Liv Intrigue X Advanced E+ Elite E

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A whopping 15 lbs lighter than its previous version, Liv's first carbon trail e-MTB has a powerful motor and features a mullet wheel setup to max out the fun.

Takeaway: The Intrigue X Advanced E+ Elite demonstrates the promising future of ultra-lightweight electric mountain bikes. Liv's new e-MTB is a lighter, more powerful, and virtually standard-looking electric mountain bike.

Price: $10,000Weight: 41 lb. (size M)

Liv introduced the Intrigue X Advanced E+ Elite, its first performance carbon trail e-MTB. A lightweight (for an e-bike), full-suspension bike, the Intrigue features a 29-inch front wheel and 27.5-inch rear for a zippy ride that can handle tough descents and technical climbs.

The Intrigue's customizable power support, in combination with the slim frame design, makes it look and ride more closely to an "acoustic" bike than many other e-MTBs on the market. This allows riders to maneuver with confidence and control, regardless of how familiar they are with electric mountain bikes. "The lightweight carbon frame, powerful motor, sleek battery, and mixed wheel sizes are a perfect balance of design and technology and deliver an incredible ride experience," explained Cassandra Chou, Liv E-bike Category Manager.

Liv was founded in 2008 by Giant executive Bonnie Tu and is the only full-range cycling brand dedicated to women. The Intrigue X Advanced E+ Elite was custom-designed using only data on women's body dimensions. Components like handlebars and grips are selected to offer as close to a perfect fit as possible for each frame size. For example, on the XS and SM sizes, the handlebar is narrower, but combined with the grips, it has a shorter circumference for smaller hands. I got to test this new trail e-MTB model for two days at an event in St.George, Utah, last fall. And from a tech perspective, there is a lot to cover.

The Liv's most impressive feature is its clean-looking 400Wh battery inside the frame's downtube. The 22,700-cell battery (co-developed with Panasonic) is exclusive to Liv's e-bikes. When fully charged, the battery has up to a 93-mile range. Liv also offers an optional 200Wh extender, boosting the Intrigue's range to 140 (claimed) miles.

On my test rides, I used about 40% battery on a two-hour ride (with limited climbing) while using auto-mode. And I used about 60% of the battery during a 90-minute ride with about 1,000 feet of elevation gain while using a combination of modes. During said rides, there was also a good amount of testing of features and sessioning. It wasn't the claimed range, but of course, the e-bike battery range depends heavily on the power settings used, rider weight, terrain ridden, elevation, acceleration, and many other variables.

Typically, I wouldn't think of e-bike batteries as exciting. But considering how much weight Liv shed from their previous generation model, it's noteworthy. Twenty cells make up the Energypak 400 (the 22,700-cell battery developed with Panasonic), each individually wrapped in an individual chassis. This helps prevent heat from spreading between them, and it's all packed into a waterproof battery bag to reduce fire risk.

The Energypak 400, according to Liv, "when fully charged, the battery can last up to 150 km before recharging". Claimed charge times are 1hr 45mins, 2hrs 30mins, 3hrs 55mins to recharge to 60%, 80%, and 100% respectively.

The best part is the battery's small size, which allowed Liv to significantly slim down the bike's downtube. From across the room, you can barely tell that the Intrigue X Advanced E+ Elite is an e-bike. Another plus, the battery is compatible with bike lights via a light connector behind the headtube for those who ride trails at night.

Buyers can also purchase an additional battery pack, the EnergyPak 200, for $500 (plus the $100 cage/holder). This range extender mounts to the downtube bottle bosses and is compatible with USB type-c chargers, allowing you to charge your phone and other electronic devices.

Weighing just 2.75kg (6 lbs), the Syndrive Pro 2 Motor was co-developed with Yamaha and is Liv's lightest e-bike motor yet. With 85 Nm torque, the motor is pretty powerful. It provides up to four times a rider's effort (proportional to the rider's output) while allowing riders to select and customize the support modes for more control. It also features Smart Assist (think auto-mode) that automatically adjusts the support level based on information like rider input and terrain feedback. In testing, these features were best appreciated on uphill starts, through sand or loose conditions, and rough terrain—situations where quickly producing speed from a stopped or slow-riding position is challenging.

