant to me the hub bearing seats where not parallel. After lots of back and forth with ICAN CS I sent them back for a refund. The wheel weights were also well over specification. Very Disappointed!
that's very disappointing and I suspect to do with the hubs - I would stress that is no excuse. If anything, the shortcoming in this wheelset is the hub. THe one's I have and seemingly lots of others have been okay.
I think the ProX wheels are a better overall package unless you need the aerodynamics or the weight. The hub on the ProX is better and importantly for me they stop better. To be clear, they are stronger in different areas, it's just how important those areas are to you as an individual. If you need the aero or the lightweight then the ICAN is better.
Can hambini review caden wheels? I believe they have head quarter in UK and france. I wonder if he ever comes across them carbon wheels. Its supposed to be value for money here in oz compared to big brands.
It would be interesting to see a video about what you get for paying more, like how you bridge the gap between these wheels and winspace, something like that. Because it's 1x Vs 2x, and whether it's justified, idk? Those wheels are widely considered reliable, and years ago, it was THE argument against Chinese carbon, of " I'm not riding these because they can kill you".
I'd like to see what you think of the Chris King hubs. To me, there's nothing better. Bearings is everything. I9 use Enduro Max = absolute crap bearing. Not sure about Onyx or DT Swiss.
There's actually a massive problem with the ABG insert on those Novatec freehubs. If you look closely they are indeed glued in, but on most of them the glue seal is not perfect and it is an incredibly easy way for water to bypass the seal to the ratchet 🤣
That sucks, did you try sealing it with glue or epoxy or something? I use the normal novatec freehub, which doesn't last very long. I really hate alu freehubs actually, such a bad material to use. But I get it, you can sell more parts to the consumer and lower the weight numbers. win-win for the a$$ holes
I have very similar/identical novatec hubs. The fit for the rear DS bearing is a bit tight and felt rough when brand new. However, good enough for cheap alloy training wheels. I would NOT use them with carbon rims as you can do better (I use Shimano hubs instead)
price actual quality isn’t a great ratio all things considered~ go out and look at how the other hubs give you better materials and are marginally more 💰 than DT…but ride what you like! asses on bikes are less likely to be asses in cars=-P
I'd echo what Veritas has said. The other things which people don't look at is the abomination of bearings they use. They are labelled as ISO sizes but aren't. Of slightly more concern for the masses would be the undesirable axial force generated by the disc moving forwards and backwards when you are moving. That load has to be absorbed somewhere and it's into the deep groove radial bearings - bearings that weren't designed for large axial loads. The axial loads aren't great but it's high frequency pure axial when you freewheel. This tends to cause premature bearing failure and high vibration.
I have a pair or Ican wheels and they are fast, but my Novatec sprocket creaks once in a while when I stop pedaling and pedal again, i can even feel the vibration and a kind of little jump, maybe the spawls?
Who is SGS? Are they a recognised certification company? Bought a bike ages ago that had a certification from them but i've no idea if they're a recognised entity
Hi, how does it compare to Hyper SE series, if you have a chance to also test the Hyper SE series, I'd appreciate it, I am struggling between the two, do you have comment for me, thank you.
just curious, looking for a carbon wheelset for a commuter, needs support 135kg least (bags)...any suggestions? edit- damn you on the finasteride comment- just popped one meself lol (your hair is gorgeous though, mate- jelly af here)
Stop looking at lightweight carbon wheels and go to a wheelbuilder asking for at least a 32h front and 36h rear in 3cross pattern with Sapim or dt double butted spokes, brass nipples, hope hubs and mavic rims with double eyelets. Might sound boring but its a classic combo and it's a classic cos it works.
@@blex5579 just get some enduro mtb alloy wheels, there is no need for that excessive amount of spokes tbh. I'm running 28/28 on my dh bike and haven't had a problem with them for 2 years.
Very nice review, thanks! Now I have a question. I'm currently shopping for wheels for my gravel bike and after watching your videos and reading other reviews, I've stopped at 2 brands ICAN and Pro-x. So, would you rather get ICAN wheelset with novatec hubs or Pro-X wheelset with DT swiss 350 hubs? They are both more or less the same specs: 46mm and 44mm deep, 21mm internal width. The price difference is only 70$ for Pro-x ones, due to hubs.
I have the ICAN Aero 45's with the ICAN centerlock disc hubs - which AFAIK are rebranded Novatec 411/412. I've also built a couple wheel sets with DT 350 and 240 that are on hybrids. When I bought the ICANs it looked more or less like the hubs were as easy to service and Hambini seems to back that up. Looking at ICAN's specs the Novatecs were a few grams lighter (close enough) than the DT 240s but at the time were nearly $500 cheaper (Canadian pesos) so I went for them. So far I have zero complaints with the ICAN (Novatec) hubs and actually like them better than the 240s... that 36t rachet is annoyingly loud plus its sound signature is equally annoying. The 350s with the 18t ratchet are much better in this regard. As long as the hub is well machined, remains intact, is servicable with common tools, and doesn't chew through bearings, I'm not sure there's anything meaningful to compare in hubs beyond weight. IME the Novatecs check all those boxes and are cheaper and lighter then the 350s, but you don't get a nice sticker or bragging rights. What's worth what is up to you but seeing what these "off brand" hubs are like I'm much less enamoured with DT.
