Liv bike range: your guide to the best bikes from the women's specific brand

With the strapline "for women, by women, with women", Liv Cycling puts female riders at the front of everything it does. The sister company to Giant aims to make cycling more inclusive by designing and building bikes and gear with specifically tailored geometry for women.

Bonnie Tu, of Giant Bicycles, founded Liv in 2008 when she struggled to find cycling equipment and clothing that were right for her.

Focused on engineering bikes specifically for women, Liv calls its data-driven approach the 3F, standing for Fit, Form and Function. This design philosophy is featured across Liv’s range and sees the company deliver bikes with female-specific geometry that fit their function, and the female rider, perfectly.

The women’s specific Liv brand is also well known for its presence across elite-level racing, sponsoring triathletes and road cyclists, as well as XC and enduro mountain bikers. 

The relationship is symbiotic, with athletes being involved in the research and development of products, ensuring that the result is perfectly formulated for top end performance. This shows itself in the results, with Team Jayco AlUla riding Liv bikes in 2023.

Liv Cycling 2023 bike range

With inclusivity at the forefront, Liv bikes range from the affordable to the premium, as well as catering for female riders across all disciplines.

Below we explain the different model families in each of the road, triathlon, cyclocross, gravel, adventure and city categories.

Performance: road

The Liv EnviLiv Advanced Pro is Liv’s pro-level carbon aero road race bike range and was revised in 2023 with a design that mirrors the latest generation of the Giant Propel.

The updated model features women's-specific geometry that's almost identical to the Langma Advanced (see below). It comes with narrower bars, improved aerodynamics and a claimed 205g reduced frame weight from its predecessor. We weighed the bike at 8kg.

Liv has also moved from a one-piece bar and stem to separate components, while still providing full front end integration. Liv says that the new model is 9.2 watts faster than the outgoing bike.

The range-topping test bike was fitted with the second generation SRAM Force AXS groupset with an included power meter. We found it fast in a straight line, but the deep section Giant wheels were edgy in crosswinds and the handling over-sensitive when riding slowly.

You can find our full review of the Liv EnviLiv Advanced Pro AXS here. 

The Advanced SL Disc is engineered with Liv’s lightest carbon frame material. It is a racing bike that delivers on speed and strength on the climbs and the flat. 

Bringing down the weight in this Advanced SL Disc model is its integrated seat mast. Unlike a traditional seat post (which slides into the seat tube), here the seat mast extends far upwards from the bike and a bracket, which holds the saddle, is fitted to the top. 

To set your saddle height, the carbon seat tube must be cut to give approximately the correct saddle height and the bracket is used to make fine-tuned adjustments. This design saves weight over a traditional set up as there is no excess seat post tucked away in the seat tube.

The Advanced SL Disc 0 features a Shimano Dura-Ace 12 speed groupset, with tubeless ready wheels and tyres. It also comes ready fitted with a power meter, for reliable performance data readings.

You can find our full review of the Liv Langma Advanced SL here.

Performance: off-road

The Liv Devote Advanced Pro is a very capable bike, it's got all the mounts you'd need for bikepacking, rides like a super endurance bike on the road and - with spec changes - could be a trail slayer.

Keen to really push the Devote through its paces, we spent an afternoon circling the manmade trails of Swinley Forest. Now, Swinley's Blue and Red trails are fairly tame, but the bike handled the berms and rollers well considering it's not exactly the intended use. That said, a set of 45mm tyres and a more strongly flared handlebar would have instilled a bit of extra confidence.

For many riders, the pull towards the gravel trend is the ability to stitch together sections of road, gravel, trail, fire road and cycle path, so we also took the Devote out for several mixed bag jaunts and it was these where the Devote felt most at home. It might not be the absolute perfect tool for tarmacked roads, unpaved doubletrack and forest trails – but unlike bikes with a greater specificity, it still is a blast to ride on each of them.

Read more: Liv Devote Advanced Pro full review

Endurance

Liv’s fully carbon endurance bikes are the Avail Advanced range, which starts with the Avail Advanced 1 with a Shimano 105 Di2 groupset. At the other end of the spectrum is the Avail Advanced Pro 1. This machine has a higher grade carbon fibre frameset and Shimano Ultegra Di2 groupset.

All the bikes in the Avail Advanced range are equipped with hydraulic disc brakes for expert handling and control.

Urban

The Thrive is Liv’s aluminium road bike range with flat handlebars. The bikes are well suited to both daily commuter riding and longer excursions into the countryside. The riding position is more upright than other road bikes but fitness gains can still be made.

Liv’s D-Fuse technology is featured in the Thrive range. This is a ‘D’ shaped composite seatpost that is designed to dampen vibrations, leading to a smooth sailing ride.

In terms of gearing, the Thrive 1 is fitted with an 11-speed Shimano 105 setup, whereas the Thrive 2 comes with 9-speed Shimano Sora and the Thrive 3 with 8-speed Shimano Claris. For reliable braking, all are fitted with Tektro hydraulic disc brakes.

Complete with internal cabling and integrated dropouts for pannier racks, the Thrive range delivers sleek functional riding.

The Flourish is Liv’s Dutch bike for roaming the city in style. Its step-through design, and kickstand, make it quick and easy to get off once you’ve reached your destination, while durable double-wall alloy rims with puncture-resistant tyres should prevent any irritating delays on your way to the shops or work. A chainguard and mudguards also make this a practical option that will protect you from dirt and road debris in all weather.

These bikes are a great value option. The Flourish 1 also comes with additional accessories including integrated front and rear lighting, a rear rack, and basket.

Within this range, Liv has also swapped out the steel front fork for a front suspension fork in their Flourish FS model. This can take the edge off any bumpy terrain by absorbing the impacts.

Triathlon

The Avow Advanced Pro is the model up from Liv's Avow and comes with a Giant Power Pro power meter, so you can easily keep track of your performance output. It is also fitted with a Shimano Ultegra or Shimano Ultegra Di2 groupset.

Of note, this model includes an integrated front hydration unit and top tube storage box for your nutrition. As expected this increases the overall weight of the bike, bringing it up to around 10kg (size small). This makes the Advanced Pro a more appropriate option for long-distance triathletes.