First Look: Liv Intrigue Advanced Pro 29
Giant's sister company Liv updated the 27.5" version of the Intrigue in 2018, and then came out with an aluminum big-wheeled Intrigue last month. Now, there's another option for female trail riders with the Intrigue Advanced Pro 29, which Liv says is a "can-do quiver killer". The new carbon trail bike with 125mm of rear travel and a 140mm fork uses flip chip adjustable frame geometry to create what the brand calls "two personalities".
Make no mistake, the Liv Intrigue Advanced Pro 29 is not the same bike as any in Giant's line, and while it shares the same flip chip technology as the recently announced aluminum Trance X 29,
Make no mistake, the Liv Intrigue Advanced Pro 29 is not the same bike as any in Giant's line, and while it shares the same flip chip technology as the recently announced aluminum Trance X 29,
Liv Intrigue Advanced Details
• Wheelsize: 29"
• Carbon frame
• Travel: 125mm (r) / 140mm (f)
• Head Angle: 65.8 (Low) / 66.5 (High)
• Chainstays: 435 or 438mm
• Weight: 29.8 lbs / 13.52 kg
• Price as shown: $9,799 CAD / € 8,500
• www.liv-cycling.com
• Wheelsize: 29"
• Carbon frame
• Travel: 125mm (r) / 140mm (f)
• Head Angle: 65.8 (Low) / 66.5 (High)
• Chainstays: 435 or 438mm
• Weight: 29.8 lbs / 13.52 kg
• Price as shown: $9,799 CAD / € 8,500
• www.liv-cycling.com
The Liv Intrigue Advanced Pro 29 comes in three different spec levels. Both the Intrigue Advanced Pro 29 2 that retails for $3,200 USD (€ 4,500 / 5,299 CAD) and the Intrigue Advanced Pro 29 1 that retails for $5,400 USD (€ 5,250 / $6,549 CAD) are available in the United States, while the Intrigue Advanced Pro 29 0 that retails for $9,799 CAD (€ 8,500) is not.
Liv sent me the top of the line Intrigue Advanced Pro 29 0 which comes with a 125mm Fox Float DPX2 Factory Live Valve rear shock, a 140mm Fox 36 Factory Live Valve fork, a Fox Transfer Factory dropper post, Shimano Deore XT brakes and drivetrain paired with an XTR rear derailleur, Giant TRX-1 wheels, and Liv's new Sylvia SL saddle.
Liv's new Sylvia SL saddle.
The Intrigue Advanced Pro 29 1.
Frame Details
Liv has analyzed body dimensions, muscular activity and strength patterns, including thousands of data points about women’s anatomy, sizing variations, muscle energy and outputs. As with all Liv bikes, this data was used to engineer the frames and complete bikes to build them from the ground up for women. Liv calls this philosophy their 3F Design Philosophy, which stands for Fit, Form and Function.
The Intrigue Advanced Pro 29 is fully women's-specific, meaning that it has a frame geometry, composite layup and shock tuning created for women. Its Women’s-Specific Advanced Composite frame has internal cable routing, uses Boost spacing, and has asymmetric chainstays. It fits up to a 2.5" tire which is slightly narrower than the 2.6" tire that fits on the 27.5" Intrigue.
New for 2021, Liv engineers have incorporated a new shape and softer material to the chainstay and downtube protectors to help keep rock strikes and chain slap damage at bay.
The chainstay protector uses a softer material to help keep the bike quiet.
The downtube protector also receives an updated shape and material.
The size medium comes with a 125mm dropper post.
It's easy to swap between the High and Low positions.
Geometry
The 66.5 degree head tube angle on the Liv Intrigue Advanced Pro 29 in the High setting is the same as the head tube angle on the 27.5" version that was launched in 2018, but the flip chip on the Intrigue Advanced Pro 29 allows the rider to choose a high or low position to make the headtube and seattube angles steeper or slacker, and the bottom bracket height higher or lower.
Depending on preference, riders can change the headtube angle by .7 degrees, a change that also alters the seat tube angle by 0.8 degrees, and moves the bottom bracket up or down by 10 millimeters.
The Intrigue Advanced Pro 29 is available in small, medium, and large sizes. There's no XS small, but that's where the 27.5" Intrigue Advanced and Intrigue come in. The Intrigue 29 is compatible with up to 2.5-inch tires while the Intrigue and Intrigue Advanced are compatible with up to 2.6-inch tires.