@@ryanmcivor1532 Thanks a lot for your input, it really helps! Update: Just ordered Alpha 46s with custom spec hubs. ICAN has absolutely amazing customer service.
What are Mavic SLR 45 and 65 wheels like? They are pretty affordable for a French made wheel and have some nice touches like no nipple holes inside for tubeless installation and trickier tubeless tires go easier on them than on LB wheels.
I've got the SL 40s which I've been happy with. The only thing I've found is that after riding through a couple of heavy rainstorms, quite a lot of water got past the seals and sat in the hub body/bearings. But it's really easy to pull the ID360 hub off and get access to dry it out if it gets soaked and put a bit of grease on every now again
I've done a few thousand miles on SLR 45's and they've been perfect. Tubeless setup with a track pump is easy. They ride so comfy and smooth. I also have zipp 303s and the Mavic are significantly nicer in how they ride on rough roads and how the bike handles
Would love if you could get the new Ultegra & dura ace rear hubs reviewed… I own a pair of c60 Ultegra 8170 disc wheels and are extremely stable in crosswinds. Not the lightest but I would love to find some aero results somewhere
@hambini Best wide Allroad/gravel wheel under £750 right now? Light bicycle? Farsports? 9VELO? Elite Wheels? Ican? Winspace? Hunt?… just kidding about the last one. Help ppl
@@wufler28 So I’ve been learning to build my own wheels and doing a lot of research into wheels in general the past few months. IMO the best “off the rack” all-road/gravel wheelset is probably the 9Velo 2024 G2.0 or the Light Bicycle AR25 custom wheels.
@RollinRat thank you for the insight, im a nerd so thanks for telling me ck makes their own bearings, that's so cool and yes, i agree, those campy record 10 speed hubs and shimano 7800 are special, shame to hear about dt swiss, ive been riding their 240s on my commuter and i really love them.
I've had mixed success with novatecs over the years. My 412db rear hub had slippage from the day the wheels arrived. 4 pawls alloy freehub non ABG version. I had the axle disintegrate after a couple of hundred KMs which was a shock and I happened to have a spare axle from a Novatec rebadged hub. Novatec customer service was atrocious and non existent here in Australia. I'd prefer my powerway anyday they've lasted for years if abuse.
I have tried to communicate with ICAN. It is quite difficult as it is always a new person who follows up on the conversation. Also, I am a bit confused that ICAN Cycling and ICAN Bikes are not exactly the same company or sales department. Weird
Where from cost of this wheels build up? There's nothing fancy about them, I guess composite rims cost a bunch of money. Alu rims with same hubs and spokes would cost at leat 2x less, isn't it so?
after all these wheel reviews you must have a perfect wheel design materials/cost/components in mind, get yee to china and get it built young hambini, we are watching, waiting and wanting...
Just like banging the hairdresser, sometimes you couldn't wait and that's what happened to me. I couldn't wait for this review so I got a set of the older FL50 (50mm Deep, 18.6mm internal) wheels with Novatec hubs. Several hundred miles / km later, it's still going strong, even though I'm a heavy rider on crap roads. I would say this would be rated as "The Shizz" simply because it works and isn't over hyped. Now Winspace... Now that's the Dog's B0llocks.
Seeing your past reviews on wheels. There is so much that can go wrong with carbon wheels. Even paying top dollar you are getting something horrible. Not sure about the manufacturing process but if every unit is not manufactured in similar batch but tendered individually there is no telling the next I CAN wheel would be same or not. That being said 700 dollars is a lot when you compare them with 60 dollar Dt Swiss aluminium wheel and should be relevant to only to competitive folks. But we can't deny the aesthetic appeal and ppl who just wana spend a ton on there bike considering it as hobby or worse buying it for others to get applaud.
There is always the suspicion "it's a Hambini Special" in the Air. Why don't you ask the Community to send you a pair of their wheels in excange for the pair a company decided you to send for a review?
Trash hubs. I’ve had many hubs and these are by far the worst…ok so they cost probably a tenth of what most if my hubs cost. But at least the expensive hubs I’ve used last tens of thousands of kms with nothing more than a new bearing or two every now and then.
Anything that price needs a damn fine Reaming chap....who cares...if it's light...round and therefore rolls it's de riguer.... when everyone is debating it's Miles that you ain't smashing.....keep zipping them a new one Hambini....ta! ✌️
This vid is just more proof of how wildly overpriced many CF bike components and the poser wheels from Enve, Zipp, Princeton, Campy, etc… are. This wheelset weighs right in the same neighborhood if not less than all the CF wheelsets from those manufacturers with a similar rim depth (its even lighter than some of them) and guaranteed these will perform immaterially different from any of those “boutique” nosebleed priced joker wheels from an aero standpoint. But status symbol seeking poser clowns will continue to happily shovel out $2,000 to $4,000 for silly priced wheels marketed to such suckers. 😀 Nice review Hamb!
