Why Milk?
In a soon to be published interview with an Astana team mechanic, it was revealed that riders in Kazakstan have achieved considerable success using milk to seal their tubeless tires, specifically human breast milk. Lacking a source of that substance, I decided to use ordinary cow's milk.
At under $5 a gallon, it is far less expensive that the products that the bicycle industry would have you use. Although it is impossible to actually see inside an inflated tire, it appears that as the milk goes bad, it thickens and develops small chunks of milk fat. In the event of a puncture, the sour milk exits the tire while the chunks of fat seal the hole.
What Kind Of Milk Should You Use?
I tested skim milk, 2%, and whole milk. The best results were with whole milk as it has more fat to coagulate and seal the tire.The best results were experienced when I used milk from smaller, high end, boutique dairies. Unfortunately, this high price of the milk from these dairies negated the cost advantage of using milk over traditional sealants.
In Conclusion
Despite years of success with road tubeless tires running traditional sealants, I am now convinced that milk is a superior substitute. I have since removed all of the commercial sealants from my bicycles and filled them up with milk straight from my refrigerator. At room temperature, the milk sours quickly, ensuring a season of flat free riding. So stop falling for the industry propaganda about using their expensive specialty products. Make today, April 1st, the last day you waste your hard earned dollars on their mystery sealants and ask yourself: Got Milk?
