Surprising Truths About the ICAN G25 SL from The Cycle Workshop’s Reviews
For years, "Chinese carbon" was a term loaded with skepticism—a gamble where you traded reliability for a lower price point. But the original ICAN G25 effectively killed that stigma. It became so popular for its mix of durability and value that ICAN literally couldn't make them quick enough. Now, they’ve replaced that cult classic with the "SL" version, claiming it’s lighter, stronger, and more robust for the exact same $670 (£490) price tag.
The Cycle Workshop, a professional cycling channel from the UK, conducted a comprehensive review of the ICAN gravel G25SL wheelset. This included ICAN "disassembling" the rim and hub to demonstrate its performance, proving that the G25SL is far from an ordinary entry-level wheelset.
Engineering Beats "Falcon Wing" Marketing
The vast majority of carbon wheels in this price bracket aren't designed by engineers; they’re designed by clever marketing teams who want to talk about "ceramic bearings" or "rim profiles inspired by the wing of a peregrine falcon." The G25 SL is a refreshing departure from that fluff.
During my inspection, I looked at a cross-section of the rim. ICAN is using a "tailored carbon layup" with high-quality Toray T700 carbon. In low-load areas like the sidewalls, the carbon is thin to shed weight. However, in high-stress areas like the rim bed, the hooks, and specifically the spoke bed, the layers are significantly thicker. Seeing a reinforced spoke bed at this price point is unusual, and it’s a clear sign that the designers prioritized structural integrity over marketing buzzwords.
A Titanium Heart with a Maintenance Trade-off
The D91 hub is a complete redesign. While most brands just "blanket copy" the DT Swiss star-ratchet system, ICAN modified it. They moved to a much larger ratchet surface area to reduce wear and simplified the mechanism by incorporating one half of the ratchet directly into the freehub body. They even added tight-fitting end caps with rubber O-rings to keep the weather away from the high-quality S&S bearings—a small detail that saves a lot of headaches later.
The real win, however, is the material: Titanium. Most hubs at this price use soft aluminum, which is notorious for "cassette bite"—where the steel cogs dig into the splines, making the cassette nearly impossible to remove. Titanium is stronger, prevents that bite, and won't corrode. As I stripped it down, it was clear the designer gave the customer "improvements that they probably didn't even realize they needed."
There is one caveat: because ICAN moved away from a generic design, the internals are no longer cross-compatible with off-the-shelf DT Swiss parts. While the titanium should last a "bloody long time," when it finally does wear out, you’ll have to go back to ICAN for replacements rather than your local bike shop.
The Rare Case of Under-Promising on Weight
In an industry where "optimistic" weight claims are the status quo, the G25 SL is a statistical outlier. Usually, when a wheel arrives, it’s 50g heavier than the website says. Here is how the numbers actually shook out on my workshop scale:
* Original G25 weight: 1498g
* ICAN’s claimed SL weight: ~1350g
* Actual measured SL weight: 1321g
Finding a wheelset that is nearly 30 grams lighter than the manufacturer's claim is almost unheard of. Delivering a 1321g gravel wheelset for $670 suggests an incredibly tight, controlled manufacturing process.
Precision That Points to "Wheeling Robots"
When I put these wheels in the truing stand, the results were staggering. The lateral runout (side-to-side wobble) on the front wheel was just 0.1mm. For context, 0.3mm is considered "amazing," and 0.1mm is the kind of precision you expect from a $3,000 wheelset.
It wasn't just the lateral runout; the radial runout and spoke tension were also "mindblowingly good." The wheels even shipped with a computer-generated tension printout. This level of consistency leads me to suspect these wheels weren't built by a human at all, but by a "wheeling robot." Whether it was a machine or a master builder, the result is a level of trueness that guarantees better power transfer and a much longer spoke life.
Summarize:
No product is perfect, and if I’m being critical, ICAN’s budget-conscious approach has some downsides: they don’t include spare spokes or disc rotor lockrings in the box—items most other brands provide. You’ll have to source those yourself.
Additionally, if you purchase the G25 SL from ICAN's EU or US warehouses, you will receive free shipping and taxes, and the logistics time will be significantly reduced compared to shipping from the Chinese factory.
However, the "value" here isn’t just the price tag; it’s the intentional engineering. It raises a question for the rider: Do you want a high-tech marketing story, or do you want reliability you can trust five years from now?