![Seungmin "그렇게, 천천히, 우리(As we are)" | [Stray Kids : SKZ-PLAYER]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/kAzmhLHePqU/mqdefault.jpg)
I for one really appreciate when i can get to the nipples from behind. I find if i can't, it's really rather a handful.
my kind of comment.!
Cor ey!.. getting those nipples from behind Mum warned us about statistic chaps
Woah
Surprised he didn't list this feature under "Tit Bits" starting at 14:15.
Hambini: can you survive a reaming?
Ican: I can
I've been riding a pair of ICAN Aero 35 Disk wheels with thru-axles and ICAN hubs for 2 years and they work great. About $655 and $100 shipping to the US.
I've had them on both of my road bikes for nearly 3 years. Thousands and thousands of miles. One rim set (50 mm) and one disk set (55 mm). They have stayed true, they're light, and I like them a lot. Both of mine have their own hub, at least not Novatek. I think they call it R01 hub. I will buy from them again the next time I buy wheels. I have one of their road bike frames too. I love it.
I have been riding the 45mm version of this exact rim for a year now and I love them. My rear needed some tensioning when they arrived but ICAN helped me get it fixed with no issues - since then I have put a couple thousand miles on them and they have been great.
One of your best reviews. Consumers love this type of thing and could bring you a whole new audience.👍🏽
Novatech hubs are good quality for the average rider and racer under most conditions. They're fairly reliable and hold up well for the money as long as they're given proper care and loving. The big point is how reasonably priced the range is, including wheels that feature DT hubs (which I suspect are made by Novatech per DT spec - but I'm just saying). That said, if I woke up tomorrow and decided to join the sheep and purchase a carbon wheelset, it would probably be any of the wheels ICAN has on offer. Keep up the good work!
Thanks for the info about the Novatecs. Was considering putting some on a budget enduro bike, and you just sold me. Thank you!
@@RC-fp1tl Yer welcome. Don't forget to send me my usual commission and an extra ten percent to Hambini. 😀
Novatec tends to overgrease their hubs. If you get a "slipping chain", you might want to look inside.
I've built some training wheels with novatecs, they are nothing special honestly. For the price it's good, but you are not getting quality that's for sure. They totally work
@@Megadeth6633 I agree. If you need a decent hub to build a wheel, Novatec is a reasonable choice for money. Indeed nothing special, but they're there.
ICAN finally gets a proper roasting. Thank you. I ❤ mine and I'm glad one of the bigger channels (i.e. Hambini) gave them a good look. I can see that the "sponsored" channels don't wanna touch 'em. I ordered my 1370g (on my scale) Aero 50's with Sapim CX-Rays and their Formula hubs which up until now (even after rough New York City streets & mountain bike single track trails) are still as right as rain. The LBS I had them checked at before I mounted them told me they'd never seen a wheelset tensioned so well from the factory.
"These Boutique wheels are absolute SHIITE!"
Love it! This is why I tune in and why I'm a Hambini Fan! HHHHEEEEELLLLOOOOOO
ThePENIS working!
Stay strong my friend.
P.S. I recently purchased your BB for my 22' Specialized Allez Sprint Disc. It's the bees knees!
Cheers from the Filthy streets of NYC.
I've been using Novatec hubs (front 291/rear 482) for 6 years, more than 10k miles on largely bad UK roads, and never had any problem.
back 1984 i spent 660 bucks on a bike and people thought i was nuts, i was 15 years old. 660 dollars in 84 was a lot for a peddle bike. this bike was night and day compared to K-Mart bikes.. the ease of the peddling, how it costed, the biggest thing was how light it was.
When I was 18 a pint was £2.50 and was over 5% ABV. 20 years later and I'm lucky to get a pint for under £6 and they are around 4% ABV....
So not sure what your point is here.
@@TrickyTree84 I think this video reminded him of this and he wanted to share. Seems a little obvious.
Well a monthly salary was 800$ so it was a lot
🍾🤺
@@CloudSpirals see you at the top 100%
Wow what a great review. Didnt expect that proffesional approach. Keep on!
Thanks Hambini. Have you done a Lightbicycle review? Also they have a regular and pro series, maybe a general review and comparison video would be good. I'd also be curious to hear what you think of Onyx hubs. I'm fascinated by the sprag clutch design that features instant engagement and silent freewheeling. A bit heavy for road riding but I think the design is so great that I'm tempted. Thanks again and cheers.
Thanks for the detailed review. I also have the same question as mrgreekbeek. Perhaps you could do a video on some of the more popular hubs so our choices when wheel building are more engineering based instead of being based on anecdotal evidence or media hype. Thanks again for the great reviews and actual information.
