MilKit’s tubeless sealant applicator is a syringe-style system for adding tubeless sealant to a tire. It’s the cleanest, easiest-to-use tubeless applicator system I’ve found. It completely reduces the mess of just using the red cup that comes with standard Stan’s systems, and it’s less likely to gum up than the screw-on heads used on injector systems from Stan’s and Caffelatex.
Who It’s For
It’s an interesting range. On one hand, the rider who wants to run tubeless but has always been intimidated by the prospect of the conversion process is an ideal user. On the other, if you’re converting only one or two sets and infrequently change sealant, the price may put you off. So the other intended user is the committed mountain biker or ’cross racer who’s either trying to seal a number of wheels, or is regularly changing tires due to wear or conditions and needs to add sealant quickly and easily. Either way, it’s a fine addition to a home bike shop.
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What We Liked
The most pleasant thing about the MilKit system is how easy it was to use. Unscrew the valve core, add the desired amount of sealant to the syringe, drop the needle into the valve, flip the petcock open, and depress the syringe plunger until the applicator is empty. Screw the core back in, inflate, and spin the wheel to distribute the sealant. That’s it. No spilled sealant, no wrestling to seat a bead without slopping latex all over the place, no clogged valve cores—and it cleans out with just a cold-water flush and rinse.
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It’s very easy to add precise amounts of sealant because of the markings on the side of the syringe. The petcock-style valve at the top of the syringe tube, which can open or close the line with a quarter turn, effectively seals the system shut until you’re ready to inject the sealant—no chance of a spill. The included valve stems have a rubber seal inside that holds air pressure even when you remove the core, so there’s minimal reinflation if you need to add sealant. And it works with any commercially available sealant out there, except something super-thick like Slime.
One aspect that I’ve not seen noted much, and which the MilKit system alone has, is the ability to cleanly REMOVE sealant from a tire when you’re refreshing it (sealant dries and clogs over time—just google “Stan’s boogers” some time to see what we mean). Because the needle goes all the way through the valve stem into the tire, you can pool the sealant right below the valve and use the syringe in reverse to suck most of the old sealant out (if it’s still liquid).
The whole system disassembles for easy cleaning.
Watch Out For...
The price is pretty high ($56). It’s a lot of money for a sealant applicator when Stan’s system sells for $10 and Caffelatex’s is less than $20. Yes, for the price it comes with a pair of quality valve stems, but in total that’s still pricier than a comparable setup from other brands. The system is excellent, but unless you’re regularly putting sealant in tires or changing sealant, you may not find the value there.
Also: The included stems may not necessarily seal on all rim profiles. MilKit did a good job of trying to make as versatile a system as possible, but I was not able to get the valves to properly seal on Bontrager road rims, for example.
As designed, the system only works with removable valve cores. That’s preferable to the shortcut of leaving in the core, which always results in the core becoming sticky and malfunctioning, but this means you can’t use it to add sealant to some tubular cyclocross tires with one-piece valves. And, it seems slightly over-engineered—too many parts, like an unnecessary extension needle that’s easy to lose when disassembled for storage or cleaning.
These systems are a little hard to find in shops right now. The company is out of Switzerland and doesn’t have a ton of dealers, but you can order the kit through Amazon, where it’s part of the free shipping program for Prime members.
Our Take
I’d absolutely recommend the MilKit system—it’s the best sealant injector system I’ve used. But I would couch that with a warning about the price. I would like to see MilKit offer a less-expensive version of this, with or without the tubeless valve stems they include now.
Info: milkit.bike
Price: $56
Joe Lindsey is a longtime freelance journalist who writes about sports and outdoors, health and fitness, and science and tech, especially where the three elements in that Venn diagram overlap.
