Not too long ago I posted a photo of the new Genuine Innovations Tubeless Ready Kit that we received for testing. Since I’m a huge fan of Ghetto Tubeless, this kit caught my attention because it basically takes the same ideas as the Ghetto Tubeless, but it packaged up all in one bundle. It comes with all the things you need to go tubeless. From the Slime Sealant, Gorilla Tape, Valve Stems, CO2 cartridges levers and even a measuring cup.
Taping up the rim with the Gorilla Tape included in the kit.
I used a tire lever to tuck in the tape and make sure I had a good seal. One thing you have to do is start from the valve hole and finish about 5-8″ after it. Then just use a razor to cut out the valve hole and install the stem.
Here’s the rim all taped and ready to go with the valve stem installed (not shown)
Valve stem installed.
I followed the directions on the amount of Slime to use per tire and proceeded to fill in the casing with the green goo. What’s interesting about the Slime is that it’s very slick but not too sticky. Unlike Stan’s, there’s no small particles floating inside the mixture.
Though the packaging stated “Tubeless Ready” I went with what I thought most people would be doing with this kit, converting their regular non-ust tires to go tubeless. Some may call it Ghetto Tubeless, I call it budget tubeless. Anyhow on the left you see a GEAX AKA 29 (in which I know works for ghetto tubeless-previous article) and the other is a Kenda Karma. Notice the green Slime leaking out of the Kenda? Well that never sealed.
In fact the Slime sealant it self just wasn’t that great in sealing either tire. I tried to let it set up and seal in a span of a few days. Basically I’d air it up, shake the wheel around to get the Slime sloshed around towards the leaks, but it just wouldn’t hold. I’ve done tubeless before with Stan’s and usually it’s a pretty easy thing to do. But with the Slime sealant just didn’t work.
Here’s how bad it got. After about 4 days of trying to get my tires to seal, I gave up and dumped out the Slime and replaced it with Stan’s. Guess what, that held. It worked so well that I’m currently running Stan’s sealant with the Genuine Innovations Tubeless Ready Kit.
Now I can’t certainly say that this kit is a flop. Actually it’s pretty clever to package up all the things you need to convert to tubeless, but it’s that Slime Sealant that makes this kit pointless. The retail for this kit averages to $50. But what if we do the math and create our own kit, could it be cheaper? Keep in mind that the kit comes with C02 cartridges, and tire levers. However, if you were to get the basic things you need to go tubeless, then it’s going to be way cheaper.
Stan’s Sealant: $15
DT Swiss Tubeless Valves:$15 ( for a set)
1″ Gorilla Tape: $4
Total of $34.00
Ghetto Tubeless is even cheaper
2, 20″ presta valve tubes: $12
Stan’s Sealant: $15
Total of: $27.00
So take it for what it’s worth, the Slime Sealant didn’t work for our test, but the kit is a great idea. If you decided to go with the Genuine Innovations Tubeless Ready kit, go ahead and get a bottle of Stan’s Sealant with it.
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