RAF 13 hub. My wheel builder chose it. Even some e commerce wheel builder said it's there choice. Although my wheel builder did state it's all about the bearings. Hubs don't matter much if the fit is ok. Hence I went with Ntn bearings
I am one of those happy customers. And yes, I have gone through rear hub bearings on both my rear road wheels (heavy rider on crap roads). I have another set I have been using on gravel with DT hubs that are still perfect.
@bratt If I may ask what do you weigh? Im 227 pounds bike not included and im worried about weight regardless of claimed limits on website. Thanks
@@shywest I’m at 200 right now and dropping. I have been as high at 227.
Had a set, could not get my Vittoria Corsa Control tires to seat on these wheels. Once I did the air kept escaping and getting flat. I sent mine back within 2 weeks but when I was riding them I really like the ride on our crappy roads. Ended up spending more and getting the Winspace, no problems with these after 1 season.
Finally a review series worth a damn. I don’t beleive anything until it’s in an excel chart! 😂😂
Great review! Would love to see a Hambini special on rear hubs (in terms of reliability, performance & value 🍻)
Hi Hambini if possible are you able to review Partington carbon wheels, they go for $8000 a set. Cheers
Hi. Ever heard about Avian wheelset? The CR3 model weight at 1370g for 50mm. Come with ceramic bearing. And price around $650 on ali
Lots of great info…..along with some sarcasm makes for a great video.
Any plans to review a BTLOS wheel set?
I have a set of the Aero 40 Disc. Thousands of km. No issues, as good or better than my name brand wheels!
Great Video, i waited on a Review for those Novatec Hubs. They are also available with a Carbon Middle Spacer going for 135.-$ Front/Rear. A Set of DT350 Straightpull is around 225.-
I have Ican track wheels, not yet raced on, deep section rims, tubular rims. looks good
Top class, reviewing the things normal people actually use. Talking of such I have seen much on youtube of reviews of the Winspace T1500 Frameset. However I am interested in the SLC2.0 Frameset. I think I know a 5 year old that I would like to see give it a reeming... Does it hold up?
I've heard Winspace have a new frame in the works for (possibly) December.. Maybe it'll be on here early
@@LoscoeLad thanks for the info. I would love to see that. Hoping it’s got a run brake option, I don’t hate disc brakes but I want t do a rim brake builds
This is a very comprehensive review. thanks for sharing. do you have anything comparing to the big brands like DT swiss, Zipp etc?. you mentioned you hate DT swiss hubs, can i ask you why? i was thinking about getting some but now im skeptic...Cheers
I Have their Aero55 Wheels. Bought a few years ago and never had an issue. Put about 10k on them on my bike to work bike. Only real difference I find is the braking (RIMS) compared to my Giant Racing wheels is defiantly not as good. But overall for the money, cant go wrong.
I was waiting to see if you would review these wheels, finally just ordered a set anyway. They showed up yesterday and I put 50 miles on them. Initial thoughts are positive and it’s nice to have them confirmed. The price difference to go up to a set of elite drives just didn’t seem worth it.
Elite sells wheels at a pretty good price too tho, but yes, I agree Ican tops it just about
thanks Hambini for the thorough review. What is the width profile of the rim across the section? At brake pad the specs indicate a 25mm width...
1 years with Ican FL 50's... Novatech rear hub bearings needed replacement & can't be trued due to seized nipples. Rode nice when new, but need to be re spoked.
Are there going to be any major brands like enve coming up? I know they aren’t sending you the wheels for free but it would be cool to have that in your catalog
I'm working on it. Running the entire youtube channel is much more difficult now as I've gotten "bigger".
@@Hambini I can only imagine. Keep up the great work dude, your hairdresser and peppa pig are both proud
Hambini, from a business/engineering point of view, whats the reason the industry is pushing wider, wider, wider so hard? Is it easier (cheaper) for them to manufacture wider rims for some reason? Or is it a case of "we need to start a new trend to get people to buy new wheels and in 10 years we'll switch back to narrower wheels"?
My genuine belief is they need to sell something. A wider rim is structurally much weaker at similar pressures so as a result it REQUIRES a lower pressure to work, the hoop or pull out stress is quite significant. see here www.hambini.com/cycling-aerodynamics-wider-tires-and-rims-examined-in-engineering-detail/
@@Hambini give ya self a gold star sunshine, you are on it.
Hambini, can you please do a video about Superteam wheels? I'm very interested to know how they measure up to your exacting standards and scrutiny. Thank you!
These look very similar in profile to my 38mm FarSports wheels, which are a similar price point and also very good to ride. I wonder if they're coming out the same factory.
Thank you hambini
I built a gravel bike for a friend a few months ago; using ICAN gravel wheelset as is from the factory, no modifications. They struck me as entirely decent. No telling about the hub durability as yet since there’s not been enough usage to report anything worthwhile. The only thing useful I can report is, the freehub pawls had been so liberally greased, and not with a freehub grease (looked like park hpg). The pawls began sticking causing chain slip within 100km. A thorough cleaning and a bit of shimano free hub grease solved it.
