The chain guard. You’ve been looking at it. You’ve been wondering what it’s doing there. We don’t know why you’re so fixated. It’s not like we don’t sell chain guards. It’s not like people don’t ride with them. The chain guard is one of those terminally un-hip parts. When every nine year-old we knew professed love for BMX, the chain guard was the first part they took off their bikes. The chain guard seems to speak for the rider’s lack of speed. Hell, anyone riding with a chain guard is probably so lame as to have an internally-geared three speed hub. The Swobo Novak has one of those, too. At first, there’s something so Schwinn Breeze about the parts. So square, mass-produced, and nothing you’d want to be seen on. Maybe there will be a coaster brake and springs on the saddle. These parts belong on bikes for people who don’t really ride. And if they ride such bikes, they’re definitely Fredly. Get over yourself and your elitist pose. If you think you’re better, cooler, than those people, you’ve got another thing coming. One day one of these people you look down on will ride right past you and you won’t be able to keep up, even if you’re on your $10k carbon frame with the titanium-encrusted jewels. The chain guard has no place on a racing bike, but it is the acme of cool on the Novak. It’s more than just the bike equivalent of chunky eyeglasses. It’s the component that ties the bike together, just like The Dude’s rug in his living room. Our first few bikes had such a chain guard. The bikes weren’t cool; they were used bikes other kids had worked over before we ever saw them. But the rides were durable and trustworthy and we didn’t even think about maintaining them other than putting air in the tires. The chain guard was cool because it was part of the package, and we weren’t afraid to ride it to school. Like our early rides, the Novak has the sweet ride of steel frame tubes because it is made of steel and the angles give it the ride of a classic road bike. We’re definitely in the form-follows-function gang. The chain guard has function. We don’t need to either roll up our pants or use a strap to keep the pant leg from getting greased by the chain. The Novak is about practicality above all else. Take a good look; there’s a built-in blinky in the seat post and reflective strips on the tire sidewalls. There’s also a bottle-opener permanently affixed to the seat rails. The steel frame helps with another practical feature; 28mm tires and fenders. 28mm tires are a great thing. They roll easy over potholes. With the greater air volume, it’s easier to run them at a lower pressure, which is great for lazybones like us who don’t pump up our tires every ride. Fenders mean that clothes will stay cleaner and drier in the rain. While fenders are an option here, we recommend them as standard equipment for the Novak. The three-speed hub helps with the function of this bike. Not every time we ride to the market do we want to muscle over hills on our fix. A lighter gear is better for recovery, keeps us aerobic and gives us another reason to slow down and smell the flowers. And this is better than your dad’s Sturmey-Archer. It’s a SRAM iMotion, with a twist-shifter, and is maintenance free. It’s also easy to take off the bike, not that you’ll need to. The rear wheel is a bolt-on, and the front wheel has a locking quick release. More proof that Swobo built this for the way people ride to live. You won’t need to swap in parts that are more urban or have more street cred, because they’re all here already. Well, if you’re OCD, you might end up swapping the saddle for one that matches your favorite bike and get a stem that mimics the reach on your favorite ride, but that’s it. The Swobo Novak comes in five sizes: 50, 54, 55, 57, and 60cm. They estimate that each size can fit people in a four-inch range. The 50cm is for 5’1” to 5’4, and the 60cm 6’0” to 6’2”. The color is Matte Silver. Please note this item will require a small amount of assembly on arrival. Novak Price: $699.00
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