Why I love my Colibri - by Grace Lambert-Smith

Why I love my Colibri - by Grace Lambert-Smith

By Alice Peyredieu>

I’ve been riding my Colibri for almost a year now and the novelty still hasn’t worn off. I skip into the garage and find her leaning on her other bicycle friends and I scoop her up to begin our outing together. I check her tyre pressure, attach my GPS computer and we’re ready to go.


The thing about the Colibri is it’s always ready. There’s no faffing about tightening various screws or wondering what that rattle is–the Colibri is raring to go. Owning a bike as reliable and as capable as this is truly a pleasure. I don’t need to consider whether she can handle the rough roads of the Peak District–she can–or whether I’ll get a personal record up that climb–I probably will. The Colibri is everything you want in a bike.


Our journeys together have included everything from a summer pootle to the shops to pick up a loaf of bread to a Baltic winter 200km ride with a few friends and absolutely everything in between. I am certain I don’t need any other road bike as long as I have my Colibri. I’ll let you into a secret: she’s even up for some gravel trails if the weather plays ball!


You can fit wider tyres for seasonal or terrain specific changes. You can attach as many bikepacking bags as heart desires because she can handle the weight. You can chuck some mudguards on to keep her going through winter. You can go minimalist because phwoar look how good she looks! You can bet you won’t stop smiling for as long as you ride a Colibri.


You can with a Colibri.



Sonder Colibri

  • Buy Now

products/colibri-al-blue-2_70f5034f-bca4-4b20-8c7e-ffb660b19ca5.jpg
Colibri Al Rival22 Mechanical
  • SRAM Rival 22 11-speed groupset
  • Sonder Nova I19 Aero UK Made wheelset

£1,299.00 or from £23 /month
Buy Now. Be Riding in 10 days.

  • Buy Now

products/colibri-AL-rival-hydraulic-reef_69e941d4-77f5-4221-b36c-b908df731f56.jpg
Colibri Al Rival AXS
  • SRAM Rival AXS 12-speed groupset
  • Sonder Alpha 700c Aero UK Made wheelset

£2,249.00 or from £39 /month
Buy Now. Be Riding in 10 days.

  • Buy Now

products/colibri-al-blue-2_ec0c31f4-5fcf-4bc1-8e0c-956732bd0b94.jpg
Colibri Al Tiagra
  • Shimano Tiagra R4700 10-speed groupset
  • Sonder Nova I19 Aero UK Made wheelset

£1,099.00 or from £19 /month
Buy Now. Be Riding in 10 days.

  • Buy Now

products/colibri-AL-rival-hydraulic-reef_c4e9c70f-01a1-47fb-a9b7-7948f55976a3.jpg
Colibri Al Tiagra Hydraulic
  • Shimano Tiagra R4700 Hydraulic 10-speed groupset
  • Sonder Nova I19 Aero UK Made wheelset

£1,299.00 or from £23 /month
Buy Now. Be Riding in 10 days.

  • Buy Now

products/colibri-al-blue-2.jpg
Colibri Al 105
  • Shimano 105 R7120 12-speed groupset
  • Sonder Nova I19 Aero UK Made wheelset

£1,499.00 or from £26 /month
Buy Now. Be Riding in 10 days.

  • Buy Now

products/colibri-AL-rival-hydraulic-reef_84a46359-808a-4567-8616-67b48cbb89b1.jpg
Colibri Al 105 Di2
  • Shimano 105 R7170 Di2 12-speed groupset
  • Sonder Alpha 700c Aero UK Made wheelset

£2,199.00 or from £38 /month
Buy Now. Be Riding in 10 days.
products/colbri-al-blue-frame_a411303b-c790-4b20-ae69-bd52f1c17984.jpg
Colibri Al Frame and Fork
Aluminium endurance bike frame
  • 6061 double butted aluminium frame
  • Colibri carbon monocoque fork
  • Tyre clearance up to 36mm
  • Internal cable routing

£549.00
Buy Now. In stock for same day despatch.

