Liv women’s performance bikes 2015 – crafted by Giant

Giant Bicycles separates women’s bikes into Liv brand

David Rome / Immediate Media

Published: August 2, 2014 at 6:00 am

BikeRadar recently broke the news on the Giant Bikes 2015 men’s performance range. One notable thing was the clear separation of the men's and women’s ranges; Giant has taken the bold step to rebrand its female-focused bikes as Liv. So female riders looking for a Giant, will now be offered a Liv – but they’ll find a subtle ‘handcrafted by giant’ marked somewhere on the frame.

The other big news for the Liv range was the recent launch of the completely revamped Avail endurance road bike range, with many options now featuring disc brakes and greater comfort. As well as this, the aero race-focused Envie (Propel for the men) now has improved brakes and there's also a new performance flat-bar road bike.

Check out more of our Liv 2015 coverage.

Road bikes

For the racers, the aerodynamic Envie range continues with numerous options, all well-suited to road or triathlon racing. The Envie offers a different carbon layup and geometry to the men’s Propel bike, and there's also differences in gearing ratios and contact points.

The biggest change to the 2015 envie line-up is a new brake. previously the envie brakes were known to be fiddly and underperforming - these new alloy models should fix that : - David Rome / Immediate Media

The Envie range gets new and improved brakes

All Envie models receive a small but significant switch to better performing integrated brakes. As well improved lever feel, the new brakes offer a two-position cable stop to enable simple swaps between wide carbon race-day wheels and narrow alloy training wheels.

The liv envie advanced pro 0 (us$8,300 / au$7,699 / £tba) is a pro-level race bike worthy of world champion marianne vos : - Courtesy

The Liv Envie Advanced Pro 0

Sitting at the top of the range is the Envie Advanced Pro 0 (US$8,300 / AU$7,699 / £TBA), a bike that's worthy of world champion Marianne Vos. This full-carbon model features a Giant P-SLR0 carbon race wheelset, Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 gearing and an aero integrated handlebar and stem combo.

Sitting a few price points below is the Envie Advanced 1 (US$2,775 / AU$2,799 / £TBA) in a super bright blue and yellow, which we expect to be a popular choice. This carbon-framed model features Shimano Ultegra mechanical gearing.

For the ironman and triathlon focused, there’s now a Envie Advanced Tri (US$4,250 / AU$N/A / £TBA), which takes the aero road model and adds composite clip-on aero bars, bottle cages and Giant 55mm deep aero wheels. This model won’t be offered in Australia (other markets TBC), because the purpose built Trinity Composite W (US$N/A / AU$2,799) is available. In any case, it’s quite easy to turn a standard Envie into a bike like this.

The thrive comax 2 disc (us$1500 / au$1,599 / £tba) is a new carbon composite flat-bar road bike. while an avail or envie will still be more efficient (faster), the thrive range is better suited to commuting or general fitness riding : - David Rome / Immediate Media

New for 2015, the Liv Thrive CoMax 2 Disc

The Thrive CoMax Disc models are designed for commuters or fitness seekers – it's a range of performance-orientated flat-handlebar road bikes with carbon composite frames. The Thrive CoMax 2 Disc (US$1500 / AU$1,599 / £TBA), a model we suspect will do well, offers Shimano Tiagra gearing and Tektro hydraulic disc brakes.

At a lower end of the price spectrum, the Thrive Disc models move to aluminium frames, but lose little in the way of components. For example, the Thrive 1 Disc (US$925 / AU$999 / £TBA) has many of the same components as the Thrive CoMax 2 Disc.

Mountain bikes

The Liv mountain bike range mirrors Giant's push on the 27.5in (650b) wheel size. All but the entry-level Enchant series is now offered with middle-sized wheels only. Another key change for the mountain range is the removal of Giant’s OD2 technology – a proprietary fork steerer and stem size that made finding aftermarket stems a real hassle.

The liv lust advanced 2 (us$3,600 / au$3,299 / £tba) looks like a high-value endurance and cross country bike. fox suspension and shimano slx/xt gearing : - David Rome / Immediate Media

The Liv LUST Advanced 2 (US$3,600 / AU$3,299 / £TBA)

The LUST Advanced series of race and endurance-focused cross-country dual suspension bikes headlines the mountain bike range. The 'Advanced' part of the name refers to a carbon front triangle, matted to an aluminium rear triangle. Those seeking absolute performance will likely gravitate toward the LUST Advanced 0 (US$8,050 / AU$6,999 / £TBA), with its RockShox SID XX fork, SRAM XX1 11-speed gearing and, interestingly, a Giant Control SL Switch dropper seatpost.

The fully aluminium-framed LUST series is the more affordable option – the LUST 2 (US$2,450 / AU$2,499 / £TBA) is likely to be popular, thanks to its Fox suspension package and Shimano Deore 20-speed gearing.

Cross country race focused, the obsess advanced 2 (us$2,775 / au$2,799 / £tba) shares the same frame as used by the professional liv racing team : - Courtesy

Liv Obsess Advanced 2

The Obsess, a carbon race hardtail used by the likes of two-time U23 world champion Jolanda Neff, is on offer for the speed seekers. In both the US and Australian markets, the Obsess Advanced 2 (US$2,775 / AU$2,799) will be the only model offered; it features a Fox Float Evolution front fork and a Shimano SLX/XT drivetrain. UK models and pricing are TBA.

The giant trance is a bike you'll often see on the trails with its 140mm of suspension travel; the liv intrigue is the female specific version. pictured, the intrigue 2 (us$2,775 / au$2,699 / £tba) with a price conscious rockshox revelation rl front fork and shimano deore 20-speed gearing : - Courtesy

Built for technical trail riding, the Liv Intrigue 2

And for the less race-focused riders, there’s the 5in (140mm) travel Intrigue trail bike. It's available in two models: the Intrigue 1 (US$4,700 / AU$N/A / £TBA) with a Fox Talas Performance front fork and SRAM X0 20-speed gearing, and the Intrigue 2 (US$2,775 / AU$2,699 / £TBA) with a more basic RockShox Revelation RL front fork and Shimano Deore 20-speed gearing.

Cyclocross bikes

Sitting one below, the brava slr 2 (us$1,650 / au$1,799 / £tba) should be popular for those looking to give cyclocross a go: - David Rome / Immediate Media

The Liv Brava SLR 2

Introduced last year, the Brava SLR is an affordable cyclocross race bike with disc brakes and a lightweight aluminium frame. While the Brava SLR 1 (US$3,500 / AU$N/A / £TBA) looks fantastic with its Shimano Ultegra gears and matched hydraulic disc brakes, it’s the more affordable Brava SLR 2 (US$1,650 / AU$1,799 / £TBA) that will likely be a popular starter bike. The SLR 2 features Shimano’s workhorse 105 gearing and TRP’s Spyre mechanical disc brakes.

If you’re seeking a little adventure, the new Invite CoMax (US$1,650 / AU$N/A / £TBA) is worth a look. A carbon composite frame is combined with a drop handlebar and a reasonable width tyre for touring, commuting or all-day adventures on a variety of surfaces.

As indicated throughout this article, UK pricing and availability is still to be annouced. Where a price is listed as N/A, the model is not available in that region.