For torque tuning, adjusting support ratios, and running health checks on the bike's e-components (three battery-controlled systems), riders can download the RideControl app, which also works as a navigation software, a ride tracker, and a social sharing tool. Additionally, Liv hopes to collect data with the app to refine its e-components for future-generation e-MTBs.

Finally, the Syncdrive Pro 2 Motor also offers a Walk Assist mode, allowing you to use a smaller amount of e-assistance when walking with the bike by simply pressing a button on the handlebar. Walk assist is a great option for those hills that are just too steep for riding, or sometimes just when you need to move a bike around at home. The best use of the e-assist was when I had to return to the top of a trail section multiple times while sessioning a steep drop.

Perhaps, my favorite part of this bike is its clean-looking and user-friendly interface. It has an ergonomic design with up to six configurations in reach of your thumbs. Liv managed to place all necessary controls while delivering a clean-looking front end.

Liv achieved this by using its RideControl Ergo 3, a control unit composed of three buttons that allow you to adjust power modes and activate the Walk Assist function. These buttons fit almost seamlessly next to the grip (and can be installed on either side of the handlebar). With Liv's RideControl app, the buttons can be configured to each rider's preferences.

The software part of this system is the RideControl Go, which is the display located on the top tube directly behind the head tube. It provides another way of powering up and down, while visually communicating which level of assistance you are using and how much battery you have left.

The main changes from last year's Intrigue X E+ model are an upgrade from aluminum to a carbon frame, the SyncDrive Pro2 250W 85Nm mid-drive motor—with an additional 5Nm in torque—and the SRAM Eagle AXS groupsets that replace the Shimano components on the top end model. Additionally, Liv product managers upgraded the grips, dropper post, handlebar, and stem.

For the Elite 1's front suspension, the Fox 36 Performance Elite now features Live Valve with a Grip2 damper and Boost 110x15QR. While on the rear, the 2022 Fox Float X Performance, EVOL Large Volume sleeve, changes to Fox Float X Live Valve with 185x52.5mm Trunnion mount.

The battery capacity decreased from 625Wh on the aluminum models to 400Wh on the new carbon bikes as one of the many efforts in cutting those 15lbs from the previous model. But if the claimed 93-mile range of the battery proves truthful, this may not be much of an issue for most trail riders.

Like most mountain bikes in Liv's repertoire, the Intrigue X Advanced E+ Elite features the Maestro suspension system. The Intrigue X models pair 140mm of rear travel with 150mm forks to hit the sweet spot of trail bikes—not too little for burlier trails or technical descents, but not too much that it weighs down the bike or makes the bike too slow for flatter terrain.

The bike incorporates a Flip Chip feature—a small piece of hardware in the upper link—that allows riders to adjust the geometry of the bike by switching between "low" (a slacker head angle/lower BB) and "high" (a steeper angle/higher BB) positions. Switching between geometries only takes a few minutes and changes the head tube angle (+/- .8 degrees on XS and S, +/- .7 on M and L), seat tube angle (+/- .8 degrees on XS and S, +/- .7 on M and L), and bottom bracket height (+/- 10mm) by simply flipping the chip positioning. (See the below chart to compare geometries between low and high.)

The Intrigue X Advanced E+ Elite is available in XS, S, M, and L sizes. Compared to its previous model ( the Intrigue X E+), the new models have 24.5mm (almost one inch!) shorter chainstays, and the XS gains 7mm of standover clearance.

Chainstay Length: Intrigue X E+: 471.5mm vs. Intrigue X Advanced E+ Elite: 447mmStandover Height: Intrigue X E+: 729mm (XS) vs. Intrigue X Advanced E+ Elite: 722mm (XS)

I’m 5’7" and usually ride size small or medium mountain bikes. On the Liv, I rode the Medium-size option. As always, check the geometry and sizing charts. Brands often vary from each another in their bike sizing.