  • Buy Now

files/colibri-ti-chorus_386a57ea-2ac2-4212-9e1e-41e654479767.jpg
Colibri Ti Rival22 Mechanical
  • SRAM Rival 22 11-speed groupset
  • Sonder Alpha 700c Aero UK Made wheelset

£2,399.00 or from £41 /month
Buy Now. Be Riding in 10 days.

  • Buy Now

files/colibri-ti-chorus_e53c2bc5-74a9-4cc7-82a8-3552194e5dcd.jpg
Colibri Ti Force22
  • SRAM Force 22 11-speed groupset
  • Sonder Alpha 700c Aero UK Made wheelset

£3,149.00 or from £54 /month
Buy Now. Be Riding in 10 days.

  • Buy Now

products/colibri-ti-chorus_6b9ac0f4-f4f8-4f6d-aef1-856bf49825b5.jpg
Colibri Ti Rival AXS
  • SRAM Rival AXS 12-speed groupset
  • Sonder Alpha 700c Aero UK Made wheelset

£3,199.00 or from £55 /month
Buy Now. Be Riding in 10 days.

  • Buy Now

files/colibri-ti-chorus_7bf65fe8-0cbc-4e20-a0ec-2effda538b12.jpg
Colibri Ti Force AXS
  • SRAM Force AXS 12-speed groupset
  • Sonder Alpha 700c Aero UK Made wheelset

£3,649.00 or from £63 /month
Buy Now. Be Riding in 10 days.

Mountain Journal Entries

Adventure Cycling in England

As the frost of winter melts away, England's landscapes begin to burst into life, making spring the perfect season to explore the country's diverse...
May 09, 2017

Return to Dirty Reiver 2022

Oh, Dirty Reiver. It was a pleasure to be back. Last weekend, we headed to the middle of nowhere (otherwise known as Kielder Forest) to see all you...
April 28, 2022

Riding the Lakes

The Lake District covers 885square miles of north westEngland. High craggy mountains,rollinglush valleys and sparkling lakes, it’s a magnet for out...
February 21, 2018

Human Powered Adventures

To hear Jenny Graham and Lee Craigie talk about their adventures is to know the joy of spending time outside. In this webinar, Al Humphreys talk...
October 18, 2010

An Easter bikepacking journey on the Yorkshire Coast Route

Imagine your own Easter bikepacking journey on Yorkshire's Cinder Track from Scarborough to Whitby. Explore coastal paths, enjoy scenic descents, ...
April 30, 2024

GBDURO- You've got to go there to come back again

‘You've got to go there to come back’… Land’s end and back again - My (un)learnings from GBDURO. As the dust has settled on my GBDURO experie...
September 14, 2023

Central Forestry Wales Bikepacking Trip

Sonder Guru Jack went for a weekend adventure on his Sonder Camino. Here's what he got up to. One October Saturday morning I drove to a small ca...
February 21, 2023

A Bikepacking Overnighter

This is a Daring Deed from one of our Sonder team, Jack, from his bikepacking trip a few weeks back. The morning started hot and sunny in the co...
August 10, 2022

Wheelwright Coast to Coast

This is a Daring Deed from one of our customers, Graham. He took on the esoteric Wheelwright Coast to Coast from the 17th to the 23rd of June 2022....
July 28, 2022

Find Your Inside Outside

Accidentally walking the Pennine Way solo is quite a thing! Anna our Finance Manager reflects on the ups and downs ...
May 31, 2022

An Achievable Adventure

Many of the adventures reported in “Espresso” involve super-fit athletes in their early 20s, doing such exploits as paragliding off the three highe...
February 17, 2022

Pennine Bridleway End to End

Staying local has literally captivated me for so long that the thought of riding off into the sunset has felt like a naughty pleasure. In particula...
July 22, 2021