Doesn't putting a35mm tire on 25 mm wheel negate the aero?
@@jerryjanusz1410 I think for aero it’s certainly not ideal. But, every rider has different needs/goals. If you are a strong rider and consistently ride at speeds above 30kph then aero becomes a useful factor. If you’re racing or competing in club events, maybe the aero factor matters. My opinion is, for almost all riders aero stuff is a negligible factor. Even for pro riders stuff like this is “marginal gain” stuff. For most riders it’s a non factor, a marginal loss at most.
The same can be said for carbon frames, carbon wheels, and cassettes with higher gear cogs with fewer than 13 teeth. Marketing has essentially mandated carbon as the standard, and higher gearing cassettes, but the difference in weight for carbon, and speed from higher gearing is barely a factor for most riders, but price difference is a factor for all.
I have a carbon frame bike, carbon wheelset and lightweight components. It’s a fine ride. I also have two steel frame bikes, one of which has alloy wheels. These are also fine rides, but in addition, more comfortable than the carbon bike. I notice the weight difference when I’m carrying the bike up the 20 stairs from my house to road grade level. :)
So it is with the 36c tires I put on the Swiss cross. For most riders, a more comfortable ride translates into doing longer rides. There’s no better upgrade you can do to your bike for improving “ride feel” than 1) using better tires such as open tubulars or tubulars, 2) better tubes such as latex 3) a wider tire.
All of these 3 add to a tire’s ability to roll over road irregularities with lower rolling resistance doing so.
So, it comes down to whether you need marginal gains like aero savings, which most riders don’t ride fast enough to realize a gain, or ride feel and rolling resistance gains that will be immediately noticeable to any rider.
Every rider has different needs. I’m not a racer, I’m a rider. And at age 70, I feel all the aches and pains my body has accrued from the years. I will opt for lower rolling resistance and better ride feel. But I still love riding my carbon bike for other reasons!
Thanks for your good question!
@@theunabiker4133 full carbon bikes are good motivation for me since i dont have one.
Price is a very big factor for me since i have to have 4 bikes (2 road and 2 MTB) between me and for my son.
Our goal is to beat all the ones with full carbon bikes in our group to prove a point that non pros dont need them. I do upgraded 1 RB To a cheap 50mm chinese wheelset (unbrandedsuperteam with cheapest novatech hubs novatech hubs. It is already a year old with almost a more than thousand km and still without any issues.
@@bolboltik4546 good luck with point proving, and it’s nice to hear your novatec report.
Buy a carbon frame if the groovy design lines make you happy, or if you carry it for exercise instead of ride it. Otherwise, a good alu frame is cheap and gets you around just fine, or a steel frame if you want to know what people mean by “ride feel”.
@@bolboltik4546 I also ride a well balanced Santini steel bike on Shimano 600 hubs with meticulously balanced tires. Valve comes to a stop at three and nine o'clock. Anyhow. It's fun to compete on the "track" cause crapvelos, BMCs and mostly canyons in my area can't get me out of their slipstream.
have you ever heard wheel set from a company named deerobust? they are quite famous with the lightweight wheels. for example the 30mm deep wheels with 26mm external wide only weigh at around 938 grams with extalite hubs. Im interesting about your thoughts about those wheels, either with the extralite hubs or with the deerobust self made hubs. Also with that super light weight wheels, i thought super light could also mean that the durability of the wheels itself(carbon layer) is worse than a set of wheels that is heavier. so my thought bring me to an ilustration of a chips, when you drops a chips from a certain weight, it will just break easily, meaning that super lightweight wheels also as fragile as that. is that true?maybe you have any plan on reviewing this wheels in the future ✌
I don't have these wheels but I do have these hubs. I was wondering what that 10-speed spacer was. Glad it wasn't important to my build!!
I got ICAN aero disk 50mm deep. But I had quite a strugle put the tyre on the rim. Side of the tyre wont sit properly to inner rim edge. Even the rims are true when the the tyre IS on it feels woobly lateraly.
@Hambini. I bought the disc hub versions and had to send them back. The Shimano freehub was to big to fit a cassette on. ICAN CS told me to file the freehub down so I could get my cassette on, which I did. When I rode the wheels I could feel the rear wheel oscillating up and down and when I looked at wheel rotating in a stand you could see the hub moving up and down and the bike rocked back and forth in the stand, which meant to me the hub bearing seats where not parallel. After lots of back and forth with ICAN CS I sent them back for a refund. The wheel weights were also well over specification. Very Disappointed!
that's very disappointing and I suspect to do with the hubs - I would stress that is no excuse. If anything, the shortcoming in this wheelset is the hub. THe one's I have and seemingly lots of others have been okay.
@@Hambini The Hubs were their own D01 hubs.
