Liv Intrigue X
Wheel Size:
- Sizes XS–S: 29’’ front / 27.5’’ rear
- Sizes M–L: 29” front and rear, w/ mixed-wheel compatibility (29” front / 27.5” rear)
Travel: 140 mm rear / 150 mm front
Geometry Highlights:
- Sizes Offered: XS, S, M, L
- Headtube Angle: 64.8° (Mid position)
- Reach: 440 mm (Size Medium, Mid position)
- Chainstay Length: 439 mm (Size Medium, Mid position)
Frame Materials: Aluminum and carbon fiber versions available
Price: Complete bikes starting at $3,200 USD / $3,899 CAD (see below for full details)
Intro
We reviewed the very adaptable Liv Intrigue LT Advanced Pro back in 2023 and came away quite impressed with its well-balanced climbing and descending abilities. For 2024, Liv has continued to expand the Intrigue platform with the new Intrigue X, which gets some geometry updates, mixed-wheel compatibility, and a whole lot of adjustability. Dig into our First Look as we dive into the details of Liv’s new Trail bike, the Intrigue X.
The Frame
Where many women’s bike brands take a “pink it and shrink it approach,” often just changing the color and sizing designations of their other unisex frames, Liv has continued to make true women-specific bikes. That means specific sizing, components, and suspension tunes that Liv says are developed “for women, by women.” Liv classifies the new Intrigue X as a mid-travel Trail bike, and with 140 mm of rear travel and 150 mm up front, it should stand as a well-rounded partner for most trails in a lot of locales.
From a suspension standpoint, the Liv Intrigue X sticks with a tried-and-true Maestro design, which Liv’s sibling company Giant has been using for nearly two decades at this point. The Intrigue X follows a linear-progressive leverage curve with a fairly low overall leverage rate, dropping from just over 2.8 to about 2.25 at bottom-out. Anti-rise hovers around a low 55% through the middle portion of the travel while anti-squat is a fairly modest ~90% at sag, both of which should promote a more active suspension feel both under braking and pedaling forces. Liv also uses double-sealed pivot bearings for longevity, which is great news for those of us in wetter climates.
The Intrigue X is available in both carbon fiber and aluminum frame options, with the carbon options designated by the “Advanced” labeling in their names. Giant / Liv owns its own composite manufacturing facility, and they say that the Intrigue X Advanced benefits from total control of the manufacturing of the carbon material itself all the way through to the finished product, allowing Liv to build its frames to exacting specifications and with their own in-house materials. Both carbon and aluminum Intrigue X frames get a composite upper link for the Maestro suspension, which helps increase stiffness while dropping weight.
With the Intrigue X, Liv has opted for mixed wheels (29″ front / 27.5″ rear) on the XS and Small sizes, and full 29” wheels on the Medium and Large frames, with the option for mixed wheels as an aftermarket swap on those larger sizes. As with most bikes updated in the past couple of years, the Intrigue X gets SRAM’s Universal Derailleur Hanger (UDH) standard. The Intrigue X also gets downtube storage and a pair of accessory mounts under the top tube for plenty of on-bike carry capability.
Fit & Geometry
The geometry options are perhaps the most, well, intriguing (and complex) part of the updated Intrigue X. Dubbed “Maestro 3,” Liv has implemented a 3-position flip chip at the junction of the Intrigue X’s seat stay and upper rocker link; this allows the rider to quickly swap geometry positions, tweaking the headtube angle, bottom bracket drop, and seat tube angle. This means that, in the stock wheel size for each size, the headtube angle can be adjusted within a range of 64.4° to 65.1°. Seat tube angle and bottom bracket drop fluctuate a bit based on the size due to the mixed wheels used on the XS–S sizes and the full 29” setup on Medium and Large frames, but in the case of the Medium, the seat angle spans 76.8° to 77.5°, while the bottom bracket drop goes from a ground-hugging 40 mm drop in the Low setting to a still-pretty-low 30 mm drop in High.
Unlike some other bikes, the Liv Intrigue X does not have a dedicated adjustment (outside of the 3-position Maestro 3 arrangement) to account for running mixed wheels. As a result, a mixed-wheel setup on the Medium and Large sizes makes things even lower and slacker, with the head angle dropping to 63.9° in the Mid position. It’s worth noting that the High and Mid positions are recommended for both full-29” and mixed-wheel configurations, whereas the Low setting is advised only with the stock wheel size, likely due to just how slack and low things get when a mixed-wheel combo is added to the Medium and Large sizes.
We see reach-adjust headsets as a great option to dial in bike fit, and clearly, Liv agrees — all frame sizes of the Intrigue X also include a reach-adjust headset, which includes neutral (+0 mm) cups as well as +/– 5 mm cups for extending or shortening the reach. Between the offset headset and the flip chips, the Intrigue X has a ton of adjustability for fine-tuning the fit and handling.
