Tutto bene... o el "Tuto" Necesario
La necesidad me llev贸 hasta un tutorial de YouTube sobre c贸mo ajustar los frenos de cangrejo de una bicicleta de ruta. Resulta que compr茅 zapatas y tacos nuevos y no sab铆a c贸mo dejar los frenos correctamente regulados. Algo que a simple vista parece tan sencillo tiene, en realidad, sus complicaciones.
Y encima, esto fue ayer, tuve que salir a hacer unas compras para la casa y me fui as铆, con el cangrejo trasero, que fue el primero al que le cambi茅 las zapatas, funcionando mal. Los tacos hab铆an quedado disparejos: uno de ellos permanec铆a m谩s pegado a la llanta y, cuando frenaba, no retroced铆a; es decir, se quedaba rozando. As铆 que trat茅 de no utilizar el freno trasero.
Durante el trayecto iba pensando que tendr铆a que buscar ayuda para solucionar aquello en un taller o localizar a alg煤n conocido que me echara una mano.
En el grupo de WhatsApp de Rodando al L铆mite, el grupo de cicloturismo de los apurados, plante茅 mi preocupaci贸n y el bueno de Esmil me sugiri贸 buscar un tutorial. 芦Ensayo y error禄, dijo. Me pareci贸 gracioso; sin embargo, ten铆a mucha raz贸n.
Seg煤n 茅l, en esto de las bicicletas la necesidad te obliga a aprender y as铆 terminas d谩ndote cuenta de que muchas cosas son, en realidad, bastante sencillas. De paso, te ahorras unos cuantos pesos en talleres.
As铆 que por la tarde, despu茅s de la siesta, me puse a corregir todo lo que hab铆a hecho mal durante la instalaci贸n. Segu铆 el tutorial y aprovech茅 que ese aparato, el m贸dem, comenz贸 a funcionar de nuevo como por arte de magia. No es que est茅 averiado; es que la nueva moda parece ser dejarnos sin servicio y sin ninguna explicaci贸n del porqu茅.
Los frenos... Lo logr茅. S铆, parece que lo logr茅. Ten铆a que centrar las tenazas, es decir, enderezarlas mediante el tornillo trasero, porque estaban ligeramente inclinadas hacia un lado. Despu茅s ajust茅 la distancia de las zapatas utilizando el tensor del cable.
Ahora solo me queda instalar y ajustar los tacos nuevos del freno delantero. Ya veremos c贸mo me va.
Unas horas despu茅s...
Parece que voy ganando maestr铆a en esto de los cangrejos. La misi贸n de colocar las zapatas de los frenos delanteros fue todo un 茅xito.
驴Y a ti, cu谩ntas veces un tutorial te ha sacado de apuros?
Con la bicicleta lista, solo queda prepararme para una tarde de trabajo. As铆 que hoy har茅 algo diferente. No porque la situaci贸n me obligue 馃槈... nooo, qu茅 va... es solo para romper la rutina.
Me ir茅 a alg煤n rinc贸n de La Habana donde sienta que debo estar un rato para cambiar de aires y, de paso, intentar conseguir un par de entregas. Preferiblemente, un lugar donde haya buena conexi贸n de datos m贸viles.
Ay 馃槪... acaba de empezar a llover.
Mi d铆a comenz贸 a las seis de la ma帽ana y, en cuanto amaneci贸, dediqu茅 unas horas a la jardiner铆a. Despu茅s prepar茅 el almuerzo para m铆 y para la princesa Chanel 馃惗, y aqu铆 estoy, terminando de escribir un post que empec茅 justo cuando los gallos comenzaron sus t铆midas cantur铆as.
Ya son pasadas las 3. As铆 que... nos chivediamo, jajaja... dopo, maybe, a domani per la mattina.
Bon pomerillo el italiano cubanizado 馃榿 Buon pomeriggio a todos.
Need pushed me towards a YouTube tutorial on how to adjust road bike caliper brakes. I bought a new set of brake shoes and pads, and I had no idea how to get the brakes properly adjusted. What looks like such a simple job at first glance turns out to be a bit more complicated than it seems.
To make matters worse, this was yesterday, and I had to go out and do a few errands for the house with the rear caliper, the first one on which I had replaced the pads, still not working properly. The pads were unevenly aligned: one sat closer to the rim and, whenever I braked, it wouldn't spring back. It simply stayed rubbing against the wheel.
So I tried to avoid using the rear brake altogether.
During the ride, I kept thinking that I'd probably have to take the bike to a workshop or find someone I knew who could help me sort it out.
In the Rodando al L铆mite WhatsApp group, our somewhat rushed cycle-touring gang, I mentioned my concern, and good old Esmil suggested looking for a tutorial.
"Trial and error," he said.
I found that quite amusing, but he was absolutely right.
In his view, cycling has a way of forcing you to learn through necessity, and before long you realise that many things are actually quite simple. On top of that, you save yourself a fair few pesos that would otherwise end up in a repair shop.
So that afternoon, after my nap, I set about correcting everything I had done wrong during the installation. I followed the tutorial while taking advantage of the fact that the modem had mysteriously decided to work again.
Screenshot of the tutorial mentioned above
It's not actually broken. The latest trend seems to be leaving us without service and without any explanation as to why.
The brakes... I did it. Yes, I think I actually did it.
I had to centre the brake arms using the rear adjustment bolt because they were slightly tilted to one side. Then I fine-tuned the pad clearance using the barrel adjuster on the cable.
Now all that's left is to install and adjust the new pads on the front brake.
We'll see how that goes.
Several hours later...
It looks as though I'm becoming quite skilled at this caliper-brake business. Fitting the front brake pads turned out to be a complete success.
What about you? How many times has a tutorial come to your rescue?
With the bike finally ready, all that's left is to get myself prepared for an afternoon of work.
So today I'm going to do something different. Not because circumstances are forcing me to 馃槈... nooo, not at all... it's simply a way of breaking out of the routine.
I'll head somewhere in Havana where I feel like spending a little time, just for a change of scenery and, while I'm at it, I'll try to pick up a couple of delivery jobs. Preferably somewhere with a decent mobile data connection.
Oh dear 馃槪... it's just started raining.
I woke up at six o'clock this morning and, as soon as daylight broke, I devoted a few hours to gardening. Afterwards, I prepared lunch for myself and Princess Chanel 馃惗, and here I am, finishing a post that I started writing just as the roosters began their timid morning crowing.
It's already past three o'clock. So... ci vediamo, hahaha... dopo, maybe, a domani mattina.
Bon pomerillo (my Cubanised Italian 馃榿). Buon pomeriggio, everyone!
@nanixxx. All rights reserved 漏, 2026.
Every image I include in my posts is mine. When it鈥檚 not, I credit the source in a caption.
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