  Resistivity, optical, and angle-resolved photoemission experiments reveal
unusual one-dimensional electronic properties of highly anisotropic
SrNbO$_{3.41}$. Along the conducting chain direction we find an extremely small
energy gap of only a few meV at the Fermi level. A discussion in terms of
typical 1D instabilities (Peierls, Mott-Hubbard) shows that neither seems to
provide a satisfactory explanation for the unique properties of SrNbO$_{3.41}$.
