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Bike Shop 3-5 / Week 04 / Bike Shop Day
6/6
Week 04 · Wheels, Tires and Air

Bike Shop Day

Bike Shop Day: Check and Pump
// What holds a tire up
⏱ about 15 min

Bike Shop Day: Check and Pump

Rocket sets out a pump and a pressure gauge. "Today the grown-ups use the tools," he says.

Raven opens her shop notebook. "And we look, press and record."

Nova hovers over the tire. "Read the sidewall first," she says. "Then you will know the safe range."

The family gathers around the bike.

  1. Spokes pull the rim toward the hub to make a wheel strong.
  2. Air molecules push out on the tire wall. More air pushes harder.
  3. The sidewall shows the safe pressure range, often in PSI.
  4. A press test is a clue. A grown-up checks the true number with a gauge.
  5. Firm tires flatten less and roll more easily.
◇ CHECK AND PUMP A TIRE
A grown-up holds the bike still for the whole activity.
Find the pressure numbers on the sidewall. Read them out loud.
Press the top of the tire with your thumb. Notice how it feels.
Watch a grown-up check the pressure with a gauge.
Record the number in your shop notebook.
If it needs air, watch a grown-up pump it up.
Press the tire again. Notice what changed.
No bike? Watch a grown-up pump up a ball instead.
Safety first
The bike stays still the whole time.
A grown-up handles the pump and the gauge.
Keep fingers away from the spokes and the chain.
Stand back while a grown-up pumps.
For a grown-up
Stay within the pressure range printed on the sidewall, never above the maximum.
Inside that range, the right pressure depends on the rider's weight and the load.
Let your child read the number and record the gauge reading.
Ask: what did the tire feel like before and after?
What we checkedWhat we found (record it)
Sidewall range
Press test before
Gauge reading
Press test after
SHOP DAY CHECK
  • Read the question.
  • Tap your answer.
What should you read first?
After pumping, how should the tire feel when you press it?
Who handles the pump and the gauge?
WHY THIS EXERCISEIn our bike shop, a grown-up handles every tool.

Great shop teamwork! Next week we follow the chain and count the teeth on the gears.

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