Part of Lesson Plan: **Tire Mounting Part 1 (updated) by Robert Thayer

Activity Overview / Details

Bike tire dismounting and mounting -- 15 minutes

As students walk into the classroom, I ask them to put on their safety glasses, adjust their attire for safety, and head out to the shop. Out in the shop, I have 4 benches or work tables set up. Each bench contains the following items.

• A front or rear bicycle tire mounted on a rim with at least 30 PSI of pressure in the tire. (The bike rims and tires do not have to be in particularly good shape. They simply have to hold air, and have a core in the valve stem which is the same style as that found on most automotive tires. I usually use tires and rims from old discarded and abandoned bikes.)
• A valve core removal tool.
• A small container of tire soap/lubricant.
• A tire iron from a bicycle or automotive tool set, or a pry bar.
• A tire pressure gauge
• A tire inflater
• Individual index cards or labels containing the following words (one word per card or label): tire, rim, valve core tool, tire iron, bead, tread, valve core, valve stem, valve stem cap, tire soap, pressure gauge, tire inflater.

Once the bell has rung, and all the students are in the shop wearing their safety glasses, I quickly break them up into groups. (You could limit to groups of 4 and set up a couple extra work stations. Or you could let one set of groups tackle the problem first, while other groups look on and wait their turn.)

Once the groups are set and the students know whether they will be working on the tires or waiting for a turn, I tell them that I have an assignment for them to complete. I tell them they will have 10 minutes to complete the assignment. The assignment is to use every object on the bench to do the following:

• Dismount the tire from the rim
• Remount it
• Air it up to 30 PSI.
• Use the labels to correctly label each item and the parts of a tire. 

For the job to be complete, I tell the students that they must correctly use each item on their bench, and that the tire must hold and contain exactly 30 PSI of pressure, when they are done.

As students are working, I walk around and observe how the students are performing as individuals and groups. When students finish, I check to see if their tire holds and contains exactly 30 PSI. I take note of the following:

• which students are engaged and which are not
• which students are physically doing the work and which students are assisting with comments/suggestions
• which groups are correctly using the tools and equipment provided, especially the valve core tool
• which groups succeed in removing and installing the tire
• which students or groups, if any, have damaged the bead
• which students correctly fill the tire up to 30 PSI
• which students correctly label all the items and parts of a tire

After roughly 15 minutes, I tell the students to stop working, even if they are not finished, and to take their seats in the classroom. I bring all the tires/rims and one set of tools/equipment in from the shop. I inspect each tire/rim in front the class (checking the pressure, checking for leaks, checking the tightness of the core) and let the class know what was done successfully and unsuccessfully. I highlight good and not so good techniques, and what techniques will lead to incorrect tire pressure readings, damaged beads, loose cores, etc. I verbally label each tool, piece of equipment and part of the tire. Up on the board or on a Powerpoint slide, I will have the terms written out. Then, I explain the similarities and differences between dismounting/mounting a bike tire and an automotive tire. I take any appropriate questions students might have. Then I conclude this part of the lesson.