MilKit Tire Sealant Injector - Review

Mar 2, 2016
by Paul Aston  
Milkit


Anyone who has mounted up tubless tires and has not suffered a serious puncture for a while must wonder if the latex sealant is still sloshing around inside them, or if it has become hardened blobs of rubber. The MilKit system from Switzerland was born after a trip to Moab was hampered by a puncture that would have been small enough to self-heal, providing that the tubeless fluid had not dried out. Inventor and flat-tire victim Pius Kobler pondered a simple solution to check the level of his tubeless sealant that didn't involve removing the tire. His solution was a syringe and a special tubeless valve design that allows the user to add, remove, or to gauge the level of sealant in a tire. The entire kit, including two valves, fits neatly inside the syringe. The valves are suitable for any rim type and the kit costs $49 USD / €49. www.milkit.bike


I'm going to be honest. When I met the guys from MilKit last year at Eurobike, I wasn't particularly excited to hear about a glorified syringe in the midst of hundreds of more interesting products. I, for one, have no need to check sealant levels - I don't think I have ever used the same tires or wheels long enough for this to be an issue and more so, I would be too lazy to use it. I took a sample away with me, which ended up lost in my garage and would have remained lost had I not been in desperate need for some tubeless valves for a new test bike. Staring at the depleted tubeless valve section of my toolbox joggled my MilKit memories, and I installed the odd-looking valves.
Milkit
(From top) MilKit Syringe, fluid release and checking line with stopcock, hose for injecting fluid through valve stem, various adapters and complete Presta valve stem, and a disassembled stem alongside its valve core with its tubular extension.


Performance

Still doubtful of the fancy syringe, I was shamed into having a go with the MilKit - and I discovered that Installing a tire without sealant, freed from the juggling act of wrestling with a wheel while keeping my clothes un-spattered by white liquid, was a much more pleasant tubeless experience. It goes like this:

Remove the valve core and inject as much fluid as required with zero spillage. The internal tip of the MilKit's Presta valve has a one-way rubber valve, so the second pleasantry came when I used an air compressor to quickly seat the tire and realized that I didn't have to race against a jet blast of escaping air after removing the airline to re-install the valve core. The valve's seal stops the air from escaping so I had all the time in the world. The third benefit of the valve's rubber seal is that tubeless fluid can't enter into the valve core and clog it up over time. MilKit made the task of mounting up tubeless tires seem simple and civilized.

Milkit
Here you can see how the valve seals...
Milkit
...and how it opens to add or remove fluid.


Problems

I encountered two problems with the MilKit - the first was purely negligence on my part. I failed to turn the stopcock to the "off" position before inserting the syringe tube into the valve to remove sealant. With around 30psi in the tire, the syringe blew apart and I, as well as most of my garage, were sprayed with sealant as the tire's contents emptied into the atmosphere. Note to self: "Make sure to insert the syringe into the tire (Milkit recommend 22psi Max.) when the stopcock is closed, then gently open it. After which, the pressure from the tire will fill the syringe."

The second problem was that the valves didn't seal perfectly after a few months of use and would leak slightly without the valve core installed. Re-installing the cores was an easy and intuitive fix. Aside from my mistake and the slight air leakage, the MilKit went from something I didn't care about to a must-have in my toolbox.

Milkit
The black extension on the valve core opens the seal to allow inflation or tire pressure to be checked.
Milkit
Using the syringe to add and remove sealant will improve your garage ambiance.



Pinkbike's Take:
bigquotesThe MilKit does what it set out to do. The valves' design is an upgrade over standard tubeless stems, and they make inflating tubeless tires that little bit simpler, as well as preventing sealant from clogging up the valve cores. Using a Syringe to transfer the fluid in and out makes life a lot cleaner when changing tires, and the way all the accessories can be contained inside the syringe keeps the kit organized and compact. - Paul Aston



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Author Info:
astonmtb avatar

Member since Aug 23, 2009
486 articles

73 Comments
  • 33 0
 How to check sealant status: take wheel off. Find a quiet place.Give wheel a shake. Can you hear liquid inside the tire? Good to go. If you hear dried up piece of coral rattling around, you need new sealant.
  • 1 0
 Do cyclists not know what a dipstick is (not Rodney, the other kind).

Remove weight from the front wheel, remove valve core, insert stick, remove stick, see fluid level.

Also a tip for filling: bit of pvc tube that fits onto valve, fix to any household squeezey bottle..

