Review: One Year on the Liv Intrigue LT Advanced Pro 1

With the Hail no longer in the lineup, the Intrigue LT is now the most aggressive bike that Liv offers and is the same frame that Rae Morrison raced to several top-10 finishes during the 2023 Enduro World Cup season.

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Frame Details


The new Intrigue LT Advanced is the first bike in Liv's line up to get in-frame storage and uses the same system as Giant's Trance and Reign models. When you turn the latch on the downtube 90 degrees, an internal compartment that contains a water-resistant bag is revealed. The door stayed secure and didn't rattle for the duration of the test, but I didn't find the compartment as useful as it could have been had it had a larger opening. I still ran my pump alongside the water bottle cage and my windbreaker strapped to my handlebars.

I was slightly disappointed to find that you can only fit a small 21 ounce (620 mL) water bottle on the size medium frame, but at least the medium frame fits a standard sized small water bottle. While there are water bottle mounts on all frames sizes and Liv says that you can put a water bottle on the two smaller sizes, they will only fit a 13.5 ounce (400 mL) bottle.

While the shorter-travel Intrigue has a dual-position link that allows you to choose between a high or low position, the Intrigue LT Advanced has three positions. This is actually accomplished with two different flip chips – a combination high/low and a dedicated mid-position chip. The adjustment on the upper rocker arm of the rear suspension changes the head tube angle, seat tube angle and bottom bracket height. It's worth noting that the low position is not permitted for medium and large frames when set up as a mixed-wheel configuration.

I was impressed at how durable the top coat is and how good the frame continues to look after more than a year of riding and not always been treated gently. There are a couple minor chips in the clear coating when you look closely, but overall, it's very tough and the raw carbon finish looks great. There are serious rubber protectors along the downtube to keep it safe when rocks fly up from the trail or when you're shuttling and there is a thick ribbed chainstay protector to keep chainslap to a minimum.

I did wear through the rear housing cable initially since it pops out of the rear triangle very close to the chain behind the chainring. Under chainslap, the part that isn't covered by a rubber protector got frayed. Once I secured the cable in place with zip ties, it didn't happen again however. Luckily, since routing the cable through the rear triangle proved to be more challenging than it should have been since there was no tube in tube.

The frame has integrated cable ports and is compatible with Fox Live Valve. Liv uses a SRAM DUB press fit bottom bracket on the Intrigue LT and the rear triangle is compatible with SRAM's UDH. Most of the pivot bolts have the torque spec and rotation direction listed on them. The frames uses Boost hub spacing and the max tire size that fits in the frame is 2.5". The biggest chainring you can ride is a 32t.

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Geometry & Sizing

Frame sizes Small and XS are solely designed for an MX configuration with a 29" wheel up front and a 27.5" wheel in the rear. Frame sizes Medium and Large come with 29" wheels stock front and rear but can accommodate a 27.5" wheel in the rear if you choose to purchase one separately.

The geometry chart for the Intrigue LT is more complicated than most, with the three flip-chip positions making for three different head tube, seat tube and bottom bracket heights per size. In addition, Liv shared the geometry chart for the medium and large sizes in an MX configuration, which adds more numbers to the mix, although the low position isn't actually permitted for frame sizes M and L when set up as a mixed-wheel configuration due to safety standards.

I rode the size medium frame and settled on the low setting with the 29" wheels, which gave it a 64.8-degree head tube angle, a 77.3 degree seat tube angle, a 439mm reach, 1208mm wheelbase and 35mm bottom bracket drop.

Using the flip-chip will alter the angles by about 0.4 degrees in either direction and move the reach 4mm in either direction. The reach numbers vary from 398 in the Low position on the XS, up to 467mm on the Large frame in the High position.

Chainstays are the same regardless of frame size, varying from 443mm in the Low position to 440 in the High position.

Suspension Design

The Liv Intrigue LT uses the same Maestro suspension design that Giant bikes do which uses four pivot points and two linkages that all work together to create a single floating pivot point. Maestro's upper rocker arms feature trunnion shock mounts and a high-pressure molding process is used to produce the Advanced Forge Composite upper rocker arm. Liv says it is lighter, stiffer and stronger than aluminum.