The three models in the Intrigue X Advanced E+ Elite series are:

Intrigue X Advanced E+ Elite 1

Intrigue X Advanced E+ Elite 2

Intrigue X Advanced E+ Elite 3

Compared to its previous model, the main changes, aside from geometry, are seen in its weight (15 lbs lighter), torque (add 5 Nm), and battery range capacity (which decreased but reduced weight). Here is how it compares:

Weight: Intrigue X E+: 25.6 kg (S) vs. Intrigue X Advanced E+ Elite: 18.8 kg (S)Torque: Intrigue X E+: 80 Nm vs. Intrigue X Advanced E+ Elite: 20-85 NmCapacity: Intrigue X E+ with 625Wh battery: 65-215 KM vs. Intrigue X Advanced E+ Elite with 400Wh battery: 45-150km

Riding the Intrigue X Advanced E+ Elite showed me the future of ultralightweight electric mountain bikes, and it looks very promising. Not only did Liv make a significantly lighter, more powerful, and virtually standard-looking electric mountain bike, but the integration of the features looks, feels, and works seamlessly. It is a clean-looking bike with sleek and user-friendly qualities that provide a top-notch experience.

The Intrigue X Advanced E+ Elite has a great motor, so climbing is a non-issue unless you run out of battery power. And the mullet setup lowers your center of mass to make descending feel more confident. The bike is 15 lb. lighter than its previous version, making it significantly easier to load in and out of a car, and if you must hike a bike, the Walk Assist is there to save you. At 41 pounds, the bike is heavy compared to an acoustic equivalent, but to be honest, I didn't even notice the weight during my riding.

As my first rides with an e-MTB, I expected to face more of a learning curve when familiarizing myself with the support modes. On the first day of riding, I relied heavily on the Intrigue's Smart Assist (auto mode), which proportionally responds to the pressure you put down on the pedals. And to my surprise, it felt quite "natural." The response time is almost immediate, and unless you abuse your newfound power, it won't jolt away, allowing you to rescue yourself from all kinds of tricky situations—like forgetting to shift to a lighter gear as you encounter a steep climb or facing an unexpected feature in an unknown trail.

The Intrigue has five levels of e-assist, and you can quickly identify which you are on with a glimpse at your top tube. While Smart Assist takes the thinking out of the equation, utilizing the e-assist in "manual" mode, in combination with RideControl's customization tools, can take the rider experience to another level. The app works similarly to the LiveValve App from Fox, allowing riders to create different profiles for different types of riding and adjusting how much support they receive in each of the five assist modes.

The mullet setup was probably the "strangest" for me to get used to because it was also a first-time ride experience for me. It certainly proved its value when riding down steep trails and rowdy downhill switchbacks, but I would want to ride that setup more to reach a verdict. And let's note that having a big central battery allows Liv to integrate other features into the bike, such as compatibility with bike lights and the ability to purchase an additional battery pack (that can also charge other electronics like a phone, head unit, etc.).

In the end, without riding the Intrigue X Advanced E+ Elite more on my home trails, it is hard to fault the riding experience of this new e-MTB. However, I was left thinking about how awesome it would be to travel with an e-MTB like this one, especially since it is significantly lighter and the e-assist allows you to experience much more trail wherever you go. Unfortunately, airlines don't allow lithium batteries of this size aboard.

So, what is this bike meant to do? It's designed to take you far, everywhere, and anywhere. Hyperbole aside, I was amazed by how much ground I covered in those two days of testing in southwest Utah. Trail features with which I was not familiar—say, a deep sandpit at the bottom of a descent followed by a punchy little climb—I rode on the first try. And then go at it again and do it better, faster, and with more thrill.

This made me realize that, more often than not, what I usually lack when riding my "acoustic" mountain bike at home are torque and speed as opposed to skill (in most scenarios, in the type of riding I do). The ability to make the most out of your available riding time provides a great boost in confidence. It also gives a feeling of productivity when it comes to skill development—or just having the most amount of fun. If you use an e-MTB like this one efficiently and smartly (and safely), you will constantly surprise yourself with what you can do on the trails. In short, I challenged myself and conquered features I wouldn't have tried otherwise. That, alone, is worth the money for many riders.

Rosael is an avid cyclist in the pursuit of getting more people on bikes. All bodies. All bikes. As a features editor, she gets to work on initiatives that further engage our audience and provide additional value to our readership. Lately, she has been dipping her cleats into gravel racing and other off-road adventures.

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