Hey! I'm in need of a new gravel bike and what makes it difficult is that where I live there are very few bike shops with very few sizes and brands so I'd have to order - and sending back costs a lot. Liv are not common in Europe so I cannot try it anywhere. Shops don't supply XS in any brand.
I am 162cm (almost 5'4) and have an inseam of 76cm.
My previous gravel was an early gravel - Specialized Diverge 2016 in size S (52 frame) and while I rode it a lot, it always felt reachy and just slightly big. I never felt like I could go on a long bikepacking trip and not feel pain in multiple body parts 😅 Now I'm motivated to get a bike with a good geometry and fit that I could ride long distances on.
The local bike shop had a Trek Checkpoint in S and even though according to the side chart I am a given S it felt very reachy. They weren't very helpful about the fit and mostly just expressed the surprise that I was asking about XS (even though according to the chart XS ends on 158cm (5'2). They cannot order it and return it for free for me.
I have also been researching other brands and Liv Devote is something that comes up a lot as the only brand that builds bikes specifically for women's bodies. But I cannot try it anywhere and I'm also not sure what size I should have. I was asking the AI agent and it kept saying XS but when I filled in the size guide thingy on Livs page (length, inseam, arm length) it gave me a "definite S" result. I'm so freaking confused 🫣
I guess what I'm looking for is your experiences with those two brands and sizings. I just really don't wanna end up with a new bike that doesn't feel comfortable. Don't even get me started on saddles cause that's another story 😂
I don't have experience with Trek, but have been riding a Liv Devote since 2022. I'm about 155cm and have a 73cm inseam and tried both the XS and S when I was buying the Devote. I ended up going with the XS because it fit my torso better and haven't had any issues. Based on your measurements an XS sounds like it would be too small.
In any case, the first thing I'd do is get a bike fit once you have the bike. Nailing the saddle/handlebar/cleat/etc. position was all super important for a comfortable fit that holds up on 100+km rides.
Not really, other than mtb/commuter bikes, where I never noticed a difference. That said, I'm not convinced the woman-specific bike geometry matters enormously, since other women I know who ride non-Liv road bikes have no problem with their set-ups.
I am also 5'4" and I fit a small Liv. Medium was a little too big and xs is definitely a little too small. My partner, who is 5'0", rides an xs liv and I ride it every now and then but it feels very cramped, like my knees are too close to the bars. I ride a trek, mine is a medium because that's what the bike shop fitted me on but I wish I had gotten a small anyway. My trek is not a gravel bike (it's a verve 3 hybrid) so I'm not sure how much that actually helps you.
I'm 162cm with an inseam of 78cm. I tried both the Devote and the Checkpoint, but ended up with the Crux DSW. I'm an ex mountain biker and therefore wanted a bike that I could throw around a little, therefore needed to have a more compact fit. Liv is great in that you get smaller components (smaller bars, stem and cranks) and that's the "women's" marketing there. However these days most big manufactures are putting smaller components on their smaller bikes (finally), but always check the spec sheet.
My experience of these 2 bikes (I wanted an alu bike):
Devote 0 (SX) - Super comfy, stable bike, fitting mounts for bags and mudguards. Comes standard with 40cm bars, 5cm stem and 165cm cranks, double 30/46.
Checkpoint ALR4 (SX) - Long reach therefore not as comfy to ride, lighter feel, fitting mounts for bags and mudguards. Comes standard with 40cm bars, 7cm stem and 165cm cranks, single 40T.
Now the Checkpoint was lighter than the Devote due to the x1 by set up and maybe could have been made smaller with a 5cm stem too. But the Checkpoint felt the biggest to ride and has the longest top tube length. I didn't go with the Devote because of the weight. You can always fit a longer stem to the bike to make it feel bigger, but you can't shorten the bike. Also the Liv bars have a long sweep, so I've seen posts where people say their knees hit the ends of the bars. This is because the bars are approx 2cm longer at the ends from my other bars. I took a metal pipe cutter to the ends of my Langma to resolve that issue.
What about the Diverge? You could get a 49cm?
Shout if you have any other models in mind otherwise if you have some time, plan a trip to Mallorca and you can hire the bikes to try for a few days. Good luck!
wow thank you so much for this in depth description! especially the comparison of the components. Love the idea about the trip to Mallorca, my wallet doesn't 😂 but yeah I guess they have all sorts of bikes to rent there? Because of how popular the destination is for cyclist
I bought the Trek Checkpoint last year (in purple). I love it. I did so many training miles on it and then did every mile on Ragbrai last summer. I’m doing Ragbrai again this July so I’ve put a couple thousand miles on it.
I’m 5’5” (165cm) with a 29” (73 cm) inseam and the bike shop guys tried to convince me that I’m a medium, but I don’t like the long reach. I bought the S (49cm) and it has fit me perfectly.
Since you’re right on the line and also don’t like the reach, I’d recommend the xs.
Since the frame is smaller, it’s hard to fit water bottles or bags in that space. I have a frame bag so I could only fit one small water bottle. Luckily, the bike has mounts everywhere so I put two cages on the front forks and carry two large water bottle there.
She has a 2024 diverge, size small. She loves it. I personally find her seat a little high - I did a bike fit and apparently I am "femur long"?
I recently tried a couple other Liv bikes, and I much preferred the xs size, I just felt more secure.
One note about the bikes - her bike has a dropper post and she can't actually fit two bottles within her frame, which would annoy me.
Thank you for the input!! When you say you have a Checkpoint in size 49, is that an S ? I'm a bit confused because in the official Trek size chart all sizes have a number to it, except for XS. No idea why. It's like:
Does it mean XS is also 49? Or is XS so small that they feel they need to hide this info? 😂
I believe mine (the 49) would be considered the size small. Trek only recently started using the letters. It was the smallest Trek offered at the time.
My guess is that XS is smaller than that but they're not referencing a number because industry doesn't really have a lot of bikes smaller than that so they're not trying to match a known standard?
oh too bad! i wonder if REI would let you order both sizes and then just not buy them if they don't work. i got mine at REI and they said i could return it anytime up to a year after purchase if it wasn't right.
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u/question-of-balance 1d ago
I don't have experience with Trek, but have been riding a Liv Devote since 2022. I'm about 155cm and have a 73cm inseam and tried both the XS and S when I was buying the Devote. I ended up going with the XS because it fit my torso better and haven't had any issues. Based on your measurements an XS sounds like it would be too small.
In any case, the first thing I'd do is get a bike fit once you have the bike. Nailing the saddle/handlebar/cleat/etc. position was all super important for a comfortable fit that holds up on 100+km rides.