The Second City Divide

It was riding the Torino Nice Rally in 2017 that planted the seed for devising a UK equivalent. A long distance, country to country, city to city t...
July 07, 2021

From the Peak District to Norfolk for a Bivvy on the Beach

If you’re into the mystical world of Audax, your perception of distance is somewhat skewed. So riding 300km to see your friend seems perfectly norm...
June 15, 2021

Bikepacking England. An interview with author Emma Kingston

What you are about to read is an exclusive interview with author Emma Kingston, on the launch of her new book "Bikepacking England" which can be pu...
May 24, 2021

Downs link ride

Last October our Sonder rider Scott Swalling headed off for 180Kms+ loop of the Northdowns Way (NDW), King Alfreds Way (KAW), Southdowns Way (SDW) ...
December 02, 2020

The Peakland Ramble

What a crazy year! With most of the events cancelled that were in the calendar for 2020 due to COVID19 things had changed so much…. After a ...
September 29, 2020

Cycling Around the World From a Hebden Bridge Garage

"Sorry, I’m a bit short on time as I’m prepping for another World in a Day ride of 240 miles," begins Steve's email. "Well, actually, I’m doing two...
May 14, 2020

Second City Divide Part 1

“Just another half hour”, I tell myself. It's pitch black, my head torch is sending a blurry white light into the driving rain and mist. It’s three...
November 28, 2019

Reccying The Dales Divide

Following an email from Chris the creator of the Dales Divide inviting me to join the grand depart on the 19th April I had to decline due to riding...
May 10, 2019

Lap of England

Thanks to Dan, Gerry and Richard for contacting us to share their 1500km cyclingadventure around England. Day 1 - London to Trowbridge On...
February 19, 2019

An adventure in kindness

With thanks to Adam for an upliftingtale of the true value of human kindness. The trip was a solo journey from Lyon, cycling 2500 km along t...
February 09, 2019

Bear Bones 300

Whoever said the world isn’t flat had surely just completed a Bear Bones event. As accurate as that is it wouldn't have told the full story, their ...
October 17, 2018

Project Grandmas

Continuing journeys of the original Sonder Cahoot. After Tom Seipp had outgrown it and with many, many miles under its wheels, the responsibility t...
October 11, 2018

Riding the South Downs Way

The South Down’s Way is a 100 mile trail that runs from Winchester to Eastbourne along the South Downs National Park. I actually attempted the S...
July 20, 2018

Father and Son ride

My Son Tom and I are pretty lucky to have spent a lot of time over the last few years having some great adventures together. We usually travel by b...
June 14, 2018

Liam's Dirty One-Thirty

The Dirty Reiver 200 (200 km) and the Dirty One Thirty (130 km) is a long distance off road cycle challenge held in Kielder Forest Northumberland, ...
April 25, 2018

No Sleep 'Til Sunday

We love this race. It may be billed as one of the toughest 24 hours, but Tom has few points of comparison. As far as he’s concerned, Strathpuffer i...
February 01, 2018

Blindly Seeking Sunshine… and Zeus…

It’s that time of year again. Dark nights draw in. Chills seep into bones. UK wild nights out start to become more often endured than revelled in. ...
December 15, 2017

Biking in the Blood

Big thanks to Jennifer for sending this across, you put a smile on everyone's face with your family's cycling adventures! "Dear Alpkit, I...
November 16, 2017

Ride Across Britain

As my eyes struggled to focus on the road in the dark, driving rain and bright head lights, I remember thinking to myself that I was grateful to be...
September 28, 2017

Coffee, curry, cake, beer and a bicycle

Neil gets a last minute change of scehdule for his year, heading back out to Nepal for an extended trip and another Yak Attack. "With a bicycle ...
September 27, 2016

Going on a quest

We've known the guys at Dark and White events for years and have taken part in their excellent Trailquests from the start. But after a few years aw...
May 26, 2016

