Founded in 2008 as the sister brand to Giant Bicycles, Liv is a company dedicated solely to creating bikes that are optimised for women. Throughout the last decade, Liv has become a well-established bike brand, popular among both amateur and professional riders. Proven in the women’s WorldTour peloton, Liv bikes are used by both the Team Jayco-Alula and Liv Racing TeqFind women’s WorldTeams, raced to victories by the likes of Mavi García and Alexandra Manly.
The EnviLiv was first introduced as the Envie in 2013, described as an all-around race performance bike. It was then updated in 2019 as the EnviLiv and has evolved into the brand’s leading aero road bike, made for riding fast on the flat and being as efficient as possible through the wind. Now in 2023, Liv has given the EnviLiv another upgrade, aiming to improve the bike’s geometry to make it even more aerodynamic, increasing stiffness and shaving grams off the bike’s overall weight. The 2023 EnviLiv range also sees the addition of the first ever EnviLiv frameset made from Liv’s Advanced SL-grade composite carbon.
The EnviLiv Advanced Series in action
Liv explains that the improved aerodynamics on the EnviLiv have been achieved by the brand’s latest AeroSystem Shaping Technology. This involves excessive wind tunnel testing and Computational Fluid Dynamics research to ensure that tube shapes and angles cut through the air with minimal drag. With no detail spared, every model in the new EnviLiv range will also include aero water bottle cages that are integrated into the frame’s down tube and seat tube. The aerodynamic performance of the EnviLiv is also helped by Liv’s new Contact SLR handlebar or SL Aero cockpit that comes with the purchase of a complete EnviLiv build. The flattened tops and deeper drops are said to be more efficient than the previous iteration of the EnviLiv, while the D-shaped fork steerer tube inside the bike’s headtube also means cables are hidden and the bike has a clean looking front end. This also allows for easier servicing compared to fully integrated handlebar and stem designs.
Liv claims that, when paired with the new Giant SLR 50 WheelSystem, the EnviLiv Advanced Pro series improves aerodynamic drag by 9.21 watts over the previous generation. This equates to a savings of 40 seconds over 40 kilometres at 40 kph.
However, aerodynamics are only one factor in a successful high-performance road bike and Liv are aiming to achieve the holy grail of weight, stiffness and aerodynamics in the new EnviLiv. When it comes to stiffness, the new EnviLiv range features an Advanced SL frameset option for the first time, which uses Liv’s Advanced SL-Grade Composite. This is a professional-grade raw carbon which is created in Liv’s in-house composite factory using the brand’s most advanced engineering and construction methods. It is said to help achieve stronger frame junctions and improved resistance. Stiffness is also helped by the bike’s oversized bottom bracket and chainstay area which is said to provide additional stiffness on the drive side and stability on the non-drive side.
The SL-Grade Composite carbon also helps to shed weight on the bike, with Liv claiming that the Advanced SL frameset comes in at 106.5 grams lighter than the EnviLiv Advanced Pro frameset (it's worth noting that the EnviLiv Advanced Pro frameset itself still has a weight saving of 205 grams from the previous generation thanks to the redesigned frame tubes, too.)
As always with Liv bikes, the EnviLiv range has been designed to “deliver the ideal geometry for most women”. In order to achieve this, every size of the EnviLiv Range is tested using women’s body dimension data and riding experience inputs only. Liv also takes feedback and does testing alongside its pro riders, notably the Liv Racing Collective triathlete Lisa Tertsch. Liv also says that its product team collaborated with componentry suppliers to ensure that components on each of the EnviLiv models creates a perfect fit for each rider.
The new EnviLiv Advanced SL frameset in Liv Racing-TeqFind team colours
Meg Hung, Liv Global Bicycle Category Manager, explains: “Designed with input from our athletes, our intention is to give women a bike that matches the commitment they put into their training and the race results they want to achieve. The EnviLiv was redesigned for performance-minded road riders whose goals include breaking personal records, riding at the front of the pack, and having every advantage possible to achieve that–from aerodynamics to light weight to the latest components.”
The EnviLiv comes in a number of different model options: the first is the frameset-only EnviLiv Advanced SL (which uses the SL-grade composite carbon), the the EnviLiv Advanced Pro Series which comes with two models with different groupset options, then the EnviLiv Advanced series which also comes in two models. The EnviLiv Advanced SL frameset retails for £2899, the Advanced Pro for £6699, the Advanced 1 for £4499 and Advanced 2 for £2999.
For a full list of the specifications of each EnviLiv model, visit the Liv Cycling website.