Could you review and or test a set of Scribe Aero Wide+ 50-D Carbon Wheelset ?
How do you compare them to the previous reviewed ProX wheels overall? and how does the hubs compare?
replying for the notif if hambini replies
I think the ProX wheels are a better overall package unless you need the aerodynamics or the weight. The hub on the ProX is better and importantly for me they stop better. To be clear, they are stronger in different areas, it's just how important those areas are to you as an individual. If you need the aero or the lightweight then the ICAN is better.
Could you do a review on the Vel carbon wheels by Sigma cycles please?
someone will need to send a set in. I wouldn't go out of my way to review them.
Can hambini review caden wheels? I believe they have head quarter in UK and france. I wonder if he ever comes across them carbon wheels. Its supposed to be value for money here in oz compared to big brands.
It would be interesting to see a video about what you get for paying more, like how you bridge the gap between these wheels and winspace, something like that. Because it's 1x Vs 2x, and whether it's justified, idk? Those wheels are widely considered reliable, and years ago, it was THE argument against Chinese carbon, of " I'm not riding these because they can kill you".
I'd like to see what you think of the Chris King hubs. To me, there's nothing better. Bearings is everything. I9 use Enduro Max = absolute crap bearing. Not sure about Onyx or DT Swiss.
@RollinRat Hence why they're on every one of my bikes. 😁👍
There's actually a massive problem with the ABG insert on those Novatec freehubs. If you look closely they are indeed glued in, but on most of them the glue seal is not perfect and it is an incredibly easy way for water to bypass the seal to the ratchet 🤣
That sucks, did you try sealing it with glue or epoxy or something? I use the normal novatec freehub, which doesn't last very long. I really hate alu freehubs actually, such a bad material to use. But I get it, you can sell more parts to the consumer and lower the weight numbers. win-win for the a$$ holes
I know PT has covered light bicycle rims but you have any input on groved brake tracks or epoxy differences as far "cooking" wheels on decents
I have very similar/identical novatec hubs. The fit for the rear DS bearing is a bit tight and felt rough when brand new. However, good enough for cheap alloy training wheels. I would NOT use them with carbon rims as you can do better (I use Shimano hubs instead)
Why don't you rate DT hubs? Have you ever done a survey of hubs? I'd be interested in seeing that...
price actual quality isn’t a great ratio all things considered~ go out and look at how the other hubs give you better materials and are marginally more 💰 than DT…but ride what you like! asses on bikes are less likely to be asses in cars=-P
I'd echo what Veritas has said. The other things which people don't look at is the abomination of bearings they use. They are labelled as ISO sizes but aren't.
Of slightly more concern for the masses would be the undesirable axial force generated by the disc moving forwards and backwards when you are moving. That load has to be absorbed somewhere and it's into the deep groove radial bearings - bearings that weren't designed for large axial loads. The axial loads aren't great but it's high frequency pure axial when you freewheel. This tends to cause premature bearing failure and high vibration.
My iCan wheels cost the same, but they were trispoke/disc, so arguably more aero lol. (and not going to have any spoke issues or water infiltration)
I have a pair or Ican wheels and they are fast, but my Novatec sprocket creaks once in a while when I stop pedaling and pedal again, i can even feel the vibration and a kind of little jump, maybe the spawls?
Who is SGS? Are they a recognised certification company? Bought a bike ages ago that had a certification from them but i've no idea if they're a recognised entity
I noticed two tdf bikes using 12 mm axle. So going with 9 mm wouldn't be recommended I guess?
Most amazing youtube channel I have come across better than Oz Cycling which is saying a lot.
what's your knowledge of Caden Wheels from Austrailia?
I only take interest if they have scantilly clad women as their brand "brassadors"
@@Hambini 😂😂😂
Is the cog working?
Had sweats when you said you’d start at the rim and work your way inwards
Hi, how does it compare to Hyper SE series, if you have a chance to also test the Hyper SE series, I'd appreciate it, I am struggling between the two, do you have comment for me, thank you.
just curious, looking for a carbon wheelset for a commuter, needs support 135kg least (bags)...any suggestions?
edit- damn you on the finasteride comment- just popped one meself lol
(your hair is gorgeous though, mate- jelly af here)
Stop looking at lightweight carbon wheels and go to a wheelbuilder asking for at least a 32h front and 36h rear in 3cross pattern with Sapim or dt double butted spokes, brass nipples, hope hubs and mavic rims with double eyelets. Might sound boring but its a classic combo and it's a classic cos it works.
@@jonnythelegs2597 yeah, i thought so aswell, didn`t know if tech developed since i last could be arsed... ;)
@@blex5579 just get some enduro mtb alloy wheels, there is no need for that excessive amount of spokes tbh. I'm running 28/28 on my dh bike and haven't had a problem with them for 2 years.
@@mt4xcs
sounds like a plan, thanks!
