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 ๐ @vintagevelos9517
โฑ๏ธ Timestamps โฑ๏ธ
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
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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? โจ๐ดโโ๏ธ
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47 Comments
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? โจ๐ดโโ๏ธ
What's the black down jacket at the end?
I ride a Titanium bike 1 or 2 weeks each year. I absolutely love them! While my normal ride is a Tarmac SL8 and a Trek 5200 on my trainer. Iโd love to add a Ti road bike to my fleet!
Ti has so much flex it cannot be used in Motorsports. Used for hardware and thatโs it.
Fun video, feels like really old GCN somehow. 10/10 on the Tennessee accent also.
From: "A titanium bike has never been used to win the tour de france"…
To: "Even he [Lance] rode a Litespeed rebranded as a Trek in 1999"…
In about 5 minutes.
i don't ride road bikes, but i ride mountain bikes. i have a Ti hardtail. they definitely feel different to an aluminium hardtail. Ti takes the edge off the harsh impacts. it feels like it has 10mm of travel. it's stiff and all that, just with a tiny bit more flex to take the edge off. plus, all the girls who see me on it throw their undies at me. i'm sure other Ti riders get that too.
The only bike to crack its frame out of all my bikes of steel,carbon and aluminium was a titanium. Was great to ride though, 30000kms before it failed at bottom bracket. Was a Hasa, maybe all tis arent equal?
Conner? What do you feel about it? whoops ๐
Ron Skarin won many races in the 1970's on a Teledyne Titanium bicycle.
Nothing said about maintenance. My ti van nic bikes are a joy to work on. No fear of breaking anything.
You should link the bititan video, I can't find it
Can't help but notice that it doesn't matter what it's made of, you still get wet when it rains.
@6:45 look at the precision and craftsmanship of the welding on the frame. That's part of the reason to ride a titanium frame – it puts a smile on your face when you look at it.
Saying that no one has asked n the Tour on a titanium h me is stretching the truth somewhat
The 80's and early 90's were a mixed bag of TdF winning bike materials. Greg LeMond won all his TdF using TVT's often resprayed and branded to look the team's frame sponsor (1986: Look, 1989: Bottecchia, 1990: LeMond). Following LeMond's 1990 tour victory, Indurain also won the tour in 1991 on a TVT. Thereafter, Banesto were sponsored by Pinarello and Indurain won 92, 93, & 94 on steel, ignoring the special purpose carbon TT bike, such as the Pinarello Espada. Indurain then won the 95 TdF on a Pinarello aluminium matrix frame marketed under Keral-Lite. Bjarne Riis' 1996 TdF winning bike was also a Pinarello Keral-Lite.
When is GCN racing the biggest timed race in the world – Cape Town Cycle Race.
35 000 participants, 109km
Cape Town South Africa
2nd Sunday of March Every year..
I love my Titanium bike.
It just feels really nice to ride.
Buttery smooth, but not dull.
Carbon aero bike every time. I have zero interest a Ti frame, I don't like the look, and for a higher price to even a high end carbon option there's no way.
Hi guys. Love your videos. What brand is Alex's titanium bike. Thanks for the content.
Too springy. I rode a Litespeed MTB for years until I got a TOL steel frame that would outclimb it on any hill.
Armstrong rode a Litespeed Blade dressed up as Trek at the time trials in '99.
Sorry, but the rake isn't the bend in the fork. Unless the fork, and steerer tube, goes straight down all bikes have a rake, bent fork or not. The rake is the angle between an imaginary, vertical, line through the center of the wheel and the steerer tube.
I love my Brompton T line!
Taking the nice stuff out in the wet !!!
I Own a Litespeed Vortex. I'll ride it till I die ๐
Le sigh…..this again!?๐
The ONE pound weight difference between my Ti frame and a carbon race frame is less than the weight of my breakfast- the cozy all day ride and beautiful handling make up for it, and always will.
If I couldn't afford Ti, I'd go with a quality steel frame for the same reason- be honest; do you get dropped because YOUR bike is 1000g. heavier, or because you suck!?๐
I prefer to suck comfortably, thank you very much.๐๐
"Back then Puegeot did not make high end bikes"- er yes they did or should I say 93/94 I had a Peugeot with Reynolds 708 Classic with Ultegra throughout & Mavic Open Pro rims-Jeremy Hunt rode a similar bike in early 90s before he turned pro
My first Ti bike was a Merlin extra lite with Carbon fork and seat post and it certainly was a significant change in ride feel over long distance. My second Ti bike was a Custom Guru Tantrik and this was Titanium tubes,carbon fiber lugs and straight fork and to this day it is the sweetest ride over distance. I have to even today I agree there is something magic about a Ti ride compared with my Current Trek carbon . Great show.
Are ti bikes slow? When I am on one, yes.
ParisโRoubaix should be the test for a test of road feel. Or, is that too much?
PSA: Steel still dominates the TdF win list.
I have a Colnago Bi-Titan for sale!. Itโs gorgeous.
Also, nearly all my bikes are titanium, I love them, best thing – years later, give it a wash and it looks like new.
The main advantage of Titinium is durabilty as it doesn't fatigue and doesnt rust.
Sc (scandium 21 ) Ti (titanium 22). , my old days dream with a custom Merlin,, โค
Surely Titanium just need to train more…
interesting presentation, but no technical explanation of why Titanium is slower.. heavier material, stiffer road connection? I am looking to order a new Passoni. Nothing here discourages me.
Greg LeMond won the 1990 TdF on a titanium frame built by Merlin. His whole team rode them that year.
Si's impression of Ollie ๐ค ๐คฃ
Too often itโs not the frame but the lack of riding skills and expertise. If youโre not a pro earning a living how fast do really need to go?
Carbon took over before ti could gain a foothold
I own a Seven Cycles custom titanium bike that I bought 9 years ago. Upgraded to wireless shifting 3 years ago, and I plan on riding this forever (even though I might get a new bike with disc brakes; it will be another custom titanium frame). As a well below average height male a custom frame was the only way to get a bike that fits–and that is far more important than whatever marginal gains I'd get from a more aero/supple/lighter carbon frame. (I think there are some custom carbon manufacturers out there but custom titanium is easier).
As an American who rides carbon, i always admired my buddies who had Litespeed bikes back in the late 90โs. Waaay too pricey for my TV Dinner budget though.
Also, love the โAmericanโ accent at 7:57 . Was that supposed to be Texas, or just a generic hybrid Southern US dialect? ๐
What is that front light set up? It is super sweet!!! โค
my ti had been with me for more than 10yrs now, and i have no plan of switching to carbon nor going for diskbrakes ๐ข๐โคโคโค
20:56 โฆ โperhaps more robustโ ? No, NO frame material is more durable and robust than titaniumโฆ ! You guys should actually know that very wellโฆ
Maybe you arenโt really allowed by your sponsors to say and officially admit that BUT thatโs the truthโผ๏ธ Thanks
Now we know why Alex has Dura Ace cranks in a drawer, heโs got bling titanium ones on his personal bikes ๐.