If you ride a road bike and are interested in wheels and tires, you're already a true road cyclist.

You probably also know that the first step to lightening a road bike is to replace the wheels with lighter ones.

Let's have a casual chat about wheels here.

Wheels are important

Of the rotating parts on a bicycle, while gears such as chainrings also rotate, the largest rotating parts are the wheels and tires.

Lightening the outer circumference in particular is highly desirable, and attention is focused on the rims and tires.

Replacing aluminum rims with carbon can reduce weight by approximately 200-500g.

This weight difference is significant and completely transforms the bike's feel.

Thanks to the advent of carbon, aero wheels with high rim heights (which tend to be heavy) can now be made lightweight.

Aero wheels aim to increase speed. While concerns about crosswinds exist, designs that shed wind have made this less of an issue than in the past.

With a rim height of 40-50mm, which offers the best balance, it's possible to handle all types of riding.

Aero wheels tend to be viewed fashionably, but this is understandable when you see their significant presence when mounted.

The fact that road bikes are both sporting equipment and objects of hobby interest makes this kind of emotional value interesting.

Benefits of Carbon Clinchers

While clincher tires (tires with inner tubes) have a shorter history than tubular tires, they have matured sufficiently as road bike tires and are currently the most popular type of tire.

There is also a wide selection of tires, making it possible to meet desired uses with considerable accuracy.

And, as you know, their ease of handling in the event of a puncture is outstanding.

Let's also talk about the inner tubes that go inside the tires.

Tube materials include butyl and lightweight latex, with butyl being commonly used.

There are lightweight butyl tubes available, which are effective for reducing the weight of wheels and tires.

However, extreme caution is required during installation, and they are also vulnerable to pinch flats, so care must be taken with bumps.

Even lighter latex is practically for race use, disregarding practicality, and loses air more quickly.

It can be said that lightening these parts along with the wheels is also an effective method.

Why Carbon Wheels are Expensive

The following video will help you understand why carbon wheels are expensive.

In other words, carbon products, whether wheels or frames, involve a very high proportion of manual labor. And it goes without saying that advanced design and manufacturing techniques are required.

The carbon fibers used as material are typically TORAY's T700 and T800.

It is said that TORAY's efforts accelerated the widespread adoption of carbon fiber, making it, so to speak, the originator of carbon materials and a leader in the industry.

Even within carbon fiber, there are an incredibly diverse range of variations, influenced by factors such as weaving method, thread thickness, the conflicting requirements of elasticity and strength, and the type of epoxy resin used to solidify the fibers.

For our ICAN engineers, the art lies in determining which carbon specifications to use and where.

ICAN wheels boast high quality despite their affordable price point.

[Related Article]Learn About Road Bike Clincher Tires

ICAN Carbon Clincher Wheels

Our company is positioned at the pinnacle of so-called "Chinese wheels," delivering products worldwide with the latest designs and equipment.

All ICAN carbon clincher wheels use TORAY T700 and T800 carbon materials to produce their carbon rims, and for components such as spokes and hubs, they carefully select their own or leading manufacturer products appropriate for the specific product.

Emphasis on quality inspection is also a feature of ICAN, and all finished products meet the high ICAN quality standards. This is demonstrated by our 2-year warranty and UCI certification.

Below, we introduce some representative models.

DT AERO50 107,000 yen (tax included, free shipping)

This is a high-end model using TORAY T800 and T700 for the rim material.

Rim height 50mm, 1486g UCI certified product

AERO40 Disc 76,400 yen (tax included, free shipping)

A semi-aero model with an easy-to-handle 40mm height. Lightweight at 1355g. UCI certified product.

CBW38 45,862 yen (tax included, free shipping)

A very reasonably priced carbon wheel. Sufficiently light at 1450g, and renowned for its robustness.

Summary

Did you understand the advantages and ease of use of carbon clinchers?

Carbon wheels, which are highly compatible with disc brakes, are increasingly gaining attention with the advent of the disc brake era.

Amidst this, we hope you'll take notice of ICAN wheels, which offer high quality at a reasonable price.

You can view the full lineup of ICAN wheels on the following website.

ICAN Wheels