Originally Posted by
SkinGriz
Chain-L looks like STP to me.
Originally Posted by
John Hawkinson
... I don't understand what this could possibly mean, unless it is tongue-in-cheek?
I'm not an automotive gearhead, but I understand STP sells scores of products (I see 67 on their web page), from fuel additives to motor oil to flat fixers. So I'm not sure which product that means.
But also…looks like?
I'm sure we can make any 2 oils look alike by thinning one to make the viscocity the same and then adding the right dye. But the whole point of this stuff is they have different properties under extended use, different detergent additives (probably not so much on bikes but for sure in cars), dispersants, corrosion inhibitors, polymers for temperature independence, &c.
But I am no tribologist!
He's undoubtedly referring to what's probably the original STP product, and what us oldsters know as "STP". To me, when you say STP it's that product, a very thick (VERY thick) oil additive. Like three times as thick as any oil you've ever seen. Thick honey thick. When I was a teenager in the 60s, it was sometimes used to temporarily reduce burning oil in $hitty cars. All the race cars had STP stickers on them.
As far as what Chain-L is like: I went through a couple of bottles a few years ago and gave some sample bottles that FBinNY gave to me to my friends. The consistency and, especially the odor, reminded me of hypoid gear oil. It's a great, tenacious product. But I've switched to a wax-based product for two reasons. First, we just don't ride in the sort of harsh conditions (rain, etc.) in which Chain-L's tenacity pays off. Second, we load our bikes daily in and out of our Subarus and/or the back of the pickup. With that much handling, minimizing the amount of dirty oily stuff and odor on the chain is a good thing. Waxed chains are less likely to tatttoo legs or the inteior of a vehicle. But I wouldn't say anything bad about what Chain-L claims to do - it does it very well.