I've been riding a Lithium 5.0 for the last nine months and am really impressed with it's performance as a trail bike. I regulary ride single track three to four times a week, and have raced locally in the xc sport class.

The bike has been alot of fun to ride, is relativley light weight for a 5" travel FS bike with the few carbon component upgrades I've made, lighter wheelset and tires, and seems like a great frame. I origianally tested the bike at REI in Seattle and it felt right for the kind of riding I do. At that time (spring 04) virtually all of the REI stores in the northwest were sold out of K2 Lithium 5.0 bikes.

After calling around I found one in my size at a LBS in Seattle. Since then I have noticed that there is very little discussion of the Lithium bikes in the MB magazines and on the internet. I find this kind of strange since it seems like they sell out in the retail shops, and yet you never hear much about them. Anyway, such a great bike deserves to have it's own forum. If anyone has any thoughts on the subject - please share them in this forum.

I'm a parttimer at REI here in Boise and am looking at prodealing the Lithium 4.0. At the rate I'm going though I may have to wait until 2006. The 5.0 is out of my price range. Unfortunately our store doesn't stock the Lithiums.

What size did you get? We have several Attack 2.0's in stock and I'll have to ride around on the small and mediums (I'm 5'8 with a 30" inseam).

BelaySlave - I'm 5' 10" with a 32" inseam and ride the medium frame (17 1/2"). I have about 2 1/2" standover height right in from of the seat tube/seat noze. I'm right on the K2 sizing charts edge between a medium and large frame. However, I'm really glad I got the medium as I feel like I have better control in dicey technical situations. This bike stands tall with great clearance for a trailbike - I think the medium would be a good size for you. A small would probably be a little too tight (large definately roo big).
If you do get the 4.0 a really great upgrade that I made was to switch the front derailleur to a Shimano XTR (M961 bottom swing bottom-pull). I also changed out the Shimano rapid fire shifters to Sram Rocket Shorty twist shifters. I got the derailleur and shifters for about $120 total from Jenson/Pricepoint and they were worth every penny. No more miss shifts heading into hills - in fact I've never lost my chain with this setup. I think this was the best upgrade I've made to my bike - can't imagine going back to trigger shifters. You won't be sorry with a 4.0.- it's an incredibly good value to begin with and these performance upgrades are huge.

Hi, I'm looking at the 05 Lithium 3.0 at REI. I've ridden it and really like it. Is this a good bike for my first time buying a real FS bike? I owned a cheaper schwinn that was stolen, but never anything this nice. It is a little out of my price range, but because my coupon will bring it to just around $1000 I think I'm going t get it.

Hi, I'm looking at the 05 Lithium 3.0 at REI. I've ridden it and really like it. Is this a good bike for my first time buying a real FS bike? I owned a cheaper schwinn that was stolen, but never anything this nice. It is a little out of my price range, but because my coupon will bring it to just around $1000 I think I'm going t get it.
CircuitMan - The main difference between the 3.0 and say the 4.0 in the drivetrain and the shocks. The frame is pretty much the same. Here are the specs for the '05 3.0 and I've listed the specs for the '05 4.0 below so you can compare (if you haven't already?).

'05 Lithiium 3.0
FRAME Lithium 7000 Series Aluminum Alloy with K2 Reflex Mountain top tube, 100 or 125 mm travel Broadband 4 bar suspension, cartridge link pivots
REAR SHOCK Fox Vanilla R ProPedal, with preload and rebound adjusters
FORK Answer Splice Elite, 130mm, with preload and rebound adjusters
FRONT DERAILLEUR Shimano Deore
REAR DERAILLEUR SRAM X-7
SHIFTERS SRAM X-7 triggers, 9 speed
FREEWHEEL/CASSETTE SRAM PG-950 9 speed cassette, 11-34
CRANKSET Truvativ Blaze, 170/175, 22/32/44
BOTTOM BRACKET Truvativ Powerspline Cartridge
CHAIN KMC Z9000
WHEELSET Sun CR-18 double-wall rims, 32 hole Shimano M475 disc hubs with stainless steel spokes
TIRES WTB Motoraptor, 26x2.1"
BRAKES Avid BB5 ball-bearing mechanical disc brakes
BRAKE LEVERS Avid FR5, for mechanical disc brakes
HEADSET Ritchey Zero Stack, 1 1/8" threadless
STEM Aluminum alloy threadless, 15 degree rise, four bolt faceplate
HANDLEBAR Butted aluminum, 660mm wide, 20mm rise
GRIPS K2 Pipe Clamp lock-on MTB
SEATCLAMP Aluminum alloy quick-release
SEATPOST Aluminum alloy micro adjust, 350mm long
SADDLE WTB Speed V Comp
PEDALS MTB with resin body, alloy cage and toe clips/straps
EXTRAS Cateye reflectors and K2 owner's manual
AVAILABLE COLORS Orange-Silver

