The Liberation Fab Empty Bee is a mountain bike for nature lovers, adventurers, and shredders of impeccable style

Our Empty Bee is the culmination of years of riding, jumping, staring lovingly at, and epically crashing mountain bikes. It’s a hardtail that is comfortable, confident, and a delight to ride at any skill level.

Philosophy

Mountain bikes are pretty dang good these days. The modernization of geometry and suspension means that you’d be hard-pressed to find a reputable brand selling a mountain bike that doesn’t ride well. So what could a small builder offer that a large company couldn’t do for half the price?

The answer came down to a pretty simple concept. No one is making a mountain bike that reflects the joy I find in the sport. When I think about going outside and riding trails, I think of the feelings of wind in my hair, wiping dirt off my face, and breathing in the fresh air of the forest. I think about all the magical places my bike has taken me and the friends I’ve made along the way. Shredding to me has always been secondary to connecting with nature and other people.

Mountain bikers have always had a deep connection with the earth, from trail builders who can tell you the proper way to dig drainage systems anywhere on a mountain, to locals who know and share soil conditions like gossip, to the seasoned rider who can intimately describe root systems and rock gardens from memory. The Empty Bee sees and acknowledges that connection. It reminds us that we’re inseparable from the land we ride on and encourages us to shred respecfully.

-Eva, Fabulous Fabricator at Liberation Fab

Design

Our Empty Bee frame loves zipping over jumps, treading softly over roots, and being carried over terrain that feels juuuust a bit too spicy. It’s progressive and modern in not just its geometry, but in its design language and philosophy. Within the myriad categories of mountain bikes, the Empty Bee delicately straddles the “Trail” and “Down-Country” genres, neither sacrificing downhill stability nor climbing prowess.

Like many “hardcore” hardtails, we use a mid-travel suspension fork for comfort on nearly any terrain. Room for wide tires adds even more cush, grip, and cornering confidence. The Empty Bee is long-ish, low-ish, and slack-ish enough that you can focus less on avoiding flipping over the handlebars and more on enjoying the beautiful forest scenery.

Each size of the Empty Bee is designed around a specific fork travel and wheel size. It’s easy to get stuck in the weeds on those parameters but we’ve found that sensible geometry makes a much bigger difference than either of those.

Specs

  • We have seven stock sizes that are designed to fit riders from 4’11” to 6’4” (150-195cm). To optimize bike fit, performance, and handling, we’ve selected different wheel sizes based on the frame size.

    • XXS, XS, and S use 27.5” wheels

    • M, L , XL, and XXL use 29” wheels

    To make sure all riders have a great fit and experience, we also recommend different suspension travel for different frames.

    • XXS - 120mm

    • XS - 130mm

    • S, M, L - 140mm

    • XL & XXL - 150mm

    Check out the full sizing and geometry chart below or on Bike Insights. You can compare any of our frame sizes against a bike you currently ride and see how they stack up!

  • The Empty Bee frame is designed with 2.3-2.6” tires in mind. Smaller tires will fit but increase the risk of pedal strike. Larger tires may fit with limited dirt clearance.

  • The Empty Bee is compatible with most modern mountain bike drivetrains. It comes standard with a UDH hanger which is removable to use a SRAM Transmission drivetrain.

    The Empty Bee fits chainrings up to 34t. Oval chainrings up to 34t equivalent will also fit. It will accommodate most chainrings at a standard boost (52mm) or modern boost (55mm) chainline.

    There may be fitment issues with some Shimano 52mm chainline cranksets. Newer 55mm chainline cranksets do not have this issue.

  • In a world of increasingly precarious supply chains, it’s challenging to commit to a specific set of tubing for a production run of frames. The Empty Bee frame is designed around double-butted heat treated tubes from Fairing, but we may swap out individual tubes as availability fluctuates. You can be assured that the tubes we use will be individually vetted to our high standards.

    To maximize the benefits of a steel hardtail, the tubing is selected to delicately balance compliance with sturdiness. And don’t worry - steel is much easier to repair than your collarbone!

