Take Two

So, I mentioned in my last post that, after much torturous wrangling, I’d managed to get a refund for my bust Liv Intrigue E+1 from Rutland Cycling. The next step was to pick a new full-suss ebike.

I looked at the different options, and eventually decided on…

A Liv Intrigue E+1!

Yes, having looked at all of the different options, I decided to get exactly the same bike. However, given my past experience, I definitely wasn’t going to get it from Rutland. Instead, I bought it from Giant Leamington, my local Giant (and Liv) dealer – they’d been so supportive with my issues with the previous bike, I felt (and still feel) confident that, should any issues arise with Mr Intrigue II, they will sort them promptly. And, knowing of my previous bad experience with a Liv bike, also gave me a discount, added extra waterproofing, switched the wheels to tubeless, popped on a longer stem for me AND treated me like a human. Huzzah!

I’ve done over 100 miles so far on the new Intrigue, and it’s been fantastic so far. It’s amazing how much difference a 10mm longer stem makes – the handling is so much more comfortable now, less twitchy. I’m racking up the personal bests, and it’s all in all great fun.

Although it’s only done 100 miles, some of those have been quite the adventure. The most memorable was during Mr Toast’s birthday break up in North Yorkshire. We stayed in Keldy, and I went exploring. Forest, farmland, moors, plenty of mud, and fallen trees.

I also got mildly lost on the moors, which was exciting, and I had to race the setting sun to get back into the forest – I had a front light, but not a rear one, so had to get off the roads!

Aaaannd obviously a few rides over the Chase. I’m hoping that I have more luck with this version of the Intrigue, because it’s a cracking bike to ride.