Liv Cycling is a women’s specific corner of an industry that is heavily male-dominated. A bike brand focused around not only making bikes that cater to the female body but also furthering women’s cycling both racing and recreational.
Here are six ways that Liv is helping women’s cycling grow:
Bikes that fit
How are you supposed to get the most out of your bike if it isn’t designed with you in mind? Liv base all of their frame sizing, component choices and mountain bike suspension tuning around data that is specifically from women.
There is a tendency within the cycling industry to view women as simply small men, but not at Liv. Their designers take measurements from 11 key contact points on the bike using averages from female-only data to produce their sizes and frame designs. Part of the Liv design process even takes into consideration the different ways in which women’s bodies recruit their muscles when cycling compared to men.
When bikes are tailored to cater to the unique needs and characteristics of women's bodies, the outcome is a product optimized for performance and comfort from the very first ride. This enhanced fit allows women to experience increased comfort, maximizing their enjoyment and motivation to ride.
Professional team sponsorship
There’s no better way to test a bike than by pushing it to its limits in a race. That's exactly what Liv Cycling's sponsored pro riders do across road, triathlon, gravel, cross and mountain bike. With the Liv Racing TeqFind and Team Jayco AlUla Women's WorldTour teams, Liv Factory Racing and Liv Racing Collective riders, Liv bikes can be seen at the highest level of the sport.
At Liv Racing TeqFind, Spanish national champion Mavi Garcia is regularly seen at the sharp end of the biggest races on the women’s calendar, competing amongst the most talented climbers and pushing her Langma to the limit. It’s not only the mountains where Liv Racing TeqFind thrives, however, over on the cobbles, her teammate Katia Ragusa rode to second place at the 2023 Paris Roubaix Femmes.
Elsewhere, American rider Kristen Faulkner has ridden Liv bikes to Giro Donne stage victories and WorldTour podiums for Jayco AlUla while Liv Factory Racing mountain biker Ronja Blöchlinger has claimed three U23 World Cup short track victories and the Swiss U23 national title. Elsewhere, her teammates, Linda Indergand and Jenn Jackson are regulars on the elite World Cup scene.
White jersey at the Tour de France Femmes
Team sponsorship isn’t the only way that Liv supports those at the highest level of the sport. With the return of a women’s Tour de France in 2022 the women’s peloton were given the opportunity to race for the iconic yellow, polka-dot, green, and white jerseys. With the inaugural Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift, Liv became the only bike brand in the Tour's history to partner with the biggest race on the women's calendar as they sponsored the white jersey for best young rider.
The white jersey is an opportunity to highlight up-and-coming talent and it was duly won by talented cyclocross and road racer, Shirin van Anrooij. For the 2023 edition of the race, Liv will once again sponsor the white jersey, which is guaranteed to change hands as Van Anrooij will not race at this year’s edition.
A Women Driven Team
Liv is a company that is designed by women, for women. The brand’s founder, Bonnie Tu, formed Liv after having her own difficulties finding a bike and equipment that fit her properly. Alongside Tu, however there are myriad women behind the brand who work as designers, mechanics, and other roles all over the world.
Many of the women who work behind the scenes at Liv are bike riders themselves, meaning that, as the only women’s brand that makes their bikes in-house from start to finish, they know exactly what women look for in a bike.
Grassroots support
While Liv backs high-performance athletes at the top of their sport, it’s not just about the pros. With grassroots initiatives designed to get as many women on bikes as possible, Liv is committed to building communities that are welcoming and inclusive for all women.
Through the Liv community, the brand strives to bring the cycling opportunities to women across the globe with coaching, clinics, rides, races, and events for women to come together and experience the power of two wheels together and build communities around riding bikes.
Liv has a community of ambassadors from all walks of life and all levels of the sport across the globe, who show their real-life cycling adventures online and organise everything from group rides and skills clinics to Tour de France Femmes watch parties. Liv’s ambassadors show that cycling isn’t just about looking good or going fast, it’s about enjoying the ride and bringing others together, no matter who you are.
Beginner-friendly guides
Getting into cycling can be a daunting prospect: there is so much jargon, so many components to think about and skills to learn. If you can’t make it to a welcoming beginner’s group then learning these new skills can be difficult and scary. Luckily, Liv’s website it full of how-to guides on everything from how to shift gears, basic bike maintenance, to commuting and safety tips.
For those who are slightly more advanced in their riding, Liv’s website has hundreds of articles featuring tips such as how to set up an indoor trainer, how to get into mountain bike and road racing, how to descend or ride with no hands and even how to do a wheelie.