While some brands have elected to use size-specific chainstays, Liv keeps the same chainstay length across the board on the Intrigue X, at 439 mm in the Mid geometry position. That’s a fairly middle-of-the-road number, though they might feel a bit lengthy in proportion to the 401 mm and 415 mm reach of the XS and Small, respectively.
The Builds
Liv offers a wide range of builds for the Intrigue X, with the carbon-framed Advanced series getting four builds and the aluminum option getting two. Like most brands, Liv reserves the higher-end spec for the carbon-framed Intrigue X Advanced frames, with the aluminum bikes offering solid builds at more compelling price points.
While the chainstay lengths do not vary by frame size, Liv does tweak component sizing slightly to account for rider proportions. The XS gets a 40 mm stem and 165 mm cranks whereas the other sizes get a 50 mm stem and 170 mm cranks, and the stock bar width is 760 mm aside from 780 mm on the Large.
It’s worth giving Liv a round of applause for including an adjustable-travel dropper post, with travel up to 170 mm on the XS and Small and 200 mm on the Medium and Large. Every build of the Intrigue X also gets 203 mm front and 180 mm rear rotors — another welcome touch.
Model-by-model highlights from available builds are as follows. We’ve listed all of the builds, but for now, it looks like availability varies significantly by geography, with the top-tier Intrigue X Advanced 0 only available outside of North America at this time. The US pricing on the aluminum-framed Intrigue X and carbon-framed Intrigued X Advanced 3 appears to be particularly compelling.
- Drivetrain: Shimano Deore M6100
- Brakes: Shimano BR-MT420 (203 mm front rotor / 180 mm rear rotor)
- Fork: Fox 36 Rhythm (150 mm)
- Shock: Fox Float Performance
- Wheels: Giant TRA 2 WheelSystem Aluminum
- Dropper Post: Giant Contact Switch AT adjustable (XS–SM: 140-170 mm; MD–LG: 170–200 mm)
- Drivetrain: Shimano SLX M7100
- Brakes: Shimano BR-MT520 (203 mm front rotor / 180 mm rear rotor)
- Fork: Fox 36 Performance (150 mm)
- Shock: Fox Float Performance
- Wheels: Giant TRA WheelSystem Aluminum
- Dropper Post: Giant Contact Switch AT adjustable (XS–SM: 140-170 mm; MD–LG: 170–200 mm)
- Drivetrain: Shimano Deore M6100
- Brakes: Shimano BR-MT420 (203 mm front rotor / 180 mm rear rotor)
- Fork: Fox 36 Rhythm (150 mm)
- Shock: Fox Float Performance
- Wheels: Giant TRX WheelSystem Carbon
- Dropper Post: Giant Contact Switch AT adjustable (XS–SM: 140-170 mm; MD–LG: 170–200 mm)
- Drivetrain: Shimano SLX M7100
- Brakes: Shimano Deore M6120 (203 mm front rotor / 180 mm rear rotor)
- Fork: Fox 36 Rhythm(150 mm)
- Shock: Fox Float Performance
- Wheels: Giant TRX WheelSystem Carbon
- Dropper Post: Giant Contact Switch AT adjustable (XS–SM: 140-170 mm; MD–LG: 170–200 mm)
- Drivetrain: SRAM GX Transmission
- Brakes: Shimano XT M8120 (203 mm front rotor / 180 mm rear rotor)
- Fork: Fox 36 Performance Elite GRIP2 (150 mm)
- Shock: Fox Float X Performance Elite
- Wheels: Giant TRX WheelSystem Carbon
- Dropper Post: Giant Contact Switch AT adjustable (XS–SM: 140-170 mm; MD–LG: 170–200 mm)
- Drivetrain: SRAM X0 Transmission
- Brakes: Shimano XT M8100 (203 mm front rotor / 180 mm rear rotor)
- Fork: Fox 36 Factory GRIP2 (150 mm)
- Shock: Fox Float X Factory
- Wheels: Giant TRX WheelSystem Carbon
- Dropper Post: Giant Contact Switch AT adjustable (XS–SM: 140-170 mm; MD–LG: 170–200 mm)
Some Questions / Things We’re Curious About
(1) The Intrigue X offers some contemporary geometry figures across the board, getting quite low and slack in the mixed-wheel options on the Medium and Large sizes. Given that Trail bikes can run quite a wide range as far as ride feel, how does the Intrigue X balance uphill efficiency and descending capability?
(2) Liv takes a more tailored women-specific approach than some other brands, with unique geometry, components, and shock tunes. How do these details add up on the trail as far as being better or worse than the more unisex offerings of other brands?
Bottom Line (For Now)
Liv is among the biggest names in women-specific bike design, and on paper, their Intrigue X looks to be a sensible take on a modern Trail bike, with the potential for some fairly aggressive geometry figures in its slackest settings. With 140 mm of rear travel and highly adjustable geometry, we suspect that the Intrigue X could be a great fit for riders who like to try a little bit of everything — and we’ve got one on the way to start finding out soon. Stay tuned for updates.