I just picked up a brand spankin’ new Specialized Roll Elite from my LBS and drove it home. Lovely bike. But now I’m a bit confused.

Before I retired, I was a computer geek. I’m from back in the day when every computer and piece of software came with thick manuals in three-ring binders, often in cloth-bound slip cases. Now, you just download and go, nothing comes with a manual anymore.

Ditto with bikes, apparently. I received a thin and very generic Specialized manual written in 2007, before the Roll was even a dream in the designer’s eye. Nothing about those fancy valve caps showing green to indicate the tires are at the correct pressure. Exactly what pressure are they set to? Nothing about the hydraulic disk brakes, which I’ve never used before. I figured out the shifters on the ride home by trial and error - never used that sort before. No information about the little shock absorber in the saddle, or how to adjust the handlebars, or what torque is required, or anything that wasn’t written by a lawyer and intended to minimize liability. (Did you know your bicycle can kill you? If it sneaks up on you in the middle of the night and holds a pillow over your face, Specialized is not liable.)

OK, it’s been a while since I bought a new bike, and a lot has changed. Is there any place I can find a real manual? Is there a modern-day equivalent of my teenage bible, Richard’s Bicycle Book? Where can I find a vade mecum for the modern bike?