Good morning. I started a post asking about fork recommendations. Following up on said recommendations (thank you all!) I came across a site selling complete carbon frames. "ICAN" frames. ICAN also sells wheels and such. All Chinese manufacture. The prices were really great and there are some reviews attesting to the quality. There's even an engineer, purportedly, who gave an in depth review, which was positive. Does anyone here have an opinion as to the ICAN frames? Thanks!

You really can't go wrong with an ICAN frameset. They may not have the fancy name decal on them, but they are light, and stiff enough to put the power to the wheels while not jarring your teeth out over any road imperfection.
Here's my ICAN A8 frame built up with Boyd wheels, Ultegra Di2 groupset.

Wow! Very nice. I previously posted looking for fork recommendations for an older steel frame. I'm kind of new to serious road biking and am a little "carbon adverse". I think it's because I know very little about carbon and I'm in the metal fabrication industry. The other concern is that so many carbon bike components are manufactured in China, which is a bit concerning. I have quite a bit of insight into various approaches that Chinese manufacturers have and it's not all good. But maybe I need to get over my Chinese carbon affliction?

If you are talking about the late 2021 review on YouTube by Hambini, yes, he is a qualified engineer and his reviews are legitimate, although some cannot get past the apparent giant chip on his shoulder. The ICAN website also has decent ratings on TrustPilot, which, while not a guarantee, is comforting.

I have an ICAN fat bike frame and wheel set. I have two seasons on them and so far so good.

The wheels are still true, in spite of being ridden by a 250+ pound rider. The frame is just fine too.

Most of my miles are on packed single track snow trails. So lots of hard use and no issues. The only other fat bike I have ridden was a Specialized aluminum Fatboy and the ICAN is the better bike, and it is 5 pounds lighter at about the same price that the now discontinued Fatboy sold for when I bought my ICAN.

I purchased a set of Aero 40 wheels two years ago with the thinking that they would be light throw away items. But two years and close to 10K miles later, they are still on my bike. Easy to set up tubeless and well built.

ICAN makes good stuff. I would trust them.

Hey, man. Thank you! Good info. I've been working in metal for many, many years. I think I'm biased toward it. I'm trying to expand my mind into the reality that carbon is acceptable, and maybe even better than steel!(?) I went to my LBS and saw some really nice bikes in the 9K-10K range. I can afford it, but won't pay that and I'm a hands-on guy anyway, thus looking to build my own. Maybe it's best to ditch the steel frame I bought and invest in carbon. Smelly....I love you!

I vote for both - the steel bike and the carbon bike !

liberal use of carbon fiber in the construction of F1 cars and fighter aircraft

carbon fiber is around 35% of the structural weight of the F35

No worries. I understand why old school metallurgists have concerns about CF, because the failure mode is very different compared to most metals. And most people are not statisticians and thus are not good at evaluating scenarios which have a extremely low probability of occurrence but severe consequences.

jet engines use carbon fiber (and other composites) for critical parts (many would be surprised)

including the largest and most powerful jet engines produced

I accept that carbon is just fine for many stressful applications, if not better than alloys. My concern is not with that, but with the manufacturers. In my experience, many Chinese products are, well, less than satisfactory. And so many of the carbon frames are made in China. It just makes me a bit doubtful. We can say, "look how carbon is used in such stressful applications." And that's true. But my concern was that the forks/frames are not being manufactured correctly. I think my fears may be overblown. I'm seeing some nice frames. Have you guys seen the "VeloBuildMall" website? Seems like nice stuff!

Granted, there are some Chinese made CF frames that are of, uh, 'questionable' quality. You can always find horror stories of frames and forks that just snap due to improper manufacturing materials, techniques, and just bad designs.
You have to do your homework, but good, inexpensive Chinese frames and components are out there.
▷9 Best Chinese Road Bike Frames for Your New Build (2022) (cyclistshub.com)

Nowadays, Chinese manufacturing runs the gamut from the cutting edge to the not quite acceptable to Western standards. (But judging from the horror stories, even some Tesla Model 3s made in Fremont are not quite acceptable to Western standards!) If you are concerned, buy from a major brand and/or a frame that is made in Taiwan. As with most things in life, there are no guaranties, but mass production of CF frames was pioneered in Taiwan and by now is a very mature industry.

Where has my bicycle been made? (bike-advisor.com)

I found the above list but cannot vouch for its accuracy. Best you go examine a few CF frames in person.

I bought a set of ICAN Carbon wheels direct from their website. Still going strong!

I built this one. Very happy with it.

I ride the gravel frame that ICAN makes for Ridley. Top quality and exceptional customer service.

Which ICAN model? That is one good looking bike!

Thanks! ICAN calls it the "X-Gravel".

"Velo Build Malls" also appears to produce nice quality, inexpensive frames. They also appear to have a much larger variety of paint schemes compared to other manufacturers.

Found it ...

Carbon gravel frame X-Gravel – ICAN Cycling

... but it only takes a 140 mm disc brake rotor?

I run a 160mm rotor on the front with a Campy flat mount adapter.

The frame is the Ridley Kanzo Adventure if anyone wants to check the specs. My retired 2011 Ridley Noah ISP road bike also had a "made in China" sticker on the BB shell and that bike was flawless for over 12,000 road miles.
My next frame will be an ICAN MTB trail bike.

Hey guys....bought a threadless steel fork from Soma. Next issue is the handlebar stem. Most are made for 1 1/8 diameter. I see that JensonUSA sells a "shim" to address that. Any concern with that? I wouldn't think so. I can also fabricate something pretty easily. Also, what's the skinny on "ZIPP" products? They sell a nice looking silver colored stem. Smelly, I need to hear from you on this! Thanks!

OK, but let's start a new thread and not confuse anyone else researching ICAN frame.