This thread has set me thinking. Assuming most big bike manufacturers sell complete bikes rather than frames, i wonder what the extra costs are to them for the labour to partially assemble all of these idiotic bikes vs the savings in manufacturing costs on frames. There's a major cost saving to be had here - as the cycling industry yet again reinvents the wheel and decides that external cables are what you really need. I know from working as a mechanic how hard it is to pass on to the customer the true cost of infernal scrabbling, sorry internal cabling, as they won't stand for the £100 bill for labour that some of the very worst/most toppermost frames require. Some are a doddle, most are absolute pigs.