Aggressive DH Enduro Test: ICANIAN New Carbon DH Wheelset DH40 on Park & Rocky Trails

I’m 6’1″ tall and 168 lbs. I work as a mechanic at a Specialized bike shop, handling everything from daily tune-ups and brake bleeds to full suspension overhauls, custom wheel builds, and complete bike builds. Every day I’m dialing in shifting, suspension, and cockpit setups for riders of all levels, which gives me a deep, hands-on understanding of how modern trail, enduro, and downhill bikes should feel on real trails—not just on paper.

I grew up on BMX and skateboarding, which built my bike control, balance, and style. Manuals, jumps, and quick direction changes feel natural to me, and that playful background shows in the way I ride technical terrain. These days I focus on downhill and modern full-suspension trail/enduro bikes, constantly experimenting with tire choice, suspension settings, and cockpit fit to squeeze out more confidence, grip, and speed.

I ride local bike parks and technical trails regularly, and I’m usually the one in the parking lot helping friends and other riders with quick fixes and setup advice before and after rides. I’m actively involved in the local riding community: I join group rides, support race days, and stay up to date with the latest components and technology.

I’ve competed in multiple regional and local races, with several strong finishes and podium results, which has given me solid real-world experience in both performance riding and race-focused bike setup. On and off the bike, I’m known for being detail-oriented, calm under pressure, and always willing to help others get their bikes running perfectly and riding the way they want.

I’m an aggressive downhill and enduro rider who spends most of my time on modern full-suspension bikes, pushing hard on steep, technical trails, rock gardens, and bike-park jump lines. I like riding at the limit—braking late, looking far ahead, and trusting the bike to stay composed when things get fast and rough.

My BMX and skateboarding background gives me strong bike control, style, and confidence at speed. Manuals, whips, and quick direction changes feel natural to me, and I’m comfortable staying loose when the trail gets chaotic. That mix of finesse and commitment helps me stay in control through choppy rock sections, big compressions, and sketchy landings.

I frequently ride and race in demanding conditions—wet roots, blown-out berms, square-edge hits—to really test equipment durability, traction, and handling at a high level. I pay close attention to how different tires, suspension settings, and wheel setups change the feel of the bike, and I’m always fine-tuning my setup for more grip, more support, and more speed. For me, riding isn’t just about going fast; it’s also about understanding how the bike behaves under pressure and using that feedback to push both my skills and my equipment further.

My main park bike is an xtension C165 long-travel freeride build, set up to be as simple and bombproof as possible. It’s running ICANIAN DH40 carbon DH wheels, which keep the bike stiff, precise, and confident when I’m smashing through rock gardens or landing deep on big jumps. Up front I’ve got a RockShox ZEB, and a Super Deluxe out back, giving me a huge margin for error on big hits, flat landings, and rough, fast tech.

I run it single-speed with a tensioner and a bashguard, on purpose: no derailleur to worry about, no fragile hanger to bend, and way less time spent tuning instead of riding. It’s built for low-maintenance, bike-park days and big-hit freeride riding—drop in, hit everything, hose it off, and it’s ready to go again. This is the bike I grab when I just want to ride hard, not think about shifting, and trust the setup to survive whatever line I choose.

I’m running an ICANIAN DH40 rim laced to a DT350 EDG LTD hub, straight out of the box from ICANIAN. No custom build or weird mix of parts—just the stock DH40 setup, so what I’m riding is exactly what a customer gets. It’s a good way to see how the wheel holds up in real bike-park and DH use, right out of the package.

After several days of lift-access park laps and hammering through rock gardens, one thing about the DH40 really stands out to me: it holds up. I’ve put it through a mix of rough DH tracks, blown-out berms, and jump lines that encourage deep landings and bad decisions, and it still feels tight, true, and ready for more. I haven’t had to touch a spoke key yet, and there’s no weird creaking or “carbon ping” noises—just a solid, muted feel that makes me trust it more every day.

The widened, flat-top hookless bead and reinforced carbon layup with Kevlar let me run noticeably lower pressures than I would on a lot of other rims. I can drop into rock gardens and square-edge hits without obsessing over line choice, because those harsh impacts and side hits feel controlled instead of sketchy. You still feel the trail, but I’m a lot less worried about pinch flats, denting a rim, or blowing up an expensive carbon hoop from one mistake. Mentally, that opens the door to riding more aggressively, staying off the brakes, and really leaning into the tire and sidewall.

Lateral stiffness is solid in a way that feels “supportive, not punishing.” The bike tracks clean lines through corners and off-camber sections, and landings feel precise—you know exactly where the bike is going when you touch down. At the same time, it doesn’t fire every tiny vibration straight into your hands and feet. There’s just enough compliance that braking bumps, small rocks, and chatter are slightly filtered instead of feeling like sharp hits. That balance between stiffness and forgiveness is what makes it feel like a proper DH/park wheel, not just a stiff carbon circle.

Paired with a fast-engaging hub, the DH40 accelerates and pumps efficiently. Out of slow corners, you get that immediate pickup you want for sprinting back up to speed, and when you drive the bike through rollers and transitions, it rewards you with free speed instead of flex and dead feeling. I’ve been using it on days when I’m riding hard and not babying the bike—cases, nose-heavy landings, sideways compressions—and it’s been drama-free so far.

Overall, for the way I ride—hitting hard, riding park often, and preferring gear that feels like a dependable tool rather than a fragile showpiece—the DH40 has been doing exactly what I want. It feels like a wheelset built to be ridden, not just looked at: strong under pressure, predictable at speed, and tough enough that I can focus on lines and speed instead of worrying about whether the wheel will survive the next run.

ICANIAN Full Carbon DH Wheelset – DH40 Specifications