Happy Thanksgiving, and a Nice Raleigh Book

I think aftermarket support and maintenance was much stronger many years ago when neighborhood bike shops were plentiful and manufacturers strongly backed their products. It seems products today are more readily disposable and finding service is more difficult. 

 Along those lines, recent arrival is this beautiful Raleigh service book from the early 1950s. The original owner of this book wrote his name and the date of 1951 inside the cover. This book is 60 pages long, covering all the various aspects of maintaining an old Raleigh three speed bike that an informed owner would want to know. This is not necessarily a complete "shop" manual for the bike, but it is a detailed look at the bike from the owner's perspective, including basic maintenance done at home.

 Even some of the trickier aspects of maintenance are covered, such as Dynohub wiring and maintenance of the accumulator battery unit.

 The book even still had 1950s era bicycle hangtags and shifter inserts, probably from the original owner's bike. These were stuffed into the book about halfway through. 

 Overall this is a wonderful find of a full-length piece of Raleigh literature from not long after Second World War ended. It gives us a look at what a more involved owner might have to maintain a classic Raleigh of the 1940s or 50s. 

Finally, a happy Thanksgiving to those out there celebrating this coming week. Thanksgiving in the USA is celebrated on the fourth Thursday of November.