First Chain Lube
 

Hello, I bought a Scott Sportster about 5 weeks ago. I did about 30 trips average 4 miles each. I know that I have to degrease, clean and lube the chain monthly, but I also read somewhere that bikes come from the manufacturer with the best grease that could last several hundred miles before being recommended to clean that lube to reapply.

So, when should I clean and lube my chain for first time?

you don't have to degrease it monthly unless it's getting heinously dirty monthly. I'd suggest just wiping it down and putting some oil on each link. The whole degreasing part makes sense if you're going to some kind of non-oily lube or the chain recently went through a bunch of dirt/mud/sand.

I put about 600 miles on my new bike before my chain began to sound even the least bit noisy. At that time I did a wipe-down and light scrubbing with solvent, air dry, and wet lube. Since then I repeat about every 200 miles.

Yes, the original lube is good stuff. I did wipe down the outside of the chain when the bike was new, to remove some of the goo from the outside of the plates.

750 to 1000 miles. Wipe the chain once in a while to get the excess off of the outside where it does no good. Once it's time to clean the chain, remove it (best to have a master link), drop it in a plastic jar with Simple Green or some other solvent and shake it for a few minutes. Rinse it off and dry it. Reinstall it on the bike and lube it with 4 parts unscented mineral spirits to 1 part chain saw bar oil ( I get it from Ace hardware). Saturate it while pedaling the bike backwards then wipe off the excess. Repeat every 500 to 650 miles.