South Lakes 100

On Saturday 14th May almost 100 riders gathered in Staveley for the start of 100 miles of South lakes riding. The event was conceived by Richard Mu...
May 18, 2016

Another Climber turned mountain biker

In March last year I went over on my ankle dropping off the top of a bouldering wall. At first I was told I had badly sprained it but I was later t...
March 25, 2015

Lake District Misadventure

We've been biking for a while. Trail centres, well marked routes and all the normal tourist paths. Two of us cycle commute every day via bridleways...
August 20, 2014

The Loopy Loop

I am just back after completing my link up of the 3 Peak District Killers: Lord of the Loops, Bleaklow Loop and Killer Loop to give a 230km ride wi...
April 20, 2014

Valley of the Cold

The other night, sheltering from a blizzard in Reykjavik’s youth hostel, I ran into the only other cyclist I’ve met on this trip – a cheerful Bahra...
March 14, 2014
Back in the mountains

Back in the mountains

If there is one thing I truly believe it is that Scotland puts the Mountain in mountain biking. Sure I have had rewarding days elsewhere, but only ...
September 12, 2012
Dawn Ride

Dawn Ride

For the past few years the Keswick Festival hasn't had the best of luck with the weather - last year the show was called off due to high winds. Our...
May 21, 2012
Vin Cox - Hungry Bike Ride

Vin Cox - Hungry Bike Ride

We caught up with Vin before he heads off on his new venture The Hungry Bike Ride, to find out more about it. You can always keep up to date from V...
March 07, 2012
The long and rocky road to the Lakeland 100… Part 1

The long and rocky road to the Lakeland 100… Part 1

You will rarely hear a runner say that they are in tiptop form, or running really well, especially on the start line of a race. (That is until the ...
July 28, 2011
The long and rocky road to the Lakeland 100… Part 2

The long and rocky road to the Lakeland 100… Part 2

Tracey, a supermotivated running friend of mine sent me a Facebook link to the Lakeland 100. It is a 105 mile round of the Lake District, with...
July 28, 2011
Lord of the Loops Midnight Madness

Lord of the Loops Midnight Madness

The Dark Peak MTB guide had been on my shelf since last years Big Shakeout and now with the long evenings and a full moon it felt like the perfect ...
June 21, 2011
Back in the Saddle

Back in the Saddle

Kandersteg is one of those clean cut Swiss Alpine villages, sheltered in a valley between steep mountains, large wooden chalets and a handful of ex...
February 08, 2011
The Isle of Man End 2 End Challenge 2008

The Isle of Man End 2 End Challenge 2008

For the last six months I have been riding to work (nearly) every day as training for the End 2 End. I’d like to think that it was my dedication at...
October 01, 2008
A short trip on my bike

A short trip on my bike

Not having any boxes to deal with my day was pleasingly free of commitments. As much as I enjoy snow boarding I wouldn’t do it everyday. Often it i...
December 26, 2007
A Journey By Bike

A Journey By Bike

Richard and Sarah are currently undertaking a 10,000km cycle journey through the Andes to Ushuia at the southern tip of Argentina. The journey will...
October 20, 2006
Polaris Mountain Bike Event

Polaris Mountain Bike Event

Yet again it was time for Polaris, my careful training schedule had been slightly interrupted by the Outdoors Show the week before.. ok not that mu...
May 10, 2006

In The Frame

As you may well already know, Alpkit are proudly supporting In The Frame, a film project by Dom Bush and featuring the journey of Joe Beaumont. We ...
September 02, 2013

Lakeland Joy Riding

A stimulating, engaging environment and one promoting inclusion is vital in leading to a fulfilled life, particularly older adults and those living...
August 20, 2020

1 comment

  • My Colibri Ti arrived today – if it rides as good as it looks in the flesh, i’ll be very happy. Just wondering – what make and model of mudguards are fitted in the above picture?

    Dean Hedworth

    December 21, 2020

Leave a comment

Please note, comments must be approved before they are published

=