MILKIT TUBELESS VALVE SYSTEM
£44.99–£49.99 › Mess-free tubeless setup
ALTHOUGH WE SEEM to have been talking about it for years, road tubeless usage is still in its infancy. Maybe you’re considering going tubeless but are put off by the potential mess and complication of administering tyre sealant. If so, Swiss company Milkit may have the solution.
Each Milkit set contains two valves, a valve core removal tool and an applicator tube (syringe) for measuring and inserting sealant. Milkit’s Presta valves function normally, allowing tyre inflation and deflation via the unscrewed valve top. The other end’s round, mushroom-shaped rubber base has a tapered profile for a snug seal within a standard drilled rim, and the securing nut has a rubber washer on one side to seal against the rim.
The ingenious part is the additional one-way valve, consisting of a cross cut through the domed rubber base. Removing the proprietary Presta valve core reveals the long plastic tube attached to it, which normally contacts the inside of the one-way valve, but because it’s fixed to the valve stem, when the stem is unscrewed and pressed down, it pushes through the one-way valve allowing air pressure adjustments.
With the valve installed and tyre seated, so long as your tyre pressure is below 22psi, you can remove the valve core without any air loss, and use the syringe with its long twopart straw that incorporates a thumb valve. By following the instructions, transferring sealant from the syringe into the tyre, or vice versa, is simple, using the thumb valve and syringe plunger to control the flow.
Unless you squeeze the tyre, the bead should remain seated, and sealant addition or removal can be carried out with the syringe before refitting the valve core. The design prevents the valve from clogging with sealant, a common niggle with others, and the valves within the kits, or valves only, come in 35mm (£44.99/£24.99), 55mm (£47.99/£27.99) and 75mm (£49.99/£29.99) lengths, since extending a tubeless valve for a deep rim isn’t possible. Milkit allows you to check sealant volume, top it up or replace expired sealant without fuss. We’re converted in every sense.