As for dropper posts, the Intrigue Advanced Pro 29 0 has a Fox Transfer Factory dropper seatpost which means that the size small and medium have a 125mm dropper post and the size large has a 150mm dropper post. For all other models in the Intrigue series, which are spec'd with the Giant Contact Switch dropper seatpost, the small receives a 100mm dropper post, the medium receives a 125mm dropper post and the large receives a 150mm dropper post.
Fox Live Valve-equipped top of the line Intrigue Advanced Pro 29 0.
Suspension
The Intrigue Advanced Pro 29 uses Giant's dual-link Maestro suspension design for its 125mm of rear travel. Liv has optimized the internals of their shocks with optimal oil weights and air-spring volumes for women. Within Liv’s 3F design philosophy, they used a variety of different women’s body types and riding styles to find what they believe is the best suspension feel for women.
They’ve refined the suspension's shim stacks, volume spacers, and air pressures to match the female rider based on extensive testing with their female athletes and ambassadors. Select Liv riders as well as Ludi Scholz, Liv global off-road category manager, worked parallel to Giant’s design and suspension team at a suspension tuning camp in South Mountain, Arizona to optimize the suspension function and ride feel for each model.
Ride Impressions
The Intrigue Advanced Pro 29 is a rocket ship on climbs, despite the fact that it's a fair bit heavier than the XC race machines I'd was on during the recent XC Field Test. Even when you're in the Low flip chip position, the steep seat tube angle puts you in a comfortable and efficient pedalling position. I did end up slamming the stem so that I could really get my weight over the front of the bike for climbing, but once I did that I felt like I could climb for days.
As for the suspension, Fox Live Valve on Giant's Maestro suspension makes it feel like you've got a much lighter bike than you do underneath you since there's no bobbing and there's a quickness on the climbs that usually only comes when you're pedaling a full on cross-country bike.
Liv did a great job of speccing this bike for rowdier terrain with a 200mm front rotor, a Maxxis Minion DHF 2.5" wide front tire, a modern cockpit, and a sturdy bashguard.
As for the suspension, Fox Live Valve on Giant's Maestro suspension makes it feel like you've got a much lighter bike than you do underneath you since there's no bobbing and there's a quickness on the climbs that usually only comes when you're pedaling a full on cross-country bike.
Liv did a great job of speccing this bike for rowdier terrain with a 200mm front rotor, a Maxxis Minion DHF 2.5" wide front tire, a modern cockpit, and a sturdy bashguard.
Sarah Moore
Location: Squamish, BC
Age: 30
Height: 5'7"
Weight: 160lbs
Industry affiliations / sponsors: None
Instagram: @smooresmoore
Location: Squamish, BC
Age: 30
Height: 5'7"
Weight: 160lbs
Industry affiliations / sponsors: None
Instagram: @smooresmoore
That being said, while the Intrigue does have a can-do attitude and the spec to match, my first impressions are that it's not the elusive "quiver killer" for a place like Squamish, BC. It was super fun and fast bike on smooth high-speed trails, and it's easy to get the wheels off the ground, but I didn't feel as at home on chunkier trails and felt like I had to work harder on those descents, even when I put the Fox Live Valve in the most supple setting.
I preferred the Intrigue's handling in the slacker 65.8-degree head tube position, but that has the downside of shortening the reach to a relatively conservative 430mm on the size medium. It's a cool feature, but I'd rather have one perfect bike than two compromises. That being said, I do look forward to spending more time on the Intrigue in the coming weeks and getting to know it better.
Author Info:
Member since Mar 30, 2011
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when's the non binary version coming out?
What do they mean, like flexy for lighter weight riders?
www.pinkbike.com/u/DoubleCrownAddict/blog/yt-marketing-the-most-offensive-mysogynist-violent-pro-trump-company-in-bicycle-history.html
Or maybe two perfect bikes?
N+1
Tobias- Let's say I'm buy-curious.
I can however imagine having dedicated women’s bikes might make some women who are new to the sport feel more included?
