Review: The Liv Intrigue E+ 1 Pro extends rides and boosts 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 heavy-duty 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 12-speed Shimano Deore Shadow+ (10-51 tooth) gearing plays nicely with any level of assist.

The electronic controls, located conveniently on the left handlebar, are mostly intuitive (on, faster, slower) but the walk assist is slightly hidden

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 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).

The battery locks for safety

A 500-Wh Yamaha battery

Although I was planning on taking it out the next morning, I couldn’t resist testing the Intrigue E+’s capabilities, so I made a small detour on the way home to Toronto’s current mecca of poorly-thought-out-decisions—Trinity Bellwoods park. It was unseasonably cold and the park was very quiet, so I rode the bike into the empty dog bowl. After feeling the bike’s power I was confident it could easily take on the muddy hill out of the bowl. I got three quarters of the way up when I realized—far too late—that I was relying on the assist so much that I had neglected to shift into a low enough gear. I ungracefully fell over and the one other park goer watched as I lugged the bike up the rest of the hill. A reminder that ebikes are still bikes at the end of the day.

A fast commute and a long ride

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 but even the lowest levels provide 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.

140-mm of rear Maestro suspension

150-mm-travel fork

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 initially planned. 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.