Here’s some exciting news for the female readers of Full Sus, the world’s biggest bicycle manufacturer, Giant has split its ladies division into a separate brand: Liv. The marketing material says that Liv makes “bikes, gear and apparel that allow a rider to feel more confident. Through our genuine, optimistic and inclusive nature, we can relate to all levels of riders, from elite athletes to new fitness riders. We believe that cycling at any level can bring confidence and joy to a woman’s life, and we hope our personality inspires more people to make cycling a part of their lives.”
But the real benefit to you as the consumer is more choice of ladies’ specific bikes, gear and apparel. Now there is some resistance from the established ladies in the peloton to switch to ladies’ specific equipment, but with the massive drive to produce quality ladies’ equipment from most of the big bike manufacturers in 2015, even the most reticent lady will be on a ‘girl’s bike’ soon. And it’s not a bad thing at all!
The newly crowned Elite UCI World Cup XCO champion, Jolanda Neff (she’s still eligible to race U/23 for another two seasons) has been racing the Liv Obsess and currently there’s not a faster lady on the trails.
Liv’s South African distributors Dragons Sports say that they hope to create an exciting Liv corner in some of their key Giant Dealers too. In the meantime though go pick your new dream bike online at www.liv-cycling.com.
