Genuine Innovations Tubeless Tire Repair Kit Review
This is a product designed to repair tubeless tires, which are very common among mountain bikers these days.
It looks like a great idea because getting a hole in a tubeless tire is a serious problem. You can’t just replace the tube and have things good as new; your options are more like 1) replace the tire or 2) try to patch the inside of the tire.
Replacing a tubeless tire is very expensive, and patching the inside of one is a messy job! Not to mention that mounting and unmounting tubeless tires can be hard on your hands and hard on the tire bead.
That’s why this kit from Genuine Innovations looks so interesting. It allows you to repair holes in tubeless tires without removing the tire!
Pros: At $4, the kit is A LOT cheaper than buying a new tire. It’s on par with the price of a patch kit for regular tires and tubes.
Plus, working from the outside is much easier and faster than patching the inside of the tire.
The tool is also very easy to use. All you do is put a rubber strip on the special needle, stick it into the puncture, and pull the needle out.
Cons: It’s not a miracle.
Sticking a plug or two into the puncture provides a pretty good temporary solution, especially when combined with the Stan’s sealant inside the tire.
However, having a brown clump of rubber sticking out of your tire is a bit odd. I always worry that it’s going to catch on a rock and get ripped out.
And don’t expect to get this tool out of the package and use it perfectly the first time. The biggest problem I faced was using it properly, and determining the best number of plugs to use in each puncture. (Some holes required two plugs.)
The Final Word
Using the tool is very simple. It literally takes 5 seconds. It does require a bit of a special touch, or some practice at first, but it’s not terribly difficult.
At a mere $4 for a kit, which will handle up to five punctures, it’s a good value – better than buying five new tires for a total of $100-250!
It’s not a permanent fix, but for the price, this tubeless repair kit is worth a shot.
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