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Join Date: Feb 2012
Location: Rochester, NY
Posts: 18,089
Bikes: Stewart S&S coupled sport tourer, Stewart Sunday light, Stewart Commuting, Stewart Touring, Co Motion Tandem, Stewart 3-Spd, Stewart Track, Fuji Finest, Mongoose Tomac ATB, GT Bravado ATB, JCP Folder, Stewart 650B ATB
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I asked about the OE cable presence on the bike as a way of making my point. That the bike had a cable in place when new that worked for a number of years shows that the bike did and can work as intended. So I believe there is no valid warranty claim. But this is only to be determined by the manufacturer, not me, you or the mechanic. It is possible that the manufacturer will want to keep a customer happy and send out a replacement frame. I doubt it though and would also wonder if the replacement frame will need a cable run through it and might prove to be equally challenging to do so.
I completely agree with Francis that there are many poorly designed internal cable routings. I have said as much many times on this and other public forums. This isn't news. Back in the 1970s I saw my first attempts of internal routing, all be it with steel frames. (Interesting is that those attempts were far easier to deal with then many of today's carbon bikes).
I can be cynical often and this topic is where I often express my feelings in strong terms. The cost of a bike isn't just the dollars and cents that transfers from owner to seller. The real cost is often realized later when the owner needs to do something to the bike. Change the gearing, change the tire size, do routine maintenance, replace worn parts or (with press fit BBs) just want to ride the bike in peace and quiet. This later cost is the frustration expressed by the OP. The higher labor when the LBS finally takes over the job. When people like me point out the short sightedness of the owner had when he bought the bike (and this short sightedness is understandable given the marketing departments' efforts to not talk about this future cost, to only focus on the short term features) we are often blamed when we are but the messenger.
I'll end my little rant by saying that some will then say to me I need to not buy into the modern bike market, that I need to do my own thing, that I should do it myself. I'll reply that I do. I build my frames with cable routing as a high priority in the design and fabricating of the braze ons.