Liv's has overhauled its Pique Advanced 29 for 2024, The women-specific XC race bike gets a travel boost, more radical geometry, lower weight, and increased stiffness.
The new Pique Advanced is a major redesign ready to take on a big year of XC racing, Ludi Scholz, Liv's Global Off-road & Gravel Category Manager said. "The Pique Advanced 29 represents our commitment to every woman who is pushing her limits in racing, from local events to the World Cup stage. We're here not just to keep pace, but to inspire and equip the next generation of women riders to conquer these demanding courses and make their own impact in the sport.” It's not just World Cup stages either as Liv will undoubtedly have its eyes set on the Olympics in Paris this summer.
On paper, the new Pique Advanced gets some major frame upgrades, which should make it one of the best women's mountain bikes for cross-country racing. New lighter proprietary high-performance grade raw carbon fiber has been used and new square-shaped top and down tubes have allowed Liv to shave off a claimed 297g from the frame weight while also saying it's given the frame a 6 percent increase in torsional stiffness and a 10 percent boost in pedaling stiffness over the previous model.
Liv has followed Giant's lead, ditching the time-tested Maestro Suspension System in favor of a new FlexPoint Pro Suspension Technology. The linkage-driven, single-pivot design removes the lower linkage, reducing pivot points to help save weight and reducing servicing requirements too.
Although the Pique Advanced shares some similarities with Giant's Anthem Advanced Pro, there are some significant differences in suspension and geometry.
Firstly, the geometry is entirely women's specific as Liv custom designs the bike's shape using women’s body dimension data and riding experience. The head angle is a relatively slack 67 degrees, the seat angle has been steepened to 76 degrees, and the chainstay has been marginally shortened down to 435mm. The women-specific geometry is obvious when you look at the reach numbers, proportionally shorter for a better fit ranging from 406mm on the XS to 445mm for an XL.
Liv offers the Pique in four sizes and specs components that complement each frame size. The Fox rear shocks also get a women-specific tune too, Liv says this is based on "product positioning and personal ride experiences".
Liv has equipped the Pique Advanced with more travel than Giant's XC race bike, the 115mm of FlexPoint Pro rear suspension (up from 100mm) and a 120mm fork should give more control on technical descents.
Pricing and specifications
There are four different bikes in the range, starting with the Shimano Deore equipped Pique Advanced 29 3 which will retail for $4,500 / €4,800. The most affordable bike won't be available in the UK, instead, the Pique range will enter with the Pique Advanced 29 2 which features Fox suspension and Shimano XT and will cost £4,999 / €5,400 (this model isn't available in the US). See the full breakdown of the range below.
Liv says the Pique Advanced 29 series will be available "from March", for more details head over to Liv-cycling.com.
Pique Advanced 29 0
- Frame: Advanced-grade composite front and rear triangles, 115mm FlexPoint Pro Suspension
- Fork: Fox 34 Float SC Factory, 120mm, FIT4 damper, Boost 15x110 Kabolt, tapered, tapered, 44mm offset, 3 position remote lockout
- Rear Shock: Fox Float SL Factory 165x45, custom-tuned for Liv, 115mm
- Rear Derailleur: SRAM XX Eagle, T-Type AXS
- Bar: Giant Contact SLR XC, composite, 35mm XS: 760mm, S: 760mm, M: 760mm, L: 760mm
- Stem: Giant Contact SL XC, alloy, 35mm XS: 60mm, S: 60mm, M: 70mm, L: 70mm
- Crankset: SRAM XX SL T-Type, power meter, alloy chainring 32t, 55mm chainline XS:165mm, S:170mm, M:170mm, L:175mm