'05 Lithium 4.0
FRAME Lithium Butted 7000 Series Aluminum Alloy with K2 Reflex Mountain top tube, 100 or 125 mm travel Broadband 4 bar suspension, cartridge link and main pivots
REAR SHOCK Answer Swinger Air 3 Way, with SPV damping and adjustable rebound
FORK Answer Black Super, 120mm, w/ air spring, adjustable damping and TPC lockout
FRONT DERAILLEUR Shimano Deore
REAR DERAILLEUR Shimano XT
SHIFTERS Shimano Deore, 9 speed
FREEWHEEL/CASSETTE SRAM PG-970 9 speed cassette, 11-34
CRANKSET RaceFace Ride XC, 170/175, 22/32/44
BOTTOM BRACKET Race Face SRX Isis Drive
CHAIN KMC Z9200
WHEELSET Sun DS2-XC disc-specific rims, 32 hole Shimano M475 disc hubs with stainless steel spokes
TIRES In10se System 4 Plus, 26x2.25"
BRAKES Hayes HFX-9 hydraulic disc brakes
BRAKE LEVERS Hayes HFX-9 hydraulic disc brakes
HEADSET FSA Orbit IS, integrated 1 1/8" threadless
STEM Ritchey Mountain threadless, 17 degree rise
HANDLEBAR Alloy butted riser bar, 660mm width, 20mm rise,
GRIPS WTB Technical Trail Grip
SEATCLAMP Aluminum alloy quick-release
SEATPOST Ritchey Comp, 400mmm long
SADDLE WTB Laser V
PEDALS Shimano PD-M520, clipless
EXTRAS Cateye reflectors and K2 owner's manual
AVAILABLE COLORS Blue-Silver

The bottom line is that for $1000.00 you get a very good, versatile entry level all-mountain trail bike and an excellent frame that is worth upgrading. Keep in mind that if you plan to keep you bike for several years - the frame is your main investment. Components get broken, wear out and need to be replaces on all bikes. You can always get top of the line component upgrades on EBAY for pennies on the dollar if you are patiant as well as sale items at Jenson, Pricepoint, BeyondBikes etc. The good thing about this direction is that you have a very nice bike to start out with - with a killer paint job - and as you wear-out, break, or out-grow components you can affordably make the upgrades. If you were starting out with a mediocre frame - this would be a waste of time and money. My vote is to go for it. Good luck and keep us posted.

I found an 04 Lithium 4.0 for $1300 online, so that's plus shipping, but is this a better deal, and do I need the upgrades that will accompany this? I like that fact that's it's lighter. Another question, is an air shock as durable as a spring for jumping off stuff, say 3' or so? One salesperson at REI sayed that I would be better off with the spring over the air. I also might mention I like the idea of being able to adjust it on the fly, even if I'm not carrying my back pack.

I found an 04 Lithium 4.0 for $1300 online, so that's plus shipping, but is this a better deal, and do I need the upgrades that will accompany this? I like that fact that's it's lighter. Another question, is an air shock as durable as a spring for jumping off stuff, say 3' or so? One salesperson at REI sayed that I would be better off with the spring over the air. I also might mention I like the idea of being able to adjust it on the fly, even if I'm not carrying my back pack.
If you you can afford the 4.0 for $1300 - it's an unbeatable deal. There's absolutely no way you can upgrade a 3.0 to the 4.0 specs for an extra $300. To upgrade the rear shock to a swinger 3 way SPV will cost more than $300 by itself. The beauty of this shock is that you can adjust it to virtually eliminate pedal bob - which will happen with the spring shock when you're climbing hills. You're hard pressed to do that with the Pro Pedal spec'd on the 3.0. The swinger 3 way is specified on quite a few high end bikes, and has proven itself as a reliable shock that delivers. Once set up for your weight and style of riding you can pretty much forget about it.
Neither bike is built to take drops greater than 3 feet. These bikes were built to be all-mountain 'trail bikes', not downhill bikes, and if subjected to substantial drops something's going to break - maybe the frame. Having said that, I would go for the swinger shock over the pro-pedal without hesitation. I have one on my bike and it's a very good shock.
If you look at the two spec sheets I posted on my earlier thread, virtually every piece of the 4.0 component list is an upgrade over the 3.0. It would cost you well over a thousand dollars to make these upgrades on your own. The only thing that I would upgrade on the 4.0 is the front derailleur. The shimano deore seems to always need adjusting, and with the deore trigger shifters, once out of adjustment it seems to constantly dump the chain on a downshift to the granny gear on steep climbs. You can buy a new XTR 961 bottom-swing, bottom-pull front deraillleur on EBAY for about $60, or at one of the parts wholesalers for about $75. (the XT rear derailleur is fine) If you make that one change, you have an excellent drivetrain on an otherwise great value bike. Also, your much closer to the specs on the 5.0 which, at $2700 is considered a high end bike. Hope you're able to get the 4.0, it's a much better bike than the 3.0 and at $1300, a real bargain.

