Written by Imogen Smith.
Liv launched with just three staff in 2007. In 2014 they launched as an independent, women’s only brand, and now, in 2017 they’re made ‘by women, for women’—every member of staff at Liv, from industrial designers to marketing managers, are women. Liv’s goals are to attract women to cycling, get them involved, then move them up from lifestyle cyclist to recreational, and even on to competitive cyclists. Liv aim to create a community around their brand, and if you’re interested in women’s cycling you’ve probably noticed their ambassadors, social media competitions, group rides, and hashtags around the place. At a time when most brands (recently Specialized) are moving away from women’s specific designs, Liv are attacking the market full-steam ahead. The 2018 range sees them plug a bunch of holes in their range, where the Langma performance road bike offered a highlight.
Check out these awesome women’s road bikes!
Introducing the Liv Langma
Liv’s 2017 performance aero road bike, the Envie, has all but disappeared and has been replaced by the slick, lightweight Langma. With the launch of the long-awaited Langma, the Envie has been relegated to service the triathlon market with the Envie Advanced Tri—a fitting market for a bike with some great aero features but with a lot more comfort than full-blown time trial machines.
The Envie posed a few problems for women looking for a high performance, race-ready roadie—it was difficult to climb, had painful integrated brakes, and the aero styling compromised handling, and at the Rio Olympics, Liv-sponsored riders could be spotted riding resprayed TCR road bikes. The Langma has been in development for about two years, so Liv must have been aware of the Envie’s shortcomings for at least as long as we have.
Take a look at the Giant range for 2018!
The new Liv Langma answers the demand from many discerning riders.
Named for the local Nepalese word for Everest, the Langma isn’t just a climbing bike, but an all-round race bike, with tubing shaped for the best possible aerodynamics and race-worthy specs in an extremely lightweight (and beautifully-finished) package.
eTap, carbon wheels, and a Quarq power meter – stock.
The top-of-the-line Langma, the Advanced SL 0, really caught our eye, with SRAM red e-tap group set, Quarq crank set, a super aero Flux stem, and an integrated seatpost. The Advanced SL composite frame and fork that this bike is built around is the lightest Giant have EVER made for ANY bike, and tips the scales at just 1.155kg. Not surprisingly, with this buildkit, the Langma Advanced SL 0 weighs a UCI-illegal 6.05kg. Oh. And it’s expensive. The Langma will cost you AUD $10,999.
But you don’t need to buy the most expensive Langma, with a nice range of six models on offer. We were really impressed with the Langma Advanced Pro Disc, the only disc model in the lineup. This bike’s ruby red frame colour, sensible Ultegra spec, through-axle wheelset and, of course, its disc brakes, is a fantastic racing or high-performance roadie for a competitive or passionate rider.
The Langma Advanced Pro 1 Disc is a stunning looking bike.
We saw this bike just a day or two after Cycling Australia announced it would permit discs in most races, so this model’s appearance in the Liv lineup seems particularly prescient.
The flat-mount Shimano disc brake is super neat.
The Langma range starts at $2,199 with the Advanced 3, still built around a carbon composite frame and sporting a 10-speed Shimano Tiagra groupset. For details about the rest of the Langma range, visit the Liv Australia website.
The Langma Advanced 3 starts you off at $2199
Tried and tested: the Liv Avail
Liv’s Avail range offers recreational riders a comfortable and versatile endurance road bike. While the Avail frame design hasn’t changed since 2015, 2018 will see a new line-up of bikes gracing Australian bike shops: the Avail 2, at AUD $899; the Avail 1, at AUD $1,099; the Avail SL 1, at AUD $1,999; the Avail Advanced 1, at AUD $3,199; and the Avail Advanced Pro, at AUD $5,999.
Keen to get started for under $1000? The the Avail 2 could be for you.
The range remains very little changed from the 2017 lineup, with price variations of around $100 and some minor spec changes.
The Liv Avail Advanced 1 ticks a lot of boxes.
Showing that there’s great value in aluminium, the Liv Avail range has 3 bikes from the magic metal.
We think the Avail SL 1 is a well-priced bike, offering an alloy frame with composite-legged fork for comfort, tubeless-ready wheel set and tyres, a quality Shimano 105 11-speed group set matched with a hydraulic conversion unit—this gives better ergonomics than the RS505 lever yet provides the responsiveness of hydraulic disc brakes. With clearance for some larger tyres, tubeless ready wheels, a broad gear range and disc brakes the Avail SL 1, as well as the Advanced models, are highly versatile road bikes.
For more on the Avail range, check the Liv Australia website.
Crossing it up: the Liv Brava SLR
Liv, as a complete women’s brand, offer bikes in every market, the Brava SLR servicing the cross-minded rider. The Brava is the perfect casual ‘cross machine straight out of the box, with an alloy frame, 12mm through-axles, a D-Fuse seatpost for comfort, and SRAM Apex 1 11-speed groupset with a single 40-tooth chainring 11–42 gear range.
The Liv Brava
Dual water bottle mounts and hidden rack mounts mean the Brava could be easily converted from a cyclocross race-rig to a bike for adventure rides and bike-packing trips on scenic country backroads.
Some zip from Liv
Supporting everyone’s needs, Liv also have 3 e-bikes in their range. But it’s the dark red Amiti-E+ 1 that caught our eye.
With high-volume slick tyres and a short travel suspension fork, the bike sports a step-through frame, racksand mudguards as standard, to make your urban cycling a breeze. If you’re keen to ditch the car and get around by bike more often – this could be the answer. At $3699 it’s a larger investment, but the Liv Amiti-E+ 1 is a well-specced e-bike with a quality parts selection.