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Is it me, or are they just an ar*e covering exercise of limited value and information? They all basically say 'Get a qualified bike mechanic to check your bike every time you ride' - and that is about it.
Between the SRAM, Shimano, RockShox, Marin, Trek, Cannondale and Orange ones I have sat in the box, not one has proper instructions for use, service / set up information, Warranty information etc. They don't even have an accurate link or suggestion where to source this from...
TransX have provided both detailed installation information and service information.
Only one (RockShox) makes use of the opportunity for some marketing/brand building by supplying one sticker.
Real room for improvement...
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They're normally so outdated and generic they'll spend fifteen pages showing you how to do up a 9 mm quick release skewer - when you have a maxle front and rear.
On the plus side - KS & Hope for starters put the info out there including YouTube videos.
I can recommend Stif - During the bike handover, they explained how to strip the rear linkage to check the bearings and how to adjust the linkage axles when reassembling. They even had a nice cutaway frame to demonstrate on.
This is the sort of information I like 🙂
I saw a man in halfords ask for the manual for a bike he had just bought, I was thinking wtf for?
You actually read the paperwork that comes with a bike?
I thought most people just chuck it back in the box, assemble the bike and go for a ride...
They're normally so outdated and generic they'll spend fifteen pages showing you how to do up a 9 mm quick release skewer - when you have a maxle front and rear.
This. On last nights Marin one.
You actually read the paperwork that comes with a bike?
More glanced through and though 'that is crap'...
It seems a great opportunity, at not much cost, for brands to do something good with...
matt_outandabout - MemberIt seems a great opportunity, at not much cost, for brands to do something good with...
Pain to cordinate though - languages, spec changes from mode to model and year to year, they may swap one brand for another. All that means different part numbers, separate printing runs, etc, etc. Easier and cheaper for them to let you do the work by finding it all online.
My specialized came with a half decent one, RS manual for the fork, booklet with all the bolt torques. It's probably as in depth as the paperwork that comes with a car.
What you want is the haynes manual, which doesn't exist because you'd need a different one for every single variant of that bike.
I doubt even haynes make money off their car manuals anymore, they're far more generic than they used to be (they don't cover a nut an bolt strip and rebuild like they used to). But that's understandable when my MG one was published the car was at the end of a thirty year production run with only a few changes, my ford one covers five years with five engines, four gearboxes and 101 optional extras!
Pics of the bike looked good on FB though !