@@jonnythelegs2597 lol 36h for a commuter? You still running steel rims...🤣
Anyone have any experience or reviews on the ican 6 spoke wheelset?
Very nice review, thanks! Now I have a question. I'm currently shopping for wheels for my gravel bike and after watching your videos and reading other reviews, I've stopped at 2 brands ICAN and Pro-x. So, would you rather get ICAN wheelset with novatec hubs or Pro-X wheelset with DT swiss 350 hubs? They are both more or less the same specs: 46mm and 44mm deep, 21mm internal width. The price difference is only 70$ for Pro-x ones, due to hubs.
I have the ICAN Aero 45's with the ICAN centerlock disc hubs - which AFAIK are rebranded Novatec 411/412. I've also built a couple wheel sets with DT 350 and 240 that are on hybrids. When I bought the ICANs it looked more or less like the hubs were as easy to service and Hambini seems to back that up. Looking at ICAN's specs the Novatecs were a few grams lighter (close enough) than the DT 240s but at the time were nearly $500 cheaper (Canadian pesos) so I went for them. So far I have zero complaints with the ICAN (Novatec) hubs and actually like them better than the 240s... that 36t rachet is annoyingly loud plus its sound signature is equally annoying. The 350s with the 18t ratchet are much better in this regard.
As long as the hub is well machined, remains intact, is servicable with common tools, and doesn't chew through bearings, I'm not sure there's anything meaningful to compare in hubs beyond weight. IME the Novatecs check all those boxes and are cheaper and lighter then the 350s, but you don't get a nice sticker or bragging rights. What's worth what is up to you but seeing what these "off brand" hubs are like I'm much less enamoured with DT.
@@ryanmcivor1532 Thanks a lot for your input, it really helps!
Update: Just ordered Alpha 46s with custom spec hubs. ICAN has absolutely amazing customer service.
What are Mavic SLR 45 and 65 wheels like? They are pretty affordable for a French made wheel and have some nice touches like no nipple holes inside for tubeless installation and trickier tubeless tires go easier on them than on LB wheels.
I've got the SL 40s which I've been happy with. The only thing I've found is that after riding through a couple of heavy rainstorms, quite a lot of water got past the seals and sat in the hub body/bearings. But it's really easy to pull the ID360 hub off and get access to dry it out if it gets soaked and put a bit of grease on every now again
I've done a few thousand miles on SLR 45's and they've been perfect. Tubeless setup with a track pump is easy. They ride so comfy and smooth. I also have zipp 303s and the Mavic are significantly nicer in how they ride on rough roads and how the bike handles
No reaming! No rough riding!
Where will Hambini fulfill these needs?
All needs can be fulfilled in Ormskirk's red light zone after 10 pm on a thursday night.
@@Hambini Phew, I thought the poor hairdresser was going to get it!
So how's braking?
Would love if you could get the new Ultegra & dura ace rear hubs reviewed… I own a pair of c60 Ultegra 8170 disc wheels and are extremely stable in crosswinds. Not the lightest but I would love to find some aero results somewhere
@hambini Best wide Allroad/gravel wheel under £750 right now? Light bicycle? Farsports? 9VELO? Elite Wheels? Ican? Winspace? Hunt?… just kidding about the last one. Help ppl
I'm wondering about this too. It's a jungle out there.
@@wufler28 So I’ve been learning to build my own wheels and doing a lot of research into wheels in general the past few months. IMO the best “off the rack” all-road/gravel wheelset is probably the 9Velo 2024 G2.0 or the Light Bicycle AR25 custom wheels.
Has anyone bought from the EU warehouse for delivery in the UK? There is a UK warehouse but it has smaller stock. What was the delivery time and tax?
Just can't wait till that PPT pen runs out! 😭
Whats the best hub brand, for competition ?
Im not an expert but i would say dt swiss 240/ 350 or chris king on a nice carbon tubular rim :)
@RollinRat thank you for the insight, im a nerd so thanks for telling me ck makes their own bearings, that's so cool and yes, i agree, those campy record 10 speed hubs and shimano 7800 are special, shame to hear about dt swiss, ive been riding their 240s on my commuter and i really love them.
Freewheel noise ranking on a 1-10 scale?
at my age, i'm practically deaf
Thanks, didn’t know of this manufacturer. If changing to better hubs and not DT, without too much expense, any suggestions?
Carbon Ti or whomever is the OEM for winspace and farsports
Novatec + NSK vv or NTN llb bearings.
Hope, they're reliable, a piece of piss to service and easy to get parts for even once they're old (assuming you're in the UK that is).
Anything but DT and their ratchets, they make a horrible oscillating noise when you go fast on a roadbike.
@@yohandsome yes experienced the same, was paranoid until various forms told me that that was normal…
About 60 seconds of research would have proven that the UCI certifications are real. It's listed in the UCI certified wheels list.
The first thing I do every time I click on one of your videos is lower the volume.