- Seatpost: Fox Transfer dropper, remote. XS: 100mm travel / 30.9 x 345mm, S: 125mm travel / 30.9 x 345mm, M: 125mm travel / 30.9 x 400mm, L: 125mm travel / 30.9 x 400mm
- Saddle: Fi'zi:k Vento Argo R5
- Brakes: Shimano XTR, hydraulic, Shimano RT-64 centerlock rotors
[F]180mm, [R]160mm - Wheels: ZIPP 1ZERO HiTop SL 29 WheelSystem, 30mm inner width
- Tires: Maxxis Aspen, 29x2.4, foldable, TLR, EXO, tubeless
- Color: Mulberry Glitter/Black/Chrome
- Price: $N/A / £11,999 / €12.999
Pique Advanced 29 1
- Frame: Advanced-grade composite front and rear triangles, 115mm FlexPoint Pro Suspension
- Fork: Fox 34 Float SC Performance Elite, 120mm, FIT4 damper, Boost 15x110 KaBolt, tapered, 44mm offset, 3 position remote lockout
- Rear Shock: Fox Float SL Performance Elite, 165x45, custom-tuned for Liv, 115mm
- Rear Derailleur: SRAM GX Eagle, T-Type AXS
- Bar: Giant Contact SLR XC, composite, 35mm XS: 760mm, S: 760mm, M: 760mm, L: 760mm
- Stem: Giant Contact SL XC, alloy, 35mm XS: 60mm, S: 60mm, M: 70mm, L: 70mm
- Crankset: SRAM XO T-Type, power meter, alloy chainring 32t, 55mm chainline
XS:165mm, S:170mm, M:170mm, L:175mm - Seatpost: Giant Contact Switch AT, adjustable dropper, remote. XS: 110-140mm travel / 30.9 x 395mm, S: 110-140mm travel / 30.9 x 395mm, M: 140-170mm travel / 30.9 x 470mm, L: 140-170mm travel / 30.9 x 470mm
- Saddle: Fi'zi:k Vento Argo R5
- Brakes: Shimano XT, hydraulic, Shimano RT-64 centerlock rotors
[F]180mm, [R]160mm - Wheels: Giant XCR 1 29 carbon WheelSystem, 30mm inner width
- Tires: Maxxis Aspen, 29x2.4, foldable, TLR, EXO, tubeless
- Color: Gloss Raw Carbon/Matte Raw Carbon/Chrome
- Price: $7,500 / £6,999 / €8,300
Pique Advanced 29 2
- Frame: Advanced-grade composite front and rear triangles, 115mm FlexPoint Pro Suspension
- Fork: Fox 34 Float SC Performance, 120mm, Grip damper, Boost 15x110 KaBolt, 44mm offset, 3 position remote lockout
- Rear Shock: Fox Float SL Performance Elite, 165x45, custom-tuned for Liv, 115mm
- Rear Derailleur: Shimano XT M8100, Shadow +
- Bar: Giant Contact XC, alloy, 35mm XS: 760mm, S: 760mm, M: 760mm, L: 760mm
- Stem: Giant Contact SL XC, alloy, 35mm XS: 60mm, S: 60mm, M: 70mm, L: 70mm
- Crankset: Shimano SLX M7120-1, alloy chainring 30t, 55mm chainline XS: 165mm, S: 170mm, M: 170mm, L: 175mm
- Seatpost: Giant Contact Switch AT, adjustable dropper, remote. XS: 110-140mm travel / 30.9 x 395mm, S: 110-140mm travel / 30.9 x 395mm, M: 140-170mm travel / 30.9 x 470mm, L: 140-170mm travel / 30.9 x 470mm
- Saddle: Fi'zi:k Vento Argo R5
- Brakes: Shimano SLX M7100, hydraulic, Shimano RT-56 rotors
[F]180mm, [R]160mm - Wheels: Giant XCR 2 29 carbon WheelSystem, 25mm inner width
- Tires: Maxxis Aspen, 29x2.4, foldable, TLR, EXO, tubeless
- Color: Golden Haze/Carbon/Chrome
- Price: $N/A / £4,999 / €5,400
Pique Advanced 29 3
- Frame: Advanced-grade composite front and rear triangles, 115mm FlexPoint Pro Suspension
- Fork: RockShox Sid, 120mm, Boost 15x110mm Maxle Stealth, tapered, tapered, 44mm offset, Rush RL
- Rear Shock: Fox Float SL Performance, 165x45, custom-tuned for Liv, 115mm
- Rear Derailleur: Shimano Deore M6100, Shadow +
- Bar: Giant Contact XC, alloy, 35mm XS: 760mm, S: 760mm, M: 760mm, L: 760mm
- Stem: Giant Contact SL XC, alloy, 35mm XS: 60mm, S: 60mm, M: 70mm, L: 70mm
- Crankset: Praxis Cadet, steel chainring 30t, 55mm chainline XS: 165mm, S: 170mm, M: 170mm, L: 175mm
- Seatpost: Giant Contact Switch AT, adjustable dropper, remote. XS: 110-140mm travel / 30.9 x 395mm, S: 110-140mm travel / 30.9 x 395mm, M: 140-170mm travel / 30.9 x 470mm, L: 140-170mm travel / 30.9 x 470mm
- Saddle: Fi'zi:k Vento Argo R5
- Brakes: Shimano BR MT410, hydraulic, Shimano RT-26 rotors
[F]180mm, [R]160mm - Wheels: Giant XCR 2 29 carbon WheelSystem, 25mm inner width
- Tires: Maxxis Aspen, 29x2.4, foldable, TLR, EXO, tubeless
- Color: Ice Age/Carbon
- Price: $4,500 / £N/A / €4,800
