The time to get a new bike came earlier than I expected. I've had two bike shops work on my bike trying to get it to shift correctly, and the consensus is that the components are heavily used. If I start replacing components like chain rings and shifters, then the rest of the components will need to be replaced... like a snowball effect. I've put a lot of miles on this bike and would rather sell it 'as-is' instead of putting beaucoup bucks into a new component set. Then I will buy an all-new bike with carbon frame.

In the meanwhile, I will continue to ride my Specialized Dolce Comp until I make a decision. The bike is ride-able, but it takes more energy to ride it than one that is newly constructed.

Last night I was deep in the throes of a sprint at 30 mph, when PINGGGG!!! my chain popped off the outside of the chain ring and the back of the rear derailleur. My gut reaction was to take the bike (which ended up being a dangerous wobble) to the side of the road for a gradual descent in speed. After looking at the chain, I saw that I had made the right decision because the situation with the rear derailleur would have prevented me from recovering the chain with the shifters during flight.

So I guess a bike that shifts like crap can be kinda dangerous.