Liv Intrigue E+ 1 Pro
Extending rides and boosting the fun
The Liv Intrigue E+ 1 Pro is a big bike. It’s almost the same colour as the sedan my mom owned in the 2000s, but I would compare it more to the heavyduty pickup truck driven by the woman who yelled “Nice bike!” to me as we both made our way down a smooth city street, over-equipped for the occasional pothole.
The bike is heavy, but for an emtb it’s not bad, coming in at 24.13 kg. The electronic controls, located conveniently on the left handlebar, are mostly intuitive (on, faster, slower) but the walk assist is slightly hidden. The 12-speed Shimano Deore Shadow+ (10–51 tooth) gearing plays nicely with any level of assist.
Liv’s sibling company, Giant, developed the battery on the Intrigue E+ 1 Pro with Yamaha. The cell has some major kick. The 80 Nm of torque hits in 190 milliseconds, which means the moment you push down on the pedal, you start moving with assistance. Jumping on the bike for the first time, I found myself giggling uncontrollably as I zoomed ahead of my partner (who was not blessed with the help of a 500-Wh battery).
As I got out on the Intrigue E+ the following day, I realized that the least enjoyable part of a ride, getting to the trails, was made much more tolerable with the e-assist (which topped out above 30 km/h). The Shimano hydraulic disc brakes are strong, so I always felt in control of the bike. Giant has an app that connects with the ebike, so I could see that riding 11 km to the trails, with the assist at full power, I used about 15 per cent of the battery.
Initially, I made my way through some more windy trails and ended up accidentally understeering a few turns because I had the assist turned up too high. There are five levels of assist, providing some powerful torque. I kept the power on the lower settings, adjusted my pedalling accordingly and quickly got used to the feel of the ride.
Despite the size and heft of the bike, the Intrigue E+’s women’s-specific geometry made me feel in control of the ride. The Giant dropper post inspires confidence on the descents, and the 2.6" Maxxis Minion dhf tire up front and rear Maxxis Highroller II of the same size (on Giant 27.5 tubeless-ready rims) gripped strongly on every surface I rode. The 150-mm-travel fork and 140-mm of rear Maestro suspension had me riding over pretty much everything I encountered, though I had to adjust the rebound slightly a few times to account for the weight of the bike.
I didn’t feel the fatigue I expected from a longer ride. I just kept going, powering on for a few hours longer than I had planned initially. Exploring trails I wouldn’t normally have the energy to reach, I felt like I could keep riding forever but the sun was getting low. I got home and plugged in the Intrigue E+ so it would be charged for the next adventure.