Hello all,

I have some new inner tubes (latex) I'm using and want to use Slime in them since I they have removable values cores on them. The instructions on the tube states 4oz for bicycle tires, but I think this is WAY overkill on the amount needed. My tires are 700x23 and it would seem even 2oz would be overkill.

Anyone have any experience on this or have any recommendations? Will the Slime work on even the smallest holes once you pump your tire back up to >100 psi?

Slime is a messy thing to work with . I personally don't use the stuff . But if you going to there are a few things to know , 1 . yes you do have to put 4 oz . into each tube , and you do have to add more to it over time . 2 . when putting in air the valve need to be at 12 o'clock or the slime will plug up it up . 3. after you add the slime you need to spin the wheel or it will gather in one spot and that can cost a problem . 4. If you blow the tube then you will have a mess and the slime will be all over the place and even on you if it happen while you pumping up the tire . Other than that yes it will plug the small holes where you might not need to stop and add air .

Yeah. I disrecommend using sealant in tubes. In my and my friends experience it doesn't really work well or reliably because it's trying to seal a thin tube that can move with respect to the tire, especially after sealant leaks from the puncture in between the tube and tire. Sealant can work pretty well in tubeless setups. I haven't tried all sealants so some may be better than others in this regard.

I ran slime filled tubes in 700x28 tires on my old hybrid for close to a decade, and never got a single flat. The tires started to deteriorate and crack on the sidewalls, but never suffered a puncture. So it obviously works.

How well it will work in 23c @ 100psi, I cannot say.

Slime is a sealant. Sealants work by plugging up a hole. Sealants can work quite well in thick inner tubes that don't have high air pressure to deal with. The ideal situation for sealant to work well is in tubeless bike tires where the tire itself holds in the air. The tire casing doesn't stretch very much when under pressure so the shape of the hole doesn't change. This is not the case with an inner tube. Inner tubes are like a balloon, stretchy, and latex inner tubes are the stretchiest of all which is why they are recommended if you want to have a very compliant ride. But that sketchiness works against a sealant. As you ride, the inner tube is constantly flexing with the tire, and it is very thin, especially a latex tube. You might get better protection using a thorn proof inner tube that uses much thicker butyl rubber. Using latex inner tubes that are usually chosen to provide a more supple ride along with lighter weight with sealant seems like a contradiction.
I chose to use latex inner tubes with my 700 x 25 tires to improve ride quality. Latex inner tubes are a tiny bit more puncture resistant than butyl inner tubes of the same weight, but that isn't why I bought them. Mainly, I was wondering if they were worth the extra money. After a year of using them, I am still not sure

I'm not following your idea on needing 4 oz for 700x23 tires. Yes I follow and would put 4 oz in a 29"x2" tire/tube setup, but there's far less volume in my setup. Basically all you're trying to do is coat the inside of the tubes. If someone is using something that coats the tube and have more splashing around, then you run into problems you mention. There far more Slime floating around your tire and you'll end up with "slime all over the place".

I'm asking cause I had Slime tubes on my CX bike (700x32) and had a failure over the weekend. On this setup, what happened was that I accidentally bumped into the valve when it was at the 6 o'clock position. I backed into the valve with my heel and snapped the valve. This was my own fault, but what I discovered was that there really wasn't that much slime all over the place, including me. There was really hardly any wetness anywhere when I got the tire apart, which was about 10 minutes after it got snapped. There was really no mess at all. It definitely didn't have 4 oz in it.

Are you sure slime will even work in a latex tube? It may only be compatible for butyl rubber tubes. Also, if you are using a latex tube to cut weight, filling it with several ounces of sealant negates the advantages of a lightweight lates tube doesn't it?

You need to read the instructions, tubes are not air tight , why you need to top off every day , because of that the slime somewhat dry up so it need to be add to every few months to keep it moist and move around in the tube to do it job . The mess I was referring to is if you blow a big hole in the tube like over a inch in size .

I have used Slime successfully in a 700x32 cyclocrosss tire with a butyl tube at about 65 lbs pressure, but it is messy. Much less messy, and more highly recommended to me by several shops is Flat Attack, which I've used successfully in a 700x38 touring tire at 70 lbs. and also in a Continental Gatorskin Tubular at up to 125 lbs pressure. I'm not sure if this answers any of your questions, but it lets you know what's worked for at least one person out here.

I basically got these latex tubes cause they had removable valve cores and I wanted to see if there was any ride improvement. I'm not some weight weenie, but I do still consider weight as a workable object.

Yes you do need to "refresh" the Slime in there. I am looking at doing that every ~6 months. And having your valve stem snapped in half would be something I'd consider a big hole.

Thanks tcarl, I haven't really did any research on what's the latest, but your info is well appreciated. I'm looking at getting something for my CX, but more road orientated. A second set of wheels for my cross bike that is used for road riding.

Just saw this article this morning. Talks about using sealant in tubulars with latex inner tubes. Not all sealants will work with a latex inner tube. Be careful what you use
Technical FAQ: Tubulars with sealant; 10-, 11-speed compatibility - VeloNews.com

I tried it once, the valve kept clogging with Slime, making it more trouble than it was worth. Slime is good for lawn equipment tires.

Thanks for the link. Looks like whats said here (link from link provided) is that ammonia in some sealants "cook" the latex. It was stated in claims for reimbursement of some expensive tubeless tires. No research or link provided with this claim. Here is the quote in full;

I was intrigued recently when I read this marketing claim from Cantitoe Road, the U.S. distributor of Caffélatex:

Dugast, producer of some of the finest tubulars money can buy, are very concerned about latex inner tube/sealant interaction. Over the years they have received several warranty claims for tubulars where the tube had been cooked by the ammonia found in natural latex based sealants. Quoting from the test results they sent us after testing Caffélatex: “Racers have extensively field tested Caffélatex with our tubulars. The result is excellent, it’s the only sealant we recommend to our customers.”


I've also found that there were some that did advise to use less sealant with road setup. I saw that Slime advised to use 1.5 oz, which is about what I was thinking.

I think I'm going to see what the peeps at Road Cycling forum think about all of this.

Thanks everyone for taking their time and energy to respond to this issue.