For instance, height, weight, terrain, riding style... these are all things which correspond directly to bike size, geometry, shock tune, etc. And you can get that information directly from the rider who is looking to make a purchase, instead of assuming that just because someone is female, they need a smaller, softer bike. Why not just offer two shock tunes and two frame layups to ALL riders, so a cautious 55kg dude can buy it without getting a "women's bike", and a 80kg shredder woman isn't pushed towards a bike that doesn't have the agressive valving or geo which she could put to good use?
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
"Liv has analyzed body dimensions, muscular activity and strength patterns, including thousands of data points about women’s anatomy, sizing variations, muscle energy and outputs."
What!? All the science i've seen says the diferences within each gender are bigger than the average difference between genders. There is nothing about a the fit of a Liv bike that is more suitable for women other than the saddle. If there is evidence to the contrary, that would be really interesting. Post it here!
I'm not sure what reason there is to not accept that men and women are different. They've been different from the beginning and always will be. This is not rocket science. As to female specific bikes, as far as I'm concerned...whatever it takes to get more people/kids into the sport. Male or female, I dont really care. As long as people are having fun.
If a company wants to market that and people buy them, then who cares? Why does anyone other than that specific person have an opinion as to whether they lighter, weaker, heavier whatever.
My wife rides a "mens" (perhaps unisex) Slash and loves it. She came from a womens specific fuel ex from years ago and its not the womens or mens thing that is different, just updated geometry and wheel size. It works for her and thats about it.
If it works for you, your wife, girlfriend, daughter whoever and your riding - f*cken ay
/sarcasm off
I have a similar situation. Son and daughter, son is older by 3 years. So he was into mountain biking, boy scouts- so lot of out door stuff like camping etc. No matter how much I brought my daughter along- she's just not into it.
www.pinkbike.com/news/where-have-all-the-womens-bikes-gone-a-look-inside-an-ever-changing-market.html
"The old truism that women’s legs are longer and torsos shorter came from a poorly executed study by the US Military, and looks like it might not be true at all."
"data collected by Retül over the last 11 years with over 7,750 fits. Authors Rita Jett, Samir Chabra, and Todd Carver concluded that it is not necessary to change frame geometries for men and women, but matching components to sizes is key."
If you look at the highest levels of XC racing last year none of the top 5 overall women were using ladies specific frame geometries as far as I can tell. Specific parts,suspension tunes, etc for sure but the frames themselves were all unisex.
As a personal example I actually called Scott to see if I could get the contessa ransom over the Ransom 910 because the colour is way cooler. Sadly they dont offer the Contessa in XL
This reads like all those bullshit snake oil claims from a 100 years ago. Seriously? Women's muscle energy and outputs? WTF does that even mean?
Catering to women is great. But Giant/Liv should do it without lying to us about the science.
Its unpopular to say, but ON AVERAGE (not individually) women are more likely to be beginners or less experienced than men, and shorter reaches feel more comfortable, at least initially. I wouldn't put my wife on a new school, ultra long reach bike.
I also didn't say that shorter reach is better for beginners. I said beginners feel more comfortable on it. If you get a 500mm reach bike and a 450mm reach bike for someone who is 5'9" (my height) that is not a seasoned mountain biker, I bet you most of them would prefer the shorter reach. Not saying its ultimately better for them, but they would be more likely to buy that one.
Most women ride like Myraim Nicole- their hands are relatively unweighted, they drive the bike from their hips and legs, pushing down through the pedals. This technique is easier with a short reach. If you look at Rachel Atherton, I believe the fastest female dh rider of all time, she rides like a man, pushing and driving with her arms/shoulders.
I'm pretty sure Giant has actual women riding/testing/buying their Liv bikes, or they wouldn't bother.
i also got a chromag. it also shreds. its plenty strong.
The Liz are making different frames specifically for women, so not remotely a valid comparison.
www.liv-cycling.com/global/liv-design-data
For $7500, I'd steer anyone who's looking at this bike toward a Ripley or Joplin/Tallboy and save a few pounds. Even a Trek Fuel EX has similar geo, weighs less, and has more travel. Why is this bike a compelling option...for women (or men who it might fit). I guess live-valve has some value shrug>
I don't buy for one second that Giant has "tuned" this frame specifically for women and came up with this bike with this geo.
The jist of the article is that a bike needs to fit you specifically, not a gender average. If you need a short reach, buy a bike with a short reach.
www.bicycling.com/racing/a20020463/womens-cycling-8
Certainly a worthwhile topic. I'm open to science and would love to see the industry get specific about gender related bike fit. If anyone knows of science oriented info on the topic, please link!
it still doesn’t mean it has anything to do with sex. And it isn’t just the reach.