  • It seems like every day a new frame standard is released. We’ve tried to keep up with the latest and greatest while still creating a versatile platform for self-expression.

    Headset: IS42 upper and IS52 lower

    Seatpost Clamp: 34.9mm

    Seatpost Diameter: 31.6mm

    Brake calipers: IS mount

    Brake Housing Routing: Spiral along down tube

    Shifting: 1x only, wired or wireless

    Shift Housing Routing: Spiral along down tube

    Dropper Post: Frames are all designed around 150mm+ of travel. Larger frames will fit 200mm+.

    Dropper Housing Routing: Wired or wireless, spiral along down tube, then internal to seat tube.

    Axles: 148x12mm, UDH-compatible. Replacement axles are available through Paragon Machine Works SK4113.

    Bottom Bracket: 73mm, T47 threaded

  • Empty Bee frames are available in three stock paint schemes. We took inspiration from our favorite mountain bike nature scenes.

    The stock paint options are:

    • Bluebird day - Sky blue with puffs of white clouds

    • Cryptobiotic Soil Crust - Matte desert red with flecks of sage green

    • Loam - A rich, deep glossy brown

    Custom paint available on request, please send us a custom inquiry for more details! Pricing info here.

  • The Empty Bee frame is designed around the RockShox Pike fork. We think this fork is ideal for most people in most circumstances. The Pike is available in travel from 120mm through 150mm. We recommend specific forks to get the best fit and performance out of each size of frame:

    • XXS - 27.5” 120mm

    • XS - 27.5” 130mm

    • S - 27.5” 140mm

    • M & L - 29” 140mm

    • XL & XXL - 29” 150mm

    Most forks in a similar travel range will work great as well, but feel free to contact us to double check.

  • We’ve tried to fit as much usable space as possible within this frame. Whether you prefer a water bottle, frame bag, or some combination of the two, there are ample mounts for all your hydration and storage needs.

    Check back soon or send us a message to get the full details for each frame size!

Sizing

Sizing is one of the trickiest things to figure out when picking out a new bike. We’ve tried to make this a bit easier by leveraging Bike Insights to allow you to compare our frames against bikes you’ve previously ridden. The below guide is for reference only, we recommend talking to a local shop or a fitter if you have any specific questions!

Sizing by Height:

  • XXS: 4’11” to 5’1” (150-156cm)

  • XS: 5’1” to 5’4” (156-163cm)

  • S: 5’4” to 5’6” (163-169cm)

  • M: 5’6” to 5’9” (169-176cm)

  • L: 5’9” to 5’11” (176-182cm)

  • XL: 5’11” to 6’2” (182-189cm)

  • XXL: 6’2” to 6’4” (189-195cm)

Geometry

Size XXS XS S M L XL XXL
Wheel Size 27.5" 27.5" 27.5" 29" 29" 29" 29"
Fork Travel 120mm 130mm 140mm 140mm 140mm 150mm 150mm
Stack 571 589 607 630 648 667 685
Reach 400 415 430 450 465 480 500
Seat Tube Length, C-T 360 380 400 420 440 460 480
Effective Top Tube Length 553 573 593 619 639 659 683
Head Tube Angle 64.5º 64.5º 64.5º 65º 65º 65º 65º
Seat Tube Angle (effective) 75º 75º 75º 75º 75º 75º 75º
Head Tube Length 100 110 120 110 130 140 160
Bottom Bracket Drop 40 40 40 55 55 55 55
Bottom Bracket Height* 313 313 313 317 317 317 317
Chainstay Length 405 410 415 420 430 440 450
Front-Center, Horizontal 710 733 757 780 804 827 855
Wheelbase 1113 1141 1170 1196 1230 1264 1302
Fork Offset/Rake 46 46 46 51 51 51 51
Fork Length (Axle to Crown) 512 522 532 551 551 561 561
Trail 117 117 117 117 117 117 117

All dimensions are in millimeters unless otherwise noted. Geometry is unsagged - contact us if you’d like sagged geo.
* Bottom bracket height is based on 2.4”/61mm tires