Liv Intrique sizing advice

aldragicevich

I'm looking to get my partner a 2019 Liv Intrique Advanced 1 for her first full suspension mountain bike. She currently owns a Liv tempt 3 Small size and seems ok on it.

Im stressed out about getting the right size for her. She is 5 foot 3 exactly and has a 72cm inseam. We are looking at getting the small size, but she isn't experienced enough to know whether it is too big or not.
I noticed the Liv Intrigue has a longer reach than the tempt 3 but the Intrique has a 15mm shorter stem, which makes the reach pretty close, is that true?

Does anyone have experience with Liv at a similar height? Any tips?

steve_sordy

Are you anywhere near a Giant dealer?
What sizing advice does Giant give on their website.

My apologies if you have already thought of both of those, but I have nothing else to give.

aldragicevich

steve_sordy said:

Are you anywhere near a Giant dealer?
What sizing advice does Giant give on their website.

My apologies if you have already thought of both of those, but I have nothing else to give.

Hey no problem Steve.

Yea we tried the small bike around the Carpark at the store. Unfortunately the staff are useless and have no idea how to size someone on a bike.

The Liv size chart for that bike has XS as 142cm - 164cm. And S as 158cm - 169cm. Since my partner is 160cm, she falls right in the middle of the two sizes so I'm unsure which bike to pick. XS is really hard to find though so small might be the only option.

steve_sordy

So now you come down to your wife's body geometry and how well she fits the bike's geometry. The days when inside leg length was the only thing that mattered are long gone! You can take a dozen people all the same height and their shape will vary. They will have different lengths of arm, leg, and trunk.

For my height (6'1"), I have legs slightly shorter than you would expect, and therefore a longer trunk, but with normal arms. This means that the "reach" dimension is particularly important to me. (Reach is the horizontal distance from the BB to the top of the fork steerer). The corollary is that I need a shorter stack. (Stack is the vertical distance from the BB to the top of the fork steerer). And I don't need 800 mm wide bars!

The key things about reach and stack is that you can't change them. If you have long or short arms, you can buy a wider narrower bar. If you have very short legs you can buy shorter cranks. But you cannot change reach or stack, it is the basic geometry of the bike, as is the rear centre (distance from the BB to the rear axle). Within some limits, you can change the front centre

I have discovered bikes where the medium had a reach that was too short for me, but where the stack on the large was too tall. Canyon bikes are too short and Yetis are too long (well their trail bikes were when I was last looking).

The other thing to look out for is the seat angle. A steep seat angle moves the saddle forward, which is good for climbing). But it shortens the space for your body. You can move the saddle back as far as it will go to counter this. But this may effect your knee position which ought to be above the centre of the pedal axis when in the forward position.

I have ruled out so many good bikes just because of the geometry. But if I am buying off the internet and can't test ride the bike, what else can I do?

So find the Geometry table for each bike and see what it tells you.

Read this:
https://www.bikeradar.com/advice/fitness-and-training/technique-perfect-mountain-bike-fit/

The Rookie

So do a comparison of reach and stack between the two. Noting that Giant (stupidly) measure reach to the headtube so yes you need to add the stem length to get the real reach value. And if the Intrigue has wider bars add about 10mm to the effective reach!

So for the small Intrigue I get a reach of 458mm and a stack of 582mm with 780 bars (I suggest will need cutting down)

For the tempt 3 small I get a reach 447mm of and a stack of 582mm with unstated width bars.

That's out the saddle, seated the Tempt is actually a little longer (570 to 580 on ETT but with an offset seatpost which will probable make it nearer 590 Tempt to 580 Intrigue).

Unless she finds the Tempt slightly too large I'd suggest the Intrigue in an S would be the right size.

aldragicevich

The Rookie said:

So do a comparison of reach and stack between the two. Noting that Giant (stupidly) measure reach to the headtube so yes you need to add the stem length to get the real reach value. And if the Intrigue has wider bars add about 10mm to the effective reach!

So for the small Intrigue I get a reach of 458mm and a stack of 582mm with 780 bars (I suggest will need cutting down)

For the tempt 3 small I get a reach 447mm of and a stack of 582mm with unstated width bars.

That's out the saddle, seated the Tempt is actually a little longer (570 to 580 on ETT but with an offset seatpost which will probable make it nearer 590 Tempt to 580 Intrigue).

Unless she finds the Tempt slightly too large I'd suggest the Intrigue in an S would be the right size.

I thought all bike manufacturers measure reach to the headtube? Anyway, if what you are saying is true, then that's good news and I'll feel less stressed about it.

I measured the tempt handlebars and i think they're around 700mm. The tempt also has a 50mm stem vs the intrigue which has a 40mm stem. So I assume I could also get her a 31mm stem on the intrigue to get her a bit more reach?

I got her sized in the shop and they said she is a small. They didn't even get her to try the XS though which is a bit frustrating. With the seat post up to optimum position, her arms were straight instead of bent at the elbows. The staff member said that's fine and she fits. So idk. Maybe I'm being over paranoid. Or the staff member doesn't know what he's doing.

The Rookie

More reach needs a longer stem not a shorter one.......

Seated the arms only need to be slightly bent, its only in the attack position should then be significantly bent.