A race-oriented gravel bike that can do more than race
Words Charlotte Head Photography Joseph Branston
The Devote Advanced Pro is the highest-tier gravel bike offering from Liv, the women-specific sister brand of Giant.
While the Devote model has existed in many forms over the years, the Advanced Pro, launched in 2023, takes a racing edict to heart with an impressively light weight, full carbon finishing kit and aggressive geometry.
Liv’s claim that the Devote Advanced Pro is for out-and-out racing is echoed in its spritely build, with tubeless carbon wheels and relatively aggressive rider position, although I believe narrowing it down in this way does the bike a disservice.
With wide gearing, light 8.3kg build weight and flip-chip geometry options, the Devote Advanced Pro is, in short, a hugely competent bike for both racing or general riding, and fares impressively across all terrain.
Robust construction and natty features
The Advanced Pro suffix denotes that the frame is made from Liv’s second-highest grade of carbon composite blend.
It uses slightly less premium materials than the brand’s top-drawer Advanced SL layup (which is used for the fork), providing much of the same performance but at a slightly higher weight (and reduced cost).
Although Liv’s top-tier road bikes feature a full SL composite construction, in the Devote it has been eschewed in favour of added toughness for a bike designed primarily to be ridden off-road, as more premium fibres tend to be stiffer and so more brittle.
As for the shape of the frame, the most notable feature is the heavily sloped top tube.
This aims to increase comfort by exposing more seatpost, allowing it to flex more, and is derived from Giant’s Total Compact Road geometry, which helps make framesets lighter and stiffer by making the front and rear triangles smaller.
The frame’s key tech feature is the flip-chip rear dropout, which can be ‘flipped’ to add an extra 10mm to the bike’s wheelbase (the position of the chip dictates the fore/aft position of the wheel axle).
That might not seem like much, but Liv says it’s enough to increase stability over trickier surfaces and ups tyre clearance from 45 to 53mm.
The Devote Advanced Pro incorporates down tube storage: a plastic hatch opened by a simple dial, which has room for items such as a mini-pump or multitool.
The hatch also acts as a bottle cage mount, and there are more mount points on the underside of the down tube, the top of the top tube and on the fork legs, as well as mudguard mounts front and rear.
The bars and seatpost both feature Giant’s D-Fuse technology, which the manufacturer claims reduces fatigue and increases comfort.
The idea is that a tube with a D-shaped cross-section flexes more easily than a round tube, therefore aiding compliance and hence reducing the vibrations that cause rider fatigue.
Streamlined sizing
As a brand that specifically sells women’s bikes, the sizing is vastly different to those of traditional frames.
At 170cm tall, I normally go for a 52cm frame, which is generally either an XS or S. For the Devote Advanced Pro, there are just three sizes, with medium being the largest and the one I opted for.
The height recommendation for the medium is 164-175cm, which does beg the question what taller riders are supposed to do, although Liv says this decision was based on historical sales data and dealer demand.
The geometry is pitched as ‘aggressive’ by Liv and falls in step with racy competitors such as Canyon’s Grail in some areas.
The Devote has a reach of 386mm, similar to the Grail’s 385mm, and a wheelbase of 1,026mm, close to the Grail’s 1,024mm, although the Devote can stretch to 1,036mm when employing the flip-chip.
When it comes to stack, however, the Devote is much closer to the Specialized Diverge, with stacks of 574mm (‘short’ mode) and 577mm respectively, while the Grail is much lower.
All three share a chainstay length of 425mm, although again this can be extended with the flip-chip.
In ‘short’ mode, the head tube angle is 71° and the seat tube angle is 74.5°. Though neither of these angles changes drastically in ‘long’ mode – 70.9° and 74.4° respectively – the biggest shif is in trail, going from a long 71.6mm to an even longer 75.1mm.
To cut through the numbers, this means the Devote’s front end is comparatively slack when put alongside other ‘gravel race’ bikes.
The biggest takeaway, however, is that, with one fork rake used across the sizes, the trail on an XS grows to a staggering 78.4mm/82mm, which could undermine the bike’s otherwise racy geometry.
That wasn’t an issue in this case, however. If I were pressed to summarise the Devote Advanced Pro in one word, it would be rapid.
Bedecked with 40mm tyres, even a light bike could be forgiven for being a little sluggish on the tarmac, but this build saw me beating personal records round my local roads like never before.
Into the woods
Off-road, the Advanced Pro hopped obediently over both root and rock, excelling on skittish, uneven terrain thanks to the long trail figure promoting stable handling.
The fit geometry promotes a fast position but is not so low as to tip you over the front end and, when combined with the extended wheelbase of the ‘long’ mode, resulted in a confident and compelling ride.
Testing the bike on multiple long days in the saddle, it’s clear that Liv has created an impressive balance between performance and comfort.
Though obviously aided by the chunky tyres and lower tyre pressures, the vibration absorption of both the D-Fuse handlebars and seatpost is noticeable, removing the usual jarring rattling experienced on my local roads.
I do have a few little niggles, although none that ultimately detract from the strength of the Advanced Pro because they are all fixable.
I didn’t find the tyres to be the most confidence-inspiring, and the specced 172.5mm cranks are too long for a brand that is supposed to be all about women-specific sizing.
But nonetheless, the Liv Devote Advanced Pro is a women’s bike for the modern era, able to tackle both tarmac and trails with ease, speed and comfort.
The light, stiff frame allows it to scamper up the toughest of climbs, while the wide tyres, D-Fuse seatpost and handlebars provide compliance on the rougher stuff.
Jazz it up with skinny road rubber and it’s fit to take on the tarmac, and to top it off the bike comes in at a competitive price.
Those after a women’s bike that can do it all will be hard pressed to find much better.
THE SPEC
Model Liv Devote Advanced Pro
Price $8,299
Weight 8.3kg (medium)
Groupset Sram Force AXS
Wheels Giant CXR 1
Finishing kit Giant Contact SLR XR D-Fuse handlebars, Giant Contact Aerolight stem, Giant Contact SLR D-Fuse seatpost, Liv Approach SL saddle, Cadex AR 40mm tyres
Contact
liv-cycling.com/au