Look at experienced bikers. They mostly have messed up drooped shoulders that work well with longer bikes.
They know where to pedal which makes low bikes okay.
And they ride at higher speeds so slack steering works well for them too.
Saying it’s sex related is a prejudice that needs to disappear. You are actually being sexist while patting yourself in the back for not being so.
An experienced girl can take advantage of all of those things and an inexperienced man can’t.
And yeah, I think you can admit that the bigger the organization the more collective cluelessness exists.
How about we tell all men that they can ride womes bikes from now on? Surley there is no diffrence, so there won't be any problem with it? Maybe men even wear the same sized and cut clothes from now on? "Men" would look good in high heels too. Or maybe all women should wear "mens" sized clothing from now on? No? Why not? Maybe because it's stupid?
Why shouldn't we give everyone a free choice to ride what ever the hell they want to? Since it's clearly working for clothes and other stuff?
Fact is: Most bikes are designed by men for men, because they're the biggest demographic in cycling; on road or off road (or any kind of sports for that matter).
Liv Bikes in sizes XXS, XS, S are a godsend for every adult under 165cm. Different carbon layup also makes a lot of sense, men are in general heavier than women, especially within the same range of body height.
More choice is always better.
My girlfriend´s on a 27,5 Intrigue as well.
At the moment, I'm looking at the YT Jeffsy Prime 26 bike. Standover is around 630 mm. She'll be over the moon. She's on a Trek Fuel EX right now with a 740mm standover. The Jeffsy has a longer reach than her current bike as well that will give more real estate between saddle and stem.
When was the last time anyone stood over their frame?
No. You stop, step off your seat and am then STANDING OVER your bike before you get off.
If you watch a bike rider with a bit of skill that isn’t wearing a dress get off their bike. They lower their seat. And put one of their feet down and swing their leg off the back of the bike. It’s that easy.
Unless you have a crappy bike that doesn’t allow enough room for a long enough dropper.
And when one of those bikes is supposed to be a women’s specific bike. And women are often short. It makes you wonder. What about this bike is actually good for a woman if the seat doesn’t go low enough for them to safely get on and off their bike?
And then you realize maybe it’s because their clueless husbands are on pink bike bitching about stand over height and guzzling the latest load of 29’ers are for everyone marketing.
Do women have relatively long legs and short upper bodies or arms, or is this a case of selling old frame designs as new ones?
We all (including you) know that low stack is good for climbing, and raising it up a bit will raise confidence in descending again.How was it descending when you sacrificed the climbing ability a little for the downs again?
Didn't know I had a time machine, bought my partner a 2016 Liv Intrigue with 27.5" wheels.
I wouldn’t put my wife on one... the height:length ratio just looks like it’s trying to go OTB.
Stop telling women they need special bikes.
Because they just don’t.
It forces bike shops to feed people bullshit.
The companies are still owned by men so what’s the real benefit to the cause of empowering women.
Humans, regardless of sex, come in a wide variety of sizes and shapes.
The lighter damping is the suspension is a great but it is not sex dependant.
Make fewer sku’s.
Pass on the savings so people can afford to customize the important things on their bike like the seat, grips, and pedals.
And design a bike where even short people get full length dropper posts like a few of the companies have managed to do.
Those are some good points. Thank you for bringing them up. And good job to Giant.
But it doesn’t address the fact that humans come in all shapes and sizes regardless of sex.
So what if the full scope of the costs of making unnecessary sku’s was better understood so the industry as a whole could be healthier and more money could be spent on more effective ways of promoting women in sport?
But to your point about cost - the industry would be much further ahead if it just agreed to use one seat post size, one head set size/style, one handlebar diameter, one (maybe two) BB sizes. There would be more cost savings to the customer with those changes than making, or not, making female specific frames.
Why shouldn't we give every one a free choice to ride what ever the hell they want to? It works for clothes, and other stuff?
Fact is: Most bikes are designed by men for men.
Liv Bikes in sizes XXS, XS, S are a godsend for every adult under 165cm.
I think I’ve been pretty clear man.
Cuz it’s a lie and a waste of money and nobody benefits from either of those things.