A 185x55mm Trunnion mount shock handles the 150mm of rear wheel travel and the pivot bearings are double sealed.

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The spec is pretty dialled for the $7,000 USD price tag of the Liv Intrigue Advanced Pro 1 that I rode. You get a carbon frame, wheels, bar, and a Grip 2 damper in the Fox 36 fork. The carbon parts are “house” branded, which makes it easier for Liv to accomplish this at this price tag than it is for other brands. The only house-branded component I had issues with was the hub, which started to make a racket relatively early on in testing so I swapped the rear wheel out for another wheel for the second half of the test.

Standouts for me were the narrower handlebars than are found on most unisex bikes at 760mm (XS), 760mm (S), 760mm (M), and 780mm (L). It's a small thing, but it was nice not to have to cut my bars down to my preferred 760mm. While the lever placement wasn't easy to dial in and I felt it sat a bit too far inwards because of the clamp placement, I did appreciate that the Intrigue LT has decent dropper lengths, something that Liv has struggled with in the past and when I rode the 125mm Intrigue. The TranzX travel-adjustable dropper comes in 125mm travel (XS), 120-150mm travel (S), 150mm travel (M), and 150mm travel on the size Large.

Touch points can be a personal preference, but I'm a fan of the Liv Sylvia saddle and swapped out the Liv Tactal Pro Single Lock-On grips for something with a bit more cushion.

Otherwise, a SRAM GX drivetrain, Shimano XT brakes, and Maxxis tires round out the parts package.

Testing Info
Testing took place in Squamish, British Columbia and Revelstoke, British Columbia over the course of a year. Conditions varied from dusty blown out summer riding in Revelstoke to slippery, wet days in the Squamish winter green room. The Intrigue LT was my one bike for the year I was on maternity leave and I did everything on it, including cross-country trails, alpine epics, bike park, and black diamond tech on it. The Trailforks loop shown here is one of my go-to favourites, which I did several times on the Intrigue LT.

Climbing


The climbing position of the Intrigue LT is well balanced and it felt natural from day one. I was comfortable climbing it on a wide variety of terrain, from steep fire road climbs, to twisty single track. The seat tube angle is steep enough that, even in the low position, I didn't have to jam the saddle forward on the rails to get over the pedals and I found it easy to keep the front wheel on the ground on steeper sections of trails.

In the high position, the bike is definitely a bit more of an aggressive pedaler and gets you around tight corners a bit quicker, but even in the low position, it's easy to wind up tight corners and pedal strikes weren't common.

The bike is also relatively lightweight for its 150mm of rear travel, weighing in right around 30 pounds (13.6kg) without pedals on thanks to lots of house-branded carbon bits including its Giant TRX 2 carbon wheels. There's no two ways about it, a lightweight bike definitely makes the climbs more enjoyable. There's also a 30T chainring on this bike that, especially when you're riding the bike in its full 29er set up, is a great size for being able to stay seated and keep a quicker cadence on steeper climbs. Chainring size is a bit of a personal thing depending on whether you like to power up climbs or spin up them seated and it also depends on where you live and how much of a slog your climbs are, but I do think it is a good choice for this bike.

I didn't find the Maestro suspension to be the firmest of pedalling platforms; there's a slight bob when you push into the pedals, or the most lively, so I did find myself adding a bit more air to the rear shock, and ended up running a bit less sag (28%) to help counteract that.

The active suspension does mean that it has oodles of traction when you do get to technical climbs, and you don't get bumped off line very often. It feels like the Intrigue LT can just keep finding grip and making its way over uphill obstacles long after you think you're a goner.

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Descending


When things point downhill, the Intrigue LT hits a good middle ground between feeling fun to ride on lower angle terrain, while staying, composed when it gets pushed into steep, black diamond trails. Liv calls it their enduro race bike, and it's more than capable of racing, but it is on the lighter end of what we now see from that category. Even in my preferred low position, it isn't an all-out brute that will forgive any bad line or allow you to huck blindly into messes of roots and rocks.

