Fifth-generation Liv Avail 'built for endurance'

Women-specific all-rounder features a re-engineered frameset with bags of tyre clearance

- Sam Gupta

When Liv was born in 2008, the Avail was its calling card. Here was a versatile and capable W road bike that epitomised the brand's ethos of creating functional, high-performance cycling products specifically for women. "This wasn't merely a smaller, 'prettier' version of a men's bike," says Meg Hung, global Liv on-road category manager. "We started from scratch to optimise every detail from frame geometry to component selection." And so it continues.

The fifth iteration of the Avail, offered in the Advanced Pro and Advanced lines, sees a redesigned frameset aimed at furthering the bike's credentials as a genuine all-rounder. Light yet comfortable tend to be the hallmarks of all good endurance bikes, allowing for longer rides across a range of road surfaces, and the redesigned Avail, made at the Giant Group's composite facility, sticks to this script.

To improve comfort and reduce rider fatigue, frame clearance has been increased to accommodate tyres up to 38mm in width (light gravel anyone?). This is matched with inbuilt compliance in the form of thin, dropped seatstays, which help to further dampen vibrations from the rear wheel. The revamped fork (either Advanced SL-grade or Advanced-grade composite depending on the bike model) is designed to do the same at the front end.