I've had mixed success with novatecs over the years. My 412db rear hub had slippage from the day the wheels arrived. 4 pawls alloy freehub non ABG version. I had the axle disintegrate after a couple of hundred KMs which was a shock and I happened to have a spare axle from a Novatec rebadged hub. Novatec customer service was atrocious and non existent here in Australia. I'd prefer my powerway anyday they've lasted for years if abuse.
I have tried to communicate with ICAN. It is quite difficult as it is always a new person who follows up on the conversation. Also, I am a bit confused that ICAN Cycling and ICAN Bikes are not exactly the same company or sales department. Weird
is it just me or is the audio "under water" in this one?
Nice! I would buy anything as long as ICAN afford it… get it? 😑
Where from cost of this wheels build up? There's nothing fancy about them, I guess composite rims cost a bunch of money. Alu rims with same hubs and spokes would cost at leat 2x less, isn't it so?
after all these wheel reviews you must have a perfect wheel design materials/cost/components in mind, get yee to china and get it built young hambini, we are watching, waiting and wanting...
Just like banging the hairdresser, sometimes you couldn't wait and that's what happened to me. I couldn't wait for this review so I got a set of the older FL50 (50mm Deep, 18.6mm internal) wheels with Novatec hubs.
Several hundred miles / km later, it's still going strong, even though I'm a heavy rider on crap roads.
I would say this would be rated as "The Shizz" simply because it works and isn't over hyped.
Now Winspace... Now that's the Dog's B0llocks.
Where is the Hunt reaming video? Don't tease me buddy
that is worth waiting for!
They wouldn't want the hub to last too long. The whole wheel gets thrown away and replaced. Yours has already got a gash in the rim.
Not true. Mine have been going strong for many thousands of km, and I'm likely the norm rather than the exception
An interesting video to see would be rate the aerodynamics of the major brands frames 2023
Seeing your past reviews on wheels. There is so much that can go wrong with carbon wheels. Even paying top dollar you are getting something horrible. Not sure about the manufacturing process but if every unit is not manufactured in similar batch but tendered individually there is no telling the next I CAN wheel would be same or not. That being said 700 dollars is a lot when you compare them with 60 dollar Dt Swiss aluminium wheel and should be relevant to only to competitive folks. But we can't deny the aesthetic appeal and ppl who just wana spend a ton on there bike considering it as hobby or worse buying it for others to get applaud.
Please ream Bontrager Rapid Drive Hubs or Kovee/Line Wheels. These are absolutely garbage. You'll have a great time. Stripped freehub everytime
What a magnificent head of hair. The investment is paying off.
innit? if everything fails, he can still work as a Sears catalogue model.
There is always the suspicion "it's a Hambini Special" in the Air.
Why don't you ask the Community to send you a pair of their wheels in excange for the pair a company decided you to send for a review?
A company selling cheap wheels has a really good set lying about. 😂😂😂😂😂😂 Are you mad?
I think anybody who gets the wheels will get the same level of aero performance as they are unlikely to give me a special mould.
UCAN
Hambini do you think these perform same or better than the Winspace Hypers or Elitewheels Drive which you reviewed before?
@@djwillus haven't owned ican wheels .. owned 2x elite and winspace hyper .. Elite dollar4dollar is very difficult 2beat.
Use of fenisteride is associated with significant and long lasting sexual side effects. So you pen is not maybe working later
So is a vasectomy
@@Hambini it's nothing like a vasectomy. I'm talkin persistent sexual disfunction give it the googs I bet your doctor didn't tell you
who can?
Trash hubs. I’ve had many hubs and these are by far the worst…ok so they cost probably a tenth of what most if my hubs cost. But at least the expensive hubs I’ve used last tens of thousands of kms with nothing more than a new bearing or two every now and then.
When 700 bucks wheels have become the cheap category...
Cool down, the hair IS perfect. Promise.. Rgr
Extremely popular? I don’t have any data but I have literally never seen them outside of RUclips in uk cycle clubs
you need to get out more!
@@Hambini or maybe my riding buddies are too into brands, or these wheels look too unbranded to notice. Will keep an eye out for them.
@@jimhize ON a more serious note, I have seen these in all sorts of places. Nunavut in Canada all the way down to the streets of London.
Eww Novatec
Anything that price needs a damn fine Reaming chap....who cares...if it's light...round and therefore rolls it's de riguer.... when everyone is debating it's Miles that you ain't smashing.....keep zipping them a new one Hambini....ta! ✌️
This vid is just more proof of how wildly overpriced many CF bike components and the poser wheels from Enve, Zipp, Princeton, Campy, etc… are. This wheelset weighs right in the same neighborhood if not less than all the CF wheelsets from those manufacturers with a similar rim depth (its even lighter than some of them) and guaranteed these will perform immaterially different from any of those “boutique” nosebleed priced joker wheels from an aero standpoint. But status symbol seeking poser clowns will continue to happily shovel out $2,000 to $4,000 for silly priced wheels marketed to such suckers. 😀
Nice review Hamb!