(i used a presta/shrader converter inside the tube so mine screws on)
Added bonus..flat bottle, fully transportable.
With the syringe you'd need to take a bottle anyways, or risk carrying it filled.

Granted the syringe seems a nice tidy concept, but to me it also seems a gimmicky overkill solution that adds more crap to carry.
  • 33 0
 Whip that bad boy out at the trail head. People will genuinely appreciate your unnecessarily anal requirements for sealant volume in your tires.
  • 61 0
 dumping a 16oz bottle of stans straight into the tire is where it's at
  • 10 0
 Run over catci for days....
  • 15 0
 I wonder what would happen if you kept adding Stan's without ever popping the tire open to clean out the dried snot-looking deposits. Would you get to the point where you don't need air at all in there? 100% cacti proof.
  • 8 0
 It would be a solid rubber tire........just like the one Wal Mart sells Smile
  • 4 0
 "next up in the review section we will take a look at milkits new tire decongestant kit"
  • 3 0
 Checking out some mechanics site on Facebook there are bragging rights to be had from discovering huge balls of dried sealant in tyres
  • 3 0
 Or just buy TruckerCo tire sealant and the "injector kit" comes with it for free!
  • 16 1
 This seems like a pretty fantastic idea, actually. Setting up tires tubeless can be intimidating for a lot of people, and I imagine this product will really help allay fears of a sealant explosion, while making things a little simpler for those who are already comfortable. I'm betting this gets big. ...And to think that this invention might never have seen the world's stage if Paul Aston hadn't run out of valves.
  • 3 0
 Simpler huh? Cause just squeezing in that little bottle of Stan's in through the presta valve once you have the bead seated is really complex...
  • 1 0
 ^ This. Why would you ever do it any other way? Keep a small bottle of Stans that gets refilled from the bigger bottle. The shits measured out and everything. Even got a hook in the ceiling that I hang the wheel from with a bungie cord just for this.
  • 1 0
 Stans was turning to brown water in my maxxis ardents within a few weeks. High humidity here, although they claimed it wasn't too humid, the heat makes it separate. Solution, keep adding more.

What I noticed was the ardents leak like hell through the surface, and I had a nice layer of sealant inside, but when that dries more it contracts/detaches and leaves holes/spiderwebs, so it will never fully seal.

Switched to that mariposa foaming stuff and a new tyre and all is good, denser liquid, and only about $20-30 for 1L. Thats about 1/3 of what stans cost.
So no small bottle for me. Also no need to refill all the time.
  • 16 0
 Is it Mil-kit or milk-it???
  • 1 0
 Ha you beat me to it
  • 4 0
 milk kit (minus a k)
  • 16 0
 Ha ha. Stopcock.
  • 12 0
 I have an irrational fear of things that look like a syringe.
  • 11 0
 Try not to get diabetes!
  • 11 0
 Nurse that pancreas!!!
  • 7 1
 Nurse, that pancreas!!!
  • 9 0
 Nurse that, pancreas!
  • 3 1
 Nurse! Obesity!!!
  • 7 0
 TruckerCo. sealant is superior too Stan's any day. I have used both and The TruckerCo sealant does not clump up into a boogery ,mess, it seems to stay in a liquid (crème) state much longer than Stan's, and easily peels out of the tyre like taffy, AND it comes with a free injection Syringe FREE. I find this stuff to be cheaper than Stan's, and it works much mo betta.. IMHO
  • 9 0
 This is like sweat pants for people who are too lazy or stupid to operate zippers or buttons. Eventually we won't have to know how to do anything but point and grunt.
  • 1 0
 Have you seen the movie Idiocracy?
  • 4 0
 That's how I ride all my trails: point and grunt
  • 7 0
 seems overly complicated and pricy, Ive always used a bleed kit syringe to add sealant with the core removed. An old nozzled bottle also works well.
  • 3 0
 Yea similar, I just seat the tyres with a wash of mild soapy water first then remove the stans valve inner and inject sealant using large standard syringe... job done.
  • 4 0
 Stans has had an injector for years. And if you use the little bottles, all you need to do is cut the tip off carefully, and drip it in the valve. I've never had a problem. With this system you have to use their valves too? Was this on "As seen on TV" Just silly!
  • 6 0
 I buy a plastic syringe from art craft store for 2 buck and it works great.... That's price just make me... wtf
  • 3 0
 same for me... a $2 syringe works perfectly for me.
  • 3 0
 Yup, I bought a box of 5 x 60ml syringes off ebay, use them for different jobs (forks, sealant, brakes). Think it was about $10 delivered.

