The Takeaway: The Intrigue is a badass 29er trail bike designed for women
Full-carbon trail bike with geometry tailored for women
Full suspension, with 140mm travel front, 125mm travel rear
Flip-chip frame adjustment for more geometry options
Price: $5,700
Weight: 28.4lbs (S)
There’s nothing like the first summery ride of the season. You know the one: Where after months of cold, gray, dark days, the sun bursts out and you shed your arm warmers to roll through miles of golden woods with friends, laughing and chatting the whole way.
This year, I had an excellent bike for that ride—the Liv Intrigue Advanced Pro 29 1, a women’s-oriented, 29-inch wheel, mountain bike. With 140mm of front suspension and 125mm in the rear, it’s a capable trail bike on chunky features, with enough XC flavor to keep things snappy. It comes with Fox Float fork and rear shock, Giant-brand carbon wheels, and a SRAM GX Eagle drivetrain. It’s a newly updated model from the brand, and its second 29er in recent years, alongside the XC-oriented Pique.
On that first sweet summer day, and on many rides before it, I found myself impressed by the Intrigue’s trail-ready, up-for-anything personality. So, it was no surprise when I asked Jen Audia, senior global marketing manager at Liv, who the bike’s ideal rider was: “It's a rider who's inspired to head out on their local trails, but also somebody who's looking to travel with their bike. They like a mix of climbing and descending. And they're not afraid to tackle some really technical features, be it rocks, techy singletrack, or even big jumps.”
5 Things We Love About the Liv Intrigue Advanced Pro 29 1
29 Inch Wheels
Get sendy, XC-style.
Fox Float Shock
Provides 125mm of supple squish.
Flip Chip Technology
Adjust the geometry to better suit your terrain and riding style.
Smart Saddle
The newly redesigned Silvia is lighter and smoother (read: easier to move on) than previous versions.
Sparkle Fade Paint
Um... swoon.
Liv Is For Women Who Shred
For those who aren't familiar with the brand, Liv is the sibling brand of Giant Bicycles, one of the largest worldwide brands in cycling. Liv's models are designed specifically for women, with unique geometry, carbon layups, and touchpoints (like saddles and grips) aimed at fitting women's body. It's one of the few brands on the market taking this approach currently—while many brands (such as Juliana and Specialized) have given up on creating women's bikes that are substantially different from men's models, Liv remains committed to the idea that women's body proportions are different enough from men's to warrant completely different bikes. Whether their women's-focused approach works better for you largely depends on your personal geometry, and also your ride style and preferences—I've personally found great rides in both Liv's bikes, and more generic unisex-oriented brands.
As far as the Intrigue's fit for my body, I chose the size small frame (I'm 5' 4.5", to be precise). It was ideal—I felt balanced and centered over the bike, without being stretched out or smushed. The reach in my preferred high chip position was 16.7", and I had plenty of room to hop off in a hurry with 29.6" of standover.
The Intrigue Family
The Intrigue comes in both 27.5 and 29er versions, but they’re fairly different bikes. The 29er is new for this year, and has 140mm of front suspension, with 125mm in the rear. It’s offered in 3 models: the aluminum Intrigue 29 2 is the most budget-friendly, at $3,300, and comes with Fox Float front and rear suspension, a Giant-branded dropper post, a Shimano SLX rear derailleur and MT520 brakes, and Giant-branded alloy wheels. The Intrigue Advanced Pro 29 1 and 2 have carbon frames and are priced at $5,700 and $4,700, respectively. (In Liv’s nomenclature, “Advanced” denotes the use of the brand’s advanced carbon composite, while “Pro” represents a carbon front and rear triangle.) The 1 gets higher-end Fox Float fork and shock, while the 2 has RockShox Pike fork and Deluxe rear shock. The 1 also has a SRAM GX Eagle drivetrain, while the 2 uses SRAM NX Eagle.
The Intrigue 29 is available in small, medium, and large frames—the brand isn’t at the point yet where it’s able nail the bike’s geometry and safety standards while using 29er wheels in an XS size, Audia says, though they promise they’re working on it.
There are also two 27.5-inch wheel models—the aluminum Intrigue ($2,350), and the carbon Intrigue Advanced ($3,400). They both have 150mm of front suspension, with 140mm of rear travel, and have been in the line for a few years. Because of this, the 27.5-inch models don’t have many of the same frame updates of the 29-inch wheel models.
Flip-Chip Tech
The Intrigue 29 is Liv’s first bike that uses a flip-chip. It’s an eccentric two-piece system that Audia says is designed to give a significant change in geometry, while still being relatively easy to adjust. In the high and low positions, there is a 0.7 degree change in head tube angle (66.5 degrees high, 65.8 low), a 0.8 degree change in seat tube angle (77.8 high, 77.0 low), and a 0.4 inch difference in bottom bracket drop (1.2 inch in high to 1.6 inch in low).
Of course, even though the process of switching the chip is relatively simple, it’s not something I’d do in the middle of a ride. But, “If you’re riding your home trails, and then head out for an adventure in Sedona, or up to Vermont, you’ll have the option to pretty easily change the geometry of your bike to better suit the change in terrain,” Audia says.
For the chunky East coast tech of my local trails, the high position was ideal. That slightly taller, nimbler position was spot-on for the constant rock gardens and turns, and gave me the ability to make the small but precise adjustments I wanted.
Small, but Key Details
Liv has also updated the bike’s frame protection with a soft, but more durable material on the chainstay and downtube. A slight cutout allows the protection to wrap onto the sides rather than just being underneath, which could come in handy on loose trails where rocks kick up. It also has a raised texture on the chainstay, which is designed to reduce noise from chain slap.
It also comes with a newly redesigned saddle called the Sylvia SL, which has lighter weight rails than previous versions, plus smooth edges that prevent shorts getting hung up while you move around.
The Ride
Long story short: The Intrigue is a badass bike. It tackled the chunky descents of my local trail system with enthusiasm, while still managing not to feel piggish or unfocused on the same slow, precise climbs. The suspension feels plush without being too soft—I felt insulated from the judders and bounces of rocks and roots, and popped off small jumps with ease. On one ride, I had to sprint down a mostly flat cinder path to catch the group, and I never found myself wallowing, bouncing, or wishing for more support.
Not every ride can feel like the first day of summer. There are rainy days, and cold days, and days when your legs feel like concrete blocks. But every time I rode the Intrigue, I felt at least a little glimpse of sunshine.
Taylor Rojek is an associate features editor who has been writing, editing, and testing gear with Bicycling and Runner’s World since 2014. She was nominated for an American Magazine Award in 2017 for her work on the information-packed feature “How Cycling Works.” She has a depth of experience in both sports—she’s split the last two decades between racing on foot, with distances ranging from 800m to 26.2 miles, and on all kinds of bikes, including road, mountain, and cyclocross. This year, she’s moved away from the starting line to focus on training her dog Rosie to join her on the trail. She balances that activity with her current quest to bake—and eat—perfect homemade bread.
