pdlamb

Nothing useful, that's for sure. Plenty of legal disclaimers, a couple pages of warranty (mostly limitations on the warranty). IIRC one of them said don't take off the reflectors if you're going to ride in low light conditions (didn't say anything about adding lights!). Nothing on how to shift, steer, or pedal. And not just a one-liner, they had real paragraphs on potential problems and adjustment, all of which ended the same way. Don't ride the bike if the tires are worn out, "Take it to the professional mechanic at your bike shop." If the gears don't shift easily or cleanly, "Take it to the professional mechanic at your bike shop." If you notice some unusual noise, "Take it to the professional mechanic at your bike shop."

The last time our kitchen mixer wore out, it took me 5-10 minutes to read through the new mixer manual to figure out what the graphics meant on which beater went where. That was an informative and useful manual compared to any bicycle manual I've seen. Bike manual: 20 pages of wasted paper, saved because the dated receipt was stapled on to the last page, and the serial number noted.