BIKE LAUNCH
Women-specific all-rounder features a re-engineered frameset with bags of tyre clearance
When Liv was born in 2008, the Avail was its calling card. Here was a versatile and capable 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.
In Advanced Pro guise, the frame weight has been reduced by a chunky 128.4 grams over its predecessor and now stands at 855 grams.
The Advanced model is lighter too, by some 105 grams. Liv is keen to point out that this reduction in weight hasn’t negatively impacted the bike’s stiffness.
In fact its testing out the ride. The D-Fuse seatpost and handlebars both use D-shaped composite tubing for improved compliance; the seatpost features 7mm of flex while the Contact SL D-Fuse handlebar, tailored for women’s hands and featuring 8° of flare at the drops, use the tubing on the tops to deliver 40% better downward compliance while still retaining plenty of stiffness.
Vitally, Liv says this technology allows it to achieve its comfort goals without having to resort to suspension devices that add both complexity and weight.
Variety and versatility
As with the Defy, the Avail also uses the new Contact Aerolight stem for improved aero integration.
In the Advanced Pro models, the SL Aerolight routes the cables beneath and inside the stem, while the Aerolight model used across the Advanced range routes them beneath only.
According to Liv, both options make for easier adjustments as well as helping to give the Avail a clean-loo
