Liv Intrigue endurance test: An all-round reliable trail bike

Update: Geometry + suspension = riding fun uphill and downhill!

The home trails between Lake Starnberg and Garmisch-Partenkirchen don't really push the Liv Intrigue X Advanced E+ - or me - to our limits. Quite the opposite. Sections of the route where your heart rate used to reach the 180 mark are now pedalled away with ease. With its gentle support in the mid-range, the Liv rides extremely smoothly uphill and hardly tends to climb. This is also due to the flip-chip adjustable geometry.

The suspension really comes into its own downhill. The compression and rebound damping are specially set at the factory for lighter riders. This is noticeable. The fork rebounds quickly enough even with low air pressure. The softer compression stage provides comfort downhill. With the BIKE Women Camp at Molvenosehe challenging trails in the Dolomiti Paganella Bike Region are also great fun!

Highline Meran: Now it's time for the range extender!

So far, the Liv Intrigue X Advanced E+ has proven to be an absolutely reliable trail partner. But how long will the support last on long tours with more than 60 kilometres and over 1500 metres of climbing?

The Range Extender is used for the first time on a round trip from Latsch via the Meran Highline (without lift assistance). Shortly before the mountain hut stop after almost 1200 metres in altitude, the last battery bar on the display flashes orange. After a few more turns of the pedals, the assistance comes to an end. The water bottle has to make way for the range extender. This was previously stowed in the rucksack and, at just over a kilo, didn't weigh much. As soon as the range extender is connected to the bike, two (out of five) white battery bars light up again on the display. 200 Wh should be enough for the rest of the tour. At the end, 64 kilometres and 2073 metres of climbing are in the logbook. And the realisation: I couldn't have done it without e-support. But the combination of 400 Wh in the bike and 200 Wh extra power when needed proved to be a good choice.

Getting to know each other for the first time

No, it didn't necessarily have to be a women's eMTB. But as the Liv Intrigue X Advanced E+ Elite 2 rolls into the test cellar of the BIKE editorial office in its chic purple metallic paintwork, I'm glad that I chose the Liv model as my long-term test bike. Visually, it's a real eye-catcher!

I wasn't quite sure about the L-frame at first. At 1.75 metres tall, I was just about at the limit according to the manufacturer. When I first sat on it, I also had the feeling that I was sitting too high. So I lowered the seat post as far as it would go. And test ride.

>> Liv Intrigue X E+ Elite V2: Light E-MTB freshly launched

>> Liv Intrigue X and Intrigue X Advanced: New mid-travel trail bikes for women

Lots of fun on trails: the Liv Intrigue X Advanced E+ Elite 2 offers the prerequisites for this

My wish for the Dauertest organisers was a lightweight trail bike with 140-150 mm of suspension travel that I could enjoy riding on natural trails in Austria and South Tyrol, but also give it my all in the bike park. I don't want to have to queue for the lift in future.

The Liv Intrigue X Advanced E+ Elite 2 in detail

• Motor: SyncDrive Pro2 (85 Nm), non-removable
• Battery: 400 watt hours
• Carbon frame
• Wheel size: 29-inch front wheel and a 27.5-inch rear wheel (mullet setup)
• Suspension travel: 150 / 140 mm
• Weight: 20.17 kg (EMTB measurement, size L)
• Permissible total weight: 156 kg
• Price: 6499 Euro

Motor and battery: lots of power, low weight

The Liv Intrigue X Advanced E+ Elite 2 needs to be plugged in to charge. As with many light e-MTBs, the battery is fully integrated into the down tube and cannot be removed. However, at 2.4 kilos, it is relatively light and compact and a prerequisite for the slim design of the frame.

The special feature of the Liv and its sister model from Giant: The Syncdrive Pro MG motor (tested here) The Liv Intrigue X Advanced E+ Elite 2 is housed in a magnesium casing and, at 2.6 kilos, is also one of the lighter models. However, the Syncdrive is a classic power motor in the 85 Newton metre class. On request, this light e-MTB can therefore provide full e-bike thrust and not just a throttled 50 to 60 Newton metres, as is the case with most e-bike drives.

Thanks to the use of six sensors (torque, cadence, motor rotation, inclination, acceleration), the motor responds extremely sensitively in every riding situation. This ensures a very natural riding experience and should also save the battery. Super-low idle travel when starting off helps on steep terrain - here the Giant Syncdrive motor with Yamaha hardware is clearly the best on the market. However, if you find the jittery feeling on the pedals too much of a good thing, you can adjust the response behaviour down a little using the app.

The motor is controlled via a discreet control unit on the handlebars. A display, which is also discreetly integrated into the top tube, shows the battery status and assistance level via 2 x 5 different coloured LEDs. More functions such as fine-tuning the support or tracking the rides are available via app.

Liv Intrigue X Advanced E+ Elite 2: The geometry at a glance

• Seat tube length: 450 mm
• Wheelbase: 1228 mm
• Reach: 466 mm
• Stack: 625 mm
• Steering angle: 65.8 - 66.5 degrees
• Seat angle: 76 degrees
• Chainstay length: 447 mm

Off to the Tuscan trails: How the Liv Intrigue E-MTB performs on the first test laps

The German summer is a long time coming and the specification sheet for a long-term tester is thick. That's why the area for the first test rides is quickly chosen. The trails on Monte Arsenti in Massa Marittima. At the beginning of May, the conditions here are already ideal for properly breaking in the Liv E-MTB.

And the fun is not long in coming. The first ride on the Spaghetti-Uphill serves to familiarise the rider with the bike. On the second ride, it becomes clear that the second of five support levels is enough for the uphill section. My worries that the 400 Wh battery might reach its limits are now a thing of the past. And the range extender that I had packed, which I had also ordered to be on the safe side, can stay in my accommodation the next day.

Only one detail spoilt the first few days of testing. The lever for the seat post is extremely stiff and can only be operated with full manual force. This needs to be improved!

Stay tuned! You can read regular updates on how the Liv Intrigue X Advanced E+ Elite 2 performs in the further course of the endurance test here.