Happy New Year 2014 February I dropped my 2007 Specialized Roubaix (top) off at my local bike shop for the smallest of reasons. Of the four water bottle screws, one wouldn't come out (the fitting itself would spin inside the frame). I figured that drilling it out myself was dangerous given the carbon fiber frame material. Why change the water bottle cages? I was planning to race Battenkill in early April and had been told that plastic wouldn't be up to the dirt sections. A week later, I received a voicemail from the shop. The frame was totaled. They'd called Specialized to see what could be done about the water bottle holder. Nothing, they were told. No, the only option is to replace the entire frame. Which Specialized offered to do. For free. Unfortunately, they didn't have a comparable frame at the moment. They did have the next line up, the Expert (2013 model). So they sent that (bottom) instead. The small dark cloud in the silver lining is that I needed a new front derailleur (the old one wouldn't fit the new frame)--that set me back $80. And, for another $40, they installed the bottom bracket and head set.

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