Spotted: Giant and Liv have New Gravel Bikes on the Horizon

At the 2026 Unbound Gravel, Specialized stole the show. With five out of the six top riders riding the new Crux 5, the new bike dominated both the podiums. In the men’s race, it went even deeper, with four out of the top five riding the new bike.

Nevertheless, there was another bike near the top of the results that was also noteworthy. On the eve of Unbound, Giant and Liv showed off new prototype gravel bikes that would be raced for the first time in Kansas. Sure enough, after 200 miles of racing through dire conditions, Brendan Johnston rolled across the line in fourth place, wheeling the new bike to a halt, coated in mud.

While we cannot say exactly when we might see these updates to the Giant Revolt and Liv Devote platforms, having athletes race an advanced prototype of both models suggests that the new bikes could be coming soon. While we were not given specific details, we were able to grab pictures of the bike and speculate on a few of the visible changes from the previous iteration of the Revolt and Devote.

UDH, finally

First and foremost, Giant and Liv finally achieved UDH compatibility with their gravel bike platform. The brand was the last major brand to not have a gravel bike that could run UDH-specific derailleurs. Now, that has changed with the new frames coming equipped with UDH.

It is notable that the frame still has a cable port, making it compatible with mechanical shifting and a Di2 cable. While other new releases have kept to electronic shifting or 1x only, versatility is a key priority for a brand like Giant that looks to have a very broad reach.

Space for 2.2-inch tires and a longer wheelbase

One of the reasons why Giant could afford to keep the established platforms for so long without UDH capabilities was its large tire clearance capacity. The previous Revolt received a modest update in 2024 with a flip chip that created front and rear clearance for 53mm. That translates to enough room for 2.2-inch or 56mm tires.

We don’t have exact clearance figures, but it looks as if the clearances have only been made bigger. There is no doubt that the extra clearance helped the Liv/Giant athletes get through the mud at Unbound, in addition to the added tire size. But the bigger question is the trade-offs. What does that bigger clearance mean for the bike’s ability to function as a Jack of All Trades with smaller volume tires?

What is clear is that the new bikes are not going to extreme lengths to keep the wheelbase as tight as possible. By the looks of things, the bikes have chainstays that are on the longer side and a front end that has a bit of a slacker front end compared to other new gravel racing bikes. With that large-volume tire clearance, this is not a surprise, as bigger tires generally feel more balanced and stable on a longer, slacker frame. The obvious sacrifice here is the ability for the new Devote and Revolt from feeling as capable as an all-road bike with smaller tires.

Limited aero-shaping and more usability compared to other new releases

The new Revolt and Devote are clearly positioned as racing bikes, yet they don’t have the same level of aerodynamic shaping and profiles that are present on other new releases. The headtube, for instance, remains fairly shallow and does not have the heavy hourglass shaping that many new race bikes have. Throughout the rest of the frame, the bike has fairly rounded tube shapes. There are dropped seatstays, but ultimately they are in a similar place and in a similar shape to other Giant frames.

Instead, the bike has a few elements that add a bit of compliance and versatility to the bike. The seat post jumps out, as its curved shape and setback add compliance for the rider when seated. A sneaky bottle cage mount underneath the top tube also adds a bit of functionality to the bike, as well as mounts for a top tube bag. What is missing is frame storage, additional bottle mounts along the downtube or seat tube, and apparent mounts for fenders.

New wheels from Cadex round out the new platform

Lastly, with the two new gravel bikes comes a new wheelset from Giant’s sister brand Cadex. Like the frame, we don’t have specific details on the dimensions, like rim width and depth, but we did get to see them up close.

The wheels are complete with sleek, integrated carbon-bladed spokes that are mounted directly onto the carbon hub shell. While this does make fixing a broken spoke a challenge, it may boost the overall ride feel of the wheels and the aerodynamics of the hub/spoke interface. That technology has been seen on Cadex road wheels, but it is new for an off-road offering from Cadex.

The rim itself also brings some new tech into the picture, with a noticeably flared rim bead. This appears to be similar to how the new Terra Aero CLX wheels from Roval use a broad rim bead to help lessen the risk of pinch flats from the tire compressing on the rim.