That being said, it is a confident descender and it has a predictability to its handling that made me feel like it had my back when venturing onto new trails. The traction that I appreciated on the climbs was also there on the descents, and the Intrigue LT felt controlled whether I was trying to creep down sections of trail or hit loose, high-speed corners.

The Intrigue LT tolerates blue flow trails, but never felt like a rocket ship through them. The suspension really comes to life when things get rough. Even at higher speeds, the bike remained composed on chunky sections of trail. Occasionally, on larger drops, I felt like the bike went through its travel faster than I would have expected it to, but overall it was a predictable and balanced ride.

I would say that some of the spec choices felt like they were made with weight in mind and not descending prowess. While the bike's light weight made for a more nimble climber, I put beefier tires on and I would have liked bigger brakes. The EXO casing tires might be lighter, but they are squirmy and much more likely to get burped on fast corners and more puncture-prone than EXO+ tires. Other than the brakes and tires, the components held up well to a year of abuse, including several bike park days.

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Technical Report

SRAM G2 Brakes: I absolutely cooked the G2 brakes on the long descents in Revelstoke and would have next to no power left at the bottom of runs, just when my hands were most tired. I also had to change my pads more frequently than if this bike had come with Code brakes. That being said, it looks like Liv has made a spec change for 2024 and the Intrigue LT Advanced 1 now comes with Shimano XT brakes, although both models are currently still available for purchase.

TranzX Dropper Post: The lever position of the TranzX dropper is clunky and I found it a bit hard to reach, but the post itself worked very well despite zero maintenance throughout the year. It's also nice to see a 170mm travel post on Liv's medium-sized frame since that was something they struggled to fit in the past. That being said, the seat tube could be a bit shorter since my 27" inseam is the bare minimum to ride the bike with its 170mm dropper.

Liv Sylvia Saddle: Touch points are personal, but I'm pretty picky with saddles and one of the first things I usually do on a new bike is switch out the saddle. However, I didn't feel the need to swap out the Liv Sylvia saddle and found the shape of it very comfortable. It also shows no signs of wear after a year of use.

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How Does It Compare?

Another bike that I've spent quite a bit of time on recently is the Ibis Ripmo. Both bikes have 150mm of rear travel and a 160mm fork, but feel very different out on the trails.

If we compare the Intrigue LT in the low position to the Ripmo on paper, the two bikes have near-identical seat tube angles and head tube angles, but the Liv sports chainstays that are 8mm longer than the Ripmo and a reach that's 20mm shorter at 439mm compared to 460mm. The wheelbase on the Ripmo is slightly longer at 1219mm compared to the Intrigue's 1208mm.

While the reach numbers look very different, the Intrigue doesn't feel as short as the reach number would suggest and both climbing positions are comfortable. However, on the climbs, no one will be surprised to hear that I prefer the Ibis with its DW-link. It just feels much more responsive when you push into the pedals, despite having the same amount of rear travel. For alpine epics and climbing, there's no doubt that the Ripmo is the tool for the job.

When things point downhill, it's not as straightforward. The Ripmo is a livelier bike on the downhills as well, but I'd say that the Intrigue LT feels more capable of plowing through rough sections and requires less rider input to makes its way down the hill. On rough, high-speed trails and on bike park days, I would choose the Intrigue LT.

Lining up the spec sheets, the Ibis Ripmo XT touts Shimano XT brakes and drivetrain and a Fox 38, compared to the Liv Intrigue LT Advanced 1's SRAM GX drivetrain, GX brakes and Fox 36. Normally, the Liv Intrigue LT would take the price war by a mile, but currently the Ibis Ripmo XT is on sale for $6,524 USD ($8,699 USD regular price) with carbon wheels, while the Intrigue LT Advanced Pro 1 that I tested is on sale for a comparable $6,600 USD ($7,000 USD regular price). The version of the Intrigue LT Advanced Pro 1 that comes with Shimano XT brakes is not currently on sale and sits at $7,000 USD.

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Pinkbike's Take

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Reviews and Tech Reviews Enduro Bikes Liv Liv Intrigue Lt