Tip: The flexible rubber tubing used for dripper systems fits perfectly over tyre valves (once core is removed), bleed nipples, and even inside fork lowers.
  • 3 0
 You can get 100ml syringes at your local farm store for a couple of bucks as well. The fittings in a Hayes bleed kit thread right on the end to adapt to tubing.
  • 2 0
 Round here the pharmacy gives out 20ml syringes out free (kids medicine)
  • 1 0
 That other attachment to check and remove sealant is called a luer lock French tip suction catheter, can be found at any med supply store. FYI. Syringes are also free with sealant from TruckerCo Wink
  • 1 0
 Greg trucker.... from truckerco? If I didn't mistaken, we love your product! My whole bike group using your brake pad, inexpensive and perform well! We'll try your sealant on my next order.
  • 8 1
 Another solution looking for a problem.
  • 2 0
 and an extra dollar from the naive!
  • 2 0
 I did this last night, depressurised tyre, popped part of the tyre off, looked inside, removed sealant 'coral formation', topped up sealant, reseated tyre, reinflated tyre. Took 2 minutes.

www.pinkbike.com/photo/13227302
  • 2 0
 I have been running this since July(ish) of last year and really like it. I have not experienced the same valve leaking issues as noted, but I experiance another issue. The plastic extension, or plunger, sometimes comes off and remains inside the tire. The cool factor is that the "one-way valve" at the lower portion of the stem holds air in quite well, even without the black plunger in place.
  • 3 0
 Wait, so you don't need to install the valve core, unless you want to check tire pressure? What method do you use to release air?
  • 3 0
 I use a 2 ounce stans squeeze bottle and a small piece of air hose. Cost me a whopping $0 from the trash bin at the shop.
  • 3 0
 I even skip the hose the nozzle fits right inside the stem!
  • 4 3
 Uh, Stan's has had a syringe out for quite a while now.
I know because I've had one for at least a year.
So PB 'reported' this 'revelation' NOT knowing about the Stan's syringe?
I doubt it..
  • 5 4
 This is a different thing. Stans syringe is just to add sealant. And it doesn't it even fit on to my e-thirteen valves but anyway. The milkit kit can tell you how much sealant is in the tyre, you can't do that with the basic Stans syringe.
  • 2 0
 Pliers, removable valve core and a 50p syringe from the chemists. No need to unseat the tyre. Job done.
  • 1 1
 €49 jokers! are they for real, thats a night out, I will stick with rapping wire around my valve popping it threw the hole and then injecting sealant with my £2 syringe cheers, pull the valve back threw and its done.
  • 3 1
 That even sounds too complicated! remove the valve core with a set of channel locks and use an old Stan's 2Oz bottle and pour straight into the valve!
  • 2 1
 Well 59mL for y'all across the pond.
  • 1 0
 Didn't know anyone left those ugly Inferno stickers on their Sun rims, put mine on my metal garbage can lids before I even built my wheels.
  • 3 0
 You can buy one of these from the local pharmacy for like $1 please
  • 1 0
 Is there a syringe for oil volumes? I'd love something similar for when I rebuild forks.
  • 3 0
 I got mine from a farming supply store. Big syringes and they have volumes on the side.
  • 1 0
 Awesome, thanks
  • 1 0
 This product was the excuse Lance Armstrong used when he was caught with a syringe....
  • 2 0
 Cheap Ebay Syringe, Pipe, no problems.£40 better off.
  • 1 0
 Pretty interesting design but this seems pretty unnecessary, props for the effort though.
  • 2 0
 Sorry im too lazy for this
  • 1 0
 Im too lazy for sealant.
  • 2 0
 Let me go see my doctor get some free tools.
  • 2 0
 $49USD or 49 euro for a $2 in parts... brilliant.
  • 1 0
 I use one off a Rockshox reverb bleed kit
  • 1 0
 So, how do you adjust tyre pressure?
  • 1 0
 LIke normal, that plastic extension is there to open up the one-way valve part to allow air in/out when needed.
  • 1 0
 Ah, that makes sense. Thx
  • 1 0
 I've designed my own sealant injector..... designed to fill anything up.
  • 2 4
 Jesus - a review of some syringes? nothing better to be doing lads?
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