Swobo Novak

Swobo set out to create a high-quality bike with virtually everything you need and hardly anything you don’t, all at a reasonable price. The Swobo Novak is the no-nonsense commuter bike they came up with.

At the heart of the bike is a chromoly steel frameset featuring teardrop profile main tubes, rear rack and fender mounts, as well as bosses for two bottle cages. The Novak’s most distinguishing feature is the Shimano 3-speed Nexus drivetrain. For quite a few urban cyclists, one speed is plenty. For others, myself included, gears are nice but simplicity is certainly appreciated.

The Nexus hub offers a 186% overall gear range. Second gear is direct, so the 38 tooth chainring and 19 tooth cog result in 54 gear inches. In first gear you’ve got the equivalent of a 38 x 25 drivetrain (40 gear inches), and in third gear you have approximately 38 x 14 (73 gear inches). In practice, the gearing has been awesome at times, somewhat disappointing at others. By that I mean when the gearing was appropriate, I was in seventh heaven. While the low gear did allow me to stand and climb some mighty big hills, it’s not a true granny gear. But I’ll say this much, after the initial setup was complete I never had to make a single adjustment.

Many companies like to outfit their city bikes with disc brakes, and I’m not one to complain, but they come at a cost. The Novak’s Tektro dual pivot caliper brakes do the job, even in wet weather.

At first glance I thought that Swobo had taken the low road and set up the Novak with some imitation metal fenders, but no, they’re bona-fide aluminum. Ordinarily, I don’t go in for chainguards, but the polished chainguard just seems right for the Novak. I kept thinking, since I’ve got fenders and a chainguard, can I have a kickstand too?

As you can imagine, the Novak has an upright riding position—not great for racing, but perfect for spotting jaywalking pedestrians and other road hazards. And to be honest, riding a bike with fenders and a chainguard kind of put me in a different mindset... Dare I say, I felt a little more grown up. Or at least smart. I got passed by quite a few whippersnappers on my commute, but I passed a few fellow commuters as well. In general I felt like taking my time on the Novak, even though it felt great on long descents.

The Novak weighs in at roughly 25 pounds, which is neither especially light nor heavy. It seems that when faced with a choice between light weight and durability, however, Swobo took the high road and accepted the weight penalty. Even though I’m a relatively light rider who does a decent job of avoiding potholes, I can appreciate the durable 36 hole wheelset.

Elsewhere on the bike you’ll find Swobo branded components of appropriate quality—bar, stem, grips, post and saddle. I do like the bolt-on bar end caps. The puncture resistant 700c x 28 Kenda Kwest tires did exactly what they’re supposed to and I didn’t get a single flat during the test period.

Aesthetically, I think the Novak is a pretty sharp looking bike. In my personal opinion, though, the Nexus crankset is a bit of an eyesore. Sure, the satin finish is complimented by the fenders, but for a second imagine how cool this bike would look with polished aluminum crankarms. Now swap those fenders for some shiny hammered ones and you’re almost at show bike status.

The Novak retails for $789 and comes in sizes 48 (tested) through 60. www.swobo.com