Why A Titanium Bike Has Never Won The Tour De France

Titanium is often hailed as the most luxurious material in cycling, yet it has a surprisingly short history in the pro peloton compared to steel and carbon. Si and Alex take a genuine 1998 Team Festina Litespeed and pit it against a 2025 carbon Pinarello to see how the "magic metal" stacks up against modern technology... Check out Dan's channel here 👉 @vintagevelos9517 ⏱️ Timestamps ⏱️ 00:00 - The most exotic material? 00:52 - The infamous Festina bike 02:12 - Why do we own titanium bikes? 03:19 - A brief history of Tour de France materials 05:02 - The 'Peugeot' Litespeed Vortex 08:04 - Riding the vintage Ti superbike 13:49 - Riding the modern Ti superbike 17:09 - Riding the 2025 carbon superbike 18:31 - Titanium's biggest victories 20:20 - Final verdict Useful Links: Join this channel to get access to perks 👉 https://gcn.eu/JoinYTmemberships Subscribe so you don’t miss a thing! 👉 https://gcn.eu/subscribe Insurance: Viewers in the USA and UK can explore GCN Insurance products 👉 https://gcn.eu/GCNinsurance Sign Up To The GCN Newsletter 👉 https://gcn.eu/Newsletter GCN Uploader 👉 https://gcn.eu/gcnuploader Visit the GCN Shop 👉 https://gcn.eu/gcnshop GCN WhatsApp Channel 👉 https://gcn.eu/GCNwhatsapp GCN Instagram Broadcast Channel 👉 https://gcn.eu/instagrambroadcast Join the GCN Club on Zwift and ride with us! 👉 https://gcn.eu/GCNClubRides If money was no object, would you choose the zingy soul of a custom titanium build or the raw, clinical performance of a modern carbon superbike? ✨🚴‍♂️ Watch more on GCN... 📹 Watch our Editor’s Choice Playlist 👉 https://gcn.eu/editorschoice 📹 Or why not check out our Features Playlist 👉 ​​https://gcn.eu/gcnfeatures 🎵 Music - licensed by Epidemic Sound 🎵 A Dark Tranquility - DEX 1200 Cinematic Crescendo, Reversed, Fear, Tension Cinematic, Complex Moving Flames, Winds, Glitch, Swoosh 02 Devil at the Crossroads - American Legion Digital, Lens, Motor, Zoom In, Out Drag Race, Crowd Cheering, Cars Passing, PA Speaker Energy Drink - Def Lev fjaril - bomull Gate, Metal, Big, Machinery, Opening 02 Grinding Machine, Schoeps Heavy Weight (Instrumental Version) - Onoe Caponoe Impact, Dark, Cinematic, Aggressive Hit Impact, Dark, Cinematic, Low Mechanics, Electronics, Micro, Glitch, Tonal x3 05 More of the Same (Instrumental Version) - Francie Open Roads - Aiyo Pork Chop Special - Binkley Professional Cinema Projector, 24 FPS 01, Perspective 1 Shutter Release, Nikon F4 01 Singing Birds, Distant Traffic Slacker Kid - Speedy The Spider TRYNA BE - Push N' Glide Wave, Large, Sand 04 We Get Deep - Marcus Price #gcn #cycling #roadcycling #roadbike #bike #bikes #bikelife #titanium #titaniumbike #tourdefrance 📸 Photos - © Velo Collection (TDW) / Getty Images & © Sirotti Images The Global Cycling Network (GCN) is the largest online cycling channel in the world, bringing together a global community of road cyclists to celebrate everything that’s great about the world of cycling. Our videos bring fans compelling daily content including expert tutorials, techniques, training, racing, cutting-edge bike tech, unparalleled behind the scenes event coverage, humour, entertainment, and more. Presented by ex-pro riders, GCN offers a uniquely qualified insight into the world of cycling, and most importantly it’s fuelled by our passionate and enthusiastic fans – everyone who makes up the GCN community. We also bring the latest and greatest tech to your attention, showcase the best places in the world to ride and get exclusive access to events and races. Welcome to the Global Cycling Network | Inside Cycling Thanks to our sponsors: Canyon Bikes: http://gcn.eu/-Canyon Orbea Bikes: http://gcn.eu/Orbea Pinarello Bikes: https://gcn.eu/Pinarello Topeak Tools: http://gcn.eu/Topeak CamelBak: https://gcn.eu/Camelbak Pirelli Tyres: https://gcn.eu/Pirelli Vision Wheels: http://gcn.eu/Vision Wahoo Fitness: http://gcn.eu/Wahoo-Fitness Park Tool: http://gcn.eu/-parktool Selle Italia: https://gcn.eu/SelleItalia Zwift: https://gcn.eu/Zwift Silca: https://gcn.eu/Silca Core Body Temperature: https://gcn.eu/corebodytemp Precision Fuel & Hydration: https://gcn.eu/precisionhydration Elitewheels: https://gcn.eu/Elitewheels CeramicSpeed: https://gcn.eu/GCNCeramicSpeed HJC Sports: https://gcn.eu/hjcsports Shimano: https://gcn.eu/shimano Watch our sister channels: GCN Tech - https://www.youtube.com/@gcntech GCN Racing - https://www.youtube.com/@gcnracing Global Triathlon Network - https://www.youtube.com/@gtn GCN Italia - https://www.youtube.com/@gcnitalia GCN en Español - https://www.youtube.com/@gcnenespanol GCN auf Deutsch - https://www.youtube.com/@gcnaufdeutsch GCN en Français - https://www.youtube.com/@gcnenfrancais GCN Training - https://www.youtube.com/@GCNTraining Global Mountain Bike Network - https://youtube.com/@gmbn GMBN Tech - https://www.youtube.com/@gmbntech Electric Mountain Bike Network - https://www.youtube.com/@embn