Next month I will be in SLC, UT to hopefully ride a 4.0 at Sundance Resort (they rent them there).

We just got in a medium 3.0 in the store and I haven't been able to ride it yet, but I did pick the thing up. Wow...it's got quite a bit of heft. I realize that is one of the downsides with these all-mountain type of bikes, but wow what a huge difference between that and my hardtail. Gonna be interesting to see how I will be going up hills.

I'm guessing the 3.0 was at least 35+ pounds. How much does the 4.0 weigh?

Thanks.

Nick

Next month I will be in SLC, UT to hopefully ride a 4.0 at Sundance Resort (they rent them there).

We just got in a medium 3.0 in the store and I haven't been able to ride it yet, but I did pick the thing up. Wow...it's got quite a bit of heft. I realize that is one of the downsides with these all-mountain type of bikes, but wow what a huge difference between that and my hardtail. Gonna be interesting to see how I will be going up hills.

I'm guessing the 3.0 was at least 35+ pounds. How much does the 4.0 weigh?

Thanks.

Nick

Wow, 35 lbs. is a lot for any trail bike. I think the Lithium 4.0 and 5.0 are considerably lighter and about equal to each other in weight - the 5.0 may weigh slightly less. Mine weighs about 28.5 pounds. It weighed about 29.5 pounds when I got it. I put on Easton Monkey lite carbon fiber handlebars and a Specialized Alias seat (very lightweight) and replaced the very heavy Intense System 4.0 2.25 tires with some lighter weight Kenda Nevegal/Bluegroove 2.1 tires and Torrelli lite weight tubes - and maybe shaved off a little over a pound.
Trail bikes are definately heavier than cross county hardtails. The last cross country race I was in had quite a few NORBA pros - mostly on performance hardtails. Most bikes maxxed out at around 24 pounds - some were a lot less - around 18 pounds.
However, most of my friends also have 'trail bikes', or 'all mountain' bikes like the Rocky Mountain ESTX (weighs about 28 lbs), and Trek Liquid (about 31 lbs.), and Santa Cruz Blur, and Gary Fisher Cake and most tend to weigh in the high 20's. The rear linkage and shock tend to make up most of the extra weight.
The extra weight is worth it when you're on a trail with a lot of obstacles like roots or loose rock, or decending a fire road with washboard when you doing about 35 mph. I would be interested to hear what the bikes you ride at Sundance weigh? I think the 4.0 is a great bike. Have fun!

They basically said that it had great potential, but it came with a cruddy undersprung underdamped fork, which I think has changed in the spec since that article was published. IIRC, they said good things about it otherwise.

bought a 3.0 two months back..the stock fork is a piece of garbage, splice comp..pulled it off and replaced with a vanilla off my hardtail..made a world of difference..other than the fork the bike's great..it is a bit portly but is stout enough to take some abuse..i;ve beat mine pretty hard and have had no problems..even knocked a tree (more like a sapling) down at about 25 mph head-on with the head tube and no issues..my stumpjumper ht would have been toast..overall, good bike if you dont care to get passed while going up..

bought a 3.0 two months back..overall, good bike if you dont care to get passed while going up..

Since you have the 3.0 it has the coil shock, right? the 4.0 and 5.0 come with the swinger air shock, which has SPV valving - makes climbing *almost* enjoyable. My large 4.0 was a touch under 29 lbs. with stock parts, which is a pretty reasonable weight for a 5" travel bike.

I have since moved on to a new frame... mine is now for sale on the classifides:
http://classifieds.mtbr.com/cgi-bin/classifieds/classifieds.pl?db=MtbReview&website=&language=&session_key=&search_and_display_db_button=on&results_format=long&db_id=86627&query=retrieval