This time, we will feature two bicycle enthusiasts, Osamu and Kenji.

Kenji was concerned about the gravel roads along riverbeds and rough terrain in the mountains he encountered during touring. While it wasn't impossible to ride with 25C tires on his road bike, it wasn't fun at all. The risk of punctures also increased. He wanted a bike that could handle any terrain with gusto.

...This was the conclusion he reached.

Kenji's New Bike

Osamu: So you bought a new gravel road bike?

Kenji: I rode it here, wanna see?

Kenji's new bike is the ICAN X-Gravel model.

The light blue paint gleams. (There are 5 frame colors in total)

Osamu: This gravel bike is my favorite color, I'm hooked. How much did it cost?

Kenji: Just under 300,000 yen*. I really worked for it. But since it's shipped directly from the manufacturer with no middleman, it's excellent value for money.

* Price: 293,650 yen (tax and shipping included) Comes with a 2-year long-term warranty.

Kenji: It has SRAM Force road bike components. I guess it's comparable to Shimano Ultegra class.

Osamu: (Lifting the bike) Wow! It's incredibly light for a gravel bike!

Kenji: Yeah, it's rare for a gravel bike to be under 8kg.

It comes with 700x38C tires. The frame is designed to accommodate tires up to 50C.

The wheels are luxurious carbon ICAN AERO35s.

The front gear is a single 46T.

Osamu: This frame is really cool, though. Oh? Is the chainstay position lower than usual? It looks quite formidable.

Kenji: You noticed! With this, I don't have to worry about the chain hitting the frame even when it bounces around on rough roads.

The frame is equipped with plenty of mounting points for luggage.

Is Kenji planning camping trips or long tours?

Kenji: With this, I can load up enough for an overnight stay and go far. I want to go camping too. I'm currently gathering the gear for it.

Osamu: Wait a minute, everything Kenji's talking about today is hitting all my sweet spots. I'm seriously starting to want a gravel bike too!

About Gravel Bikes

A similar genre of road bike is the cyclocross bike.

Unlike the race-oriented setup of cyclocross bikes, gravel bikes prioritize comfort and are versatile bikes that can also ride off-road.

While they are a type of road bike, they don't prioritize speed, so the wheelbase is longer to enhance straight-line stability rather than quickness.

For this reason, they are suitable for practical uses such as commuting to work or school, and also possess the quality to enjoy long-distance rides as a hobby on weekends.

Reasons why higher-end gravel bikes often have a single front chainring

By widening the gear ratio of the rear gears, a single front chainring can provide the necessary range of gear ratios. There are several reasons for opting for this setup.

① Fewer problems

It avoids issues like shifting errors. It also provides a solution for chain drops on rough roads. Furthermore, it reduces problems with vegetation getting caught in the gears on mountain paths. This is similar to the reasons why mountain bikes have a single front chainring.

② Potential for weight reduction

By eliminating the front derailleur and one chainring, weight can be reduced. However, since larger gears are used to widen the rear gear ratio, this adds weight, so significant weight reduction is not truly achieved.

③ Intuitive shifting

When riding off-road where the surface constantly changes and there's no time to think about gear combinations, a single front chainring allows for intuitive shifting, which is very useful.

④ Easier maintenance

Fewer moving parts mean fewer maintenance points and easier cleaning. Gravel bikes get much dirtier than road bikes.

Gravel bikes, which don't aim for speed, generally use smaller, lighter front gears. The rear gears are combined with a larger number of teeth, providing a setup that can sufficiently handle climbs.

About the ICAN X-Gravel

ICAN provides the following materials and videos.

Please take a look.

・ ICAN X-Gravel Official Website

・ Reference videos

→Gravel Video