Originally Posted by substructure
I noticed a small chip near one of the water bottle cage eyelets on the seat tube of my C'dale. While riding home one day, I noticed a crackling noise while pedaling. I got off the bike wiggled the cage and it made the same noise. When I got home, I took the cage off to clean around the eyelets and noticed the chip and that the eyelet (or whatever you call it) was a bit loose as well.
The bike was bought from a friend, so I'm not the original owner. Thus, making a trade in void.
So, I'm in the same boat as you, my friend. Unfortunately, I cannot afford anything yet - or anytime soon.
Good luck with your situation. I hope you get what you want out of this.
In high-end steel frames, the water bottle bosses are usually brazed in place, which makes them virtually indestructable, and they actually provide support to the surrounding tube.
In aluminum frames and cheaper steel frames, the bottle bosses are often simply holes into which a threaded rivet ("RivNut") has been inserted. The rivets can work themselves loose. A loose rivet isn't a structural problem, since the rivets don't strengthen the frame at all. You can probably immobilize the rivets with an appropriate adhesive.
You might want to check out this thread about riveted bottle bosses,
http://bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=162158