Bicycle Mechanics - loose water bottle rivet on frame

I have a titanium frame that used pop rivet type threadings for the water bottle cages. I bought the frame 10 years ago and since then one set of the rivets have come a little loose. Can these be tightened or replaced?
Thanks,
Highwheel

Rivets can easily be drilled out and replaced. The only issue that you face is that the back side of the rivet (drilled out portion) is going to be permanently housed inside your frame. Pop rivet guns and the rivets themselves are relatively inexpensive. So, the only real issue that you're faced with is whether you want that piece of rivet possibly perpetually rattling in your frame. Unless of course this particular rivet happens to be in your seat tube, then it'll just fall out the tube.

I have a titanium frame that used pop rivet type threadings for the water bottle cages. I bought the frame 10 years ago and since then one set of the rivets have come a little loose. Can these be tightened or replaced?
Thanks,
Highwheel

Try this technique (http://www.parktool.com/repair/readhowto.asp?id=147) from the Park Tool site.

The Park Tool technique is clever but unnecessarily complex.

Another way to retighten the "Rivnut" (the official name of the fitting) is to get a long M5x.8 bolt and a matching nut. Thread the nut far up the bolt and then thread the bolt all the way into the water bottle fitting. Hold the bolt head stationary with the proper allen wrench and tighten the nut firmly against the top of the fitting with an open end wrench. If you tighten the nut enough, you will expand the Rivnut and firmly fix it back in place.

Both of those are great ideas. I went another (semi-difficult) route when I wanted to add a water bottle holder to a steel frame bike. Rivnuts are relatively cheap at the local fastener supply house, but the setting tool is over $50. Basically, it is a enlarged pop rivet gun, and that was my inspiration. I took an appropriate bolt, cut off the head to make a threaded shaft, and turned down part of the shaft to the diameter of the largest collar that came with the pop rivet gun.

No question that the bolt and nut method Hillrider mentioned is pure simplicity when you only have a few of these to do!

Rivnuts are relatively cheap at the local fastener supply house, but the setting tool is over $50.
Harbor Freight has the tool for $13.99. Comes with rivets.

Harbor Freight has the tool for $13.99. Comes with rivets.
It only sets SAE threaded inserts. You would have to get a metric adapter and Harbor Freight doesn't list these on their web site.

can't get it cheaper than using a nut and bolt and some washers. here is a metric kit.

http://mdmetric.com/prod/rivetnuttool/rivetnuttool.htm

Thanks for all the great responses. This forum is great. I'll try the nut and bolt first and then go from there.

Thanks again.
Highwheel

Harbor Freight has the tool for $13.99. Comes with rivets.

I picked up one of these at the H. F. store in Lancaster, PA back in March. The disappointment was that the supplied rivnuts were aluminum, and as stated above, only SAE threads. Still, the price was right, so I added it to my toolbox. For on the steel bike I wanted steel rivnuts in metric, so that was what I bought locally, then had to make my own setting adaptor.

Rivets can easily be drilled out and replaced. The only issue that you face is that the back side of the rivet (drilled out portion) is going to be permanently housed inside your frame. Pop rivet guns and the rivets themselves are relatively inexpensive. So, the only real issue that you're faced with is whether you want that piece of rivet possibly perpetually rattling in your frame. Unless of course this particular rivet happens to be in your seat tube, then it'll just fall out the tube.

If a piece of rivet is rattling inside the downtube, couldn't one get it out by removing the bottom bracket and letting it fall out?

The Park Tool technique is clever but unnecessarily complex.

Another way to retighten the "Rivnut" (the official name of the fitting) is to get a long M5x.8 bolt and a matching nut. Thread the nut far up the bolt and then thread the bolt all the way into the water bottle fitting. Hold the bolt head stationary with the proper allen wrench and tighten the nut firmly against the top of the fitting with an open end wrench. If you tighten the nut enough, you will expand the Rivnut and firmly fix it back in place.

+1. I don't even have a rivnut tool, I use them so seldom whenever I need to insert one I use your method above. It works and is cheap.