Bicycle Owner's Manual

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Typical bicycle user / owner's manual

While owner's manuals are so common for cars, you won't get one necessarily when you purchase a bike (bicycle). We're providing here a vintage owner's manual from Raleigh, that dates back to the early 90's, but which contents remain indeed absolutely valid. We added our own advice based on our own experience and tutorials.
Have a good reading, noting that you can purchase your Raleigh bicycle from the links we provide to our partners amazon.com (all images are clickable). These are heavy duty bicycles, and you can convert your kids bikes for adults as explained further below, thus "keep them for ever".

PART I - RIDING AND USING YOUR BICYCLE

Read well the below advices and instructions prior to using your bicycle.
These are valuable for all bicycle riders, even non beginners.

1- Bicycle parts nomenclature

Start by knowing your bicycle parts nomenclature, especially when it comes to less used words like crank, sprocket or derailleur...this will be useful for understanding how gear changes occur on bicycles, also when buying parts online or in shops.
Buy the Raleigh bike of your kids here:

2- How to adjust the bicycle to the user's size

This would be the most neglected part of bicycle riding and leads to several problems:
  • If the saddle is too low, you won't have a good control over the pedals and you'll get tired just a few minutes after riding, possibly feel pain in your knees.
  • If the saddle is too high, you risk falling in difficult manoeuvers and hurt yourself with the bike's frame when you get down of the saddle.
  • The saddle should be well positioned and can be adjusted closer or farther to the handlebar, depending on your size.
  • Its inclining angle is very important to ride comfortably, and it is particularly critical for men. Always make sure it is very slightly inclined forward and keep adjusting it until finding the comfort angle.
  • For road bicycles, the difference of level between the saddle and the steering bar is very important, since to ride at high speeds, you need to consider a lower handlebar than what's required with a mountain or city bike. This is of course for your own aerodynamics and for reducing the surface-to-air impact of your chest.
Did you know that you can upgrade a 20" kids' bike to adult size and use? 
Click on the below button to see how we converted a Raleigh girl's bike to a BMX style bicycle!
Buy your Raleigh bicycle here:

3- Riding your bicycle

Read well the last advice about unadvised gear selection, since this puts a lot of stress on the bicycle chain, leading to very early wear. As a matter of fact, a 21-speed bicycle's gear provides only 17 gears, since 4 gear combinations between the front and rear sprockets are not usable in practice due to crossover chain stress.

4- Should you use toe clips on your bike's pedals?

Here's Raleigh's advice for toe clips on pedals, as shown in the bike's owner's manual:
Buy your Raleigh compatible toe clips here (also compatible with other makes):

PART II - BICYCLE MAINTENANCE

5- How to assemble the cantilever brakes of a bicycle

If you acquired a new bicycle in its package without assembly, or if you notice some malfunction in your brakes on a new bicycle, here's the advice about assembling cantilever brakes:

6- Regular Bicycle Servicing

This is indeed one of the most forgotten and neglected maintenance!
A bicycle with no maintenance at all could end up not being suitable for use, while its maintenance is not costly, not in time and not money wise. The reason why users do not maintain their bikes is either because these are kids and no one taught them to do so, or because adults find no time to do so, not before the ride and neither after.
Most users just inflate their tires once they notice they are down and upon starting to ride!
See below on how to perform regular maintenance on bicycles, including our own tips and advice:
If the chain link is loose or dismounted, click here below to see how to fix it:
Buy your Raleigh bicycle here:
Check also our below tutorials on removing rear wheel for more details and some pictures:
Buy your Raleigh bicycle here:

7- Bicycle brakes maintenance and repair

Because this maintenance manual is more than 30 years old, disc brakes were not yet as frequent as rubber pads brakes. For advice on how to maintain and fix disc brakes on bicycles, click on the links provided further below.
See also more details by visiting our tutorials on the below topics related to disc brakes and brakes handles / levers on bicycles:

8- Bicycle gear (derailleur) maintenance and repair 

Derailleur adjustment is indeed the most required and frequent intervention on a bicycle, when it comes to maintenance, especially if you ride uphill or on slopes and keep changing gears very often. 
It could appear to be a complicated tanks, but once you understand well how the front and rear derailleurs work, and how to adjust them, you'll notice it is rather simple and easy. Keep in mind that 98% of the adjustment is about re-adjusting the cable length and tension, remaining 2% about touching-up the limit screws. Check also further below our detailed tutorial on this topic.
Buy your derailleur supporting hook for Raleigh here:

See also our other bicycle fixing / using tutorials, you may also buy more accessories for your bike like repair stands and tools from our partners' stores: