← Back to course
Bike Shop 3-5 / Week 10 / Wednesday
3/6
Week 10 · Fixing a Flat

Wednesday

Find the troublemaker
// Leak detectives at work
⏱ about 15 min

Wednesday: Find the Troublemaker

The hole is circled. Rocket cheers. "Case closed! Let's patch it."

Raven taps the empty tire. "Wait. What do you notice? What made the hole?"

Rocket shrugs. "Does it matter?"

Nova circles the wheel slowly. "If the sharp thing is still in the tire," she says, "what happens next?"

Rocket gulps. "It pokes the tube again. Oops!"

Why find the cause?

Before patching, a grown-up checks the tire and the rim.

They look for glass, nails or sharp points.

If a sharp thing stays in the tire, it can poke the tube again.

This is a big detective idea: fix the cause, not only the problem.

Safety first
Only a grown-up feels inside the tire. It can hide sharp bits.
You look and point. Never touch glass or nails.
The bike stays still, and a grown-up holds it.

Sort the clues

A grown-up checks the tire and rim spot by spot.

A detective writes down what each spot shows.

Then the clues point to the troublemaker.

Spot on the tireWhat the grown-up saw (made-up practice clues)
Aclean, nothing there
Bsmall piece of glass stuck in it
Cclean, nothing there
Da bit of mud
READ THE PRACTICE CLUES
  • Read the question.
  • Tap your answer.
These are made-up practice clues. Which spot most likely made the hole?
What should happen to the glass before the patch goes on?
Is mud likely to poke a hole?
Before patching, what kind of things does a grown-up look for in the tire? Type one word.
WHY THIS EXERCISEGlass, nails and sharp points can poke the tube again.
StatementTrue or false?
A sharp thing left in the tire can poke the tube again.?
Kids should feel inside the tire for glass.?
Writing down clues spot by spot helps find the cause.?
Finding the cause does not matter.?
WHY THIS EXERCISEA grown-up removes the cause, so the same problem does not happen again.
Try it
On paper, draw a big circle. It is your tire.
Mark a valve at the top.
Ask someone to hide a small paper star on the back at one spot.
Use a made-up clue, like near the valve, to guess the spot. Then flip and check.
Safety first
Paper and pencil only. No real glass or sharp things.
Draw a tire. Mark four spots and write a made-up clue for each.

Clever clue hunting! Tomorrow we learn how a grown-up patches the hole.

← Tuesday