[1955]

I don't think so. Carbon fiber is being used everywhere else in the sports world and it's time has come to the bow industry.

Carbon fiber bikes went through the same growing pains. First came the hybrids that didn't do much to improve on the original design of the diamond frame bike, but eventually the all new monocoque carbon bikes started to roll out. Remember, Edison found a thousand way, NOT to make a light bulb before finding the right way. What happened to change most everyone's attitude was the new monocoque carbon bikes just didn't feel like the old steel or especially the aluminum bikes. Not only were the carbon bikes MUCH lighter, but they rode better (subjective, I know, but for the most part they did) and were just as strong or stronger. The new CF bikes were "dead" feeling, they took away the buzz that the steel and Al bikes had and were SO smooth that you had to check to see if the tires were filled.

Also, the one thing that you can never do with an aluminum is "tune" the material. You can machine it into different shapes, but the material is the same throughout. With carbon fiber, you can use different lay-ups to give different properties to each area of the riser. Now, I'm no engineer, but this is what is being done with bikes...you put the strength where it's needed most and compliance where it's needed. As it is with a bicycle, light weight also seems to be important in archery, so different characteristics can be designed into the carbon fiber riser to tune it just the way you want it.

I cannot begin to envision the shapes that'll be used, just because of the versatility of CF. Just wait until some people with real imaginations start to realize that with carbon fiber, just about anything is possible and not just the standard shape of a machined Al riser. Just look at the Hoyt Carbon Matrix...it's made with tubes! What's next???

There's still the Luddites out there that will never embrace new technology, but carbon has now taken over the bike market and CF is there to stay. I'm sure there will always be a market for, what will then be, the old Al risers, just as some people shoot recurves, because they think that compounds are ugly, some people will want the style of the Al riser.

This will become the new battleground for AT...Al vs. CF.

What say you?

 

[Spotshooter2]

The biggest drawback right now is the difference in costs between the two .

 

[1955]

The biggest drawback right now is the difference in costs between the two .

Just like in bike frames, that will come down.

 

[MOBOW#1]

Depends if your talking old carbon or the new state of the art New carbon fiber?

Space Shuttle technology!!

 

[EASTON94]

I personally can't even consider $800 for a bow, let alone double that. The cost will have to come down CONSIDERABLY for me to consider one, and even then it will probably have to be used!! Some of the aluminum bows now adays are so light I don't see the benefit of the carbon riser?? I held a carbon matrix, very odd as it seemed like all of the weight was in the limbs....maybe odd is not the right word, just different!! '94

 

[passinthrough12]

Im sure the new CF risers are great, but lightweight isnt a quality i look for in a bow.
The CM would be alright at 3.8 pounds anything lighter is too light for my tastes. I think as prices come down the CF bows will have a HUGE market and like the OP stated they are here to stay.
Im curious to see some of the new CF bow designs, I just saw the pic of the new Carbon Tech bow, which will be ALL carbon, even the limbs.

 

[switchraph]

Im sure the new CF risers are great, but lightweight isnt a quality i look for in a bow.
The CM would be alright at 3.8 pounds anything lighter is too light for my tastes. I think as prices come down the CF bows will have a HUGE market and like the OP stated they are here to stay.
Im curious to see some of the new CF bow designs, I just saw the pic of the new Carbon Tech bow, which will be ALL carbon, even the limbs.

who's carbon tech? where did you see that?

 

[1955]

I personally can't even consider $800 for a bow, let alone double that. The cost will have to come down CONSIDERABLY for me to consider one, and even then it will probably have to be used!! Some of the aluminum bows now adays are so light I don't see the benefit of the carbon riser?? I held a carbon matrix, very odd as it seemed like all of the weight was in the limbs....maybe odd is not the right word, just different!! '94

I don't personally like a light bow myself, but just like a target stabilizer where all the weigh is out at the end, what if all the most of the weight were put out towards the limbs...the bow could still be of total light weight for carrying around, but handle like a long ATA bow? And if you think that the newest bows are dead in the hand now, just wait until CF gets developed.

I'm not a pie in the sky fantasy type, but I saw in the real world what carbon fiber material did for the bicycle industry (look at car racing also) and as a new bow enthusiast, I can see a change coming to this industry.

As far as Al bows go, I cannot see them going away, but I think that they will be relegated to the middle and lower end bows. You can still go out and buy a steel, Al or even Titanium bike frame, but they're getting more rare all the time. I also see the price range of bows becoming much wider than ever before. Right now, you can buy a nice road bicycle for a grand, but you can also, very easily spend 10, 15 thousand and more on the most advanced bikes. I can see the standard 500.00 dollar compound bow hanging alongside the 4000.00 dollar CF hi tech wonder bow.

AND THERE WILL BE BUYERS FOR BOTH!!!

 

[jcmorgan31]

It will fizzle if shooters have to stop shooting it when they ding it on something.

 

[1955]

It will fizzle if shooters have to stop shooting it when they ding it on something.

This is where it started in bicycles...just to start the bashing on the right foot, the term that they will use, will be "catastrophic explosion". This will go on forever, without a single bit of evidence.

Read about Hoyt cutting the tubes in their CF riser in a bunch of places and still shooting it without issue.

 

[jcmorgan31]

This is where it started in bicycles...just to start the bashing on the right foot, the term that they will use, will be "catastrophic explosion". This will go on forever, without a single bit of evidence.

Read about Hoyt cutting the tubes in their CF riser in a bunch of places and still shooting it without issue.

2) Extreme care should be taken to avoid impact damage to the Carbon Matrix riser.
The Carbon Matrix is designed to withstand high stress flexing and high stress loading that would be associated with normal use and function of the bow.
However, in general, composite structures do not with- stand high load impact such as being dropped from a tree, or by having some other object impact the structure. In the event that your bow does encounter a surface impact, you must carefully inspect the riser for damage.
If impacted, inspect the area for visible broken fibers, multitude of separation cracks, cracking that appears to resemble a spider-web, dented surface, or a soft flexible surface at the impact point. If any of the above conditions are apparent or suspect, the bow should be considered damaged and should not be used any further.
In the event that the bow was exposed to an impact and damage is evident as described above, you can return the bow to Hoyt for an evaluation. (See warranty informa- tion for instructions on returning product to Hoyt). If the riser is determined to be damaged and not fit for use, Hoyt may offer a replacement of damaged components at the owner’s expense. Damage, including impact damage, caused accidentally, from misuse of the product, or from use not associated with normal archery practices, is NOT covered under the Hoyt Limited Lifetime warranty.

Straight from the Hoyt manual. I'm not a basher.

 

[lumbermill]

I'm not so sure I'm a Luddite (remember...I work for the company that makes 28%abv non-carbonated beer. That's not exactly traditional), but I think it's a marketing gimmick. Sure the new cf tech is better than it was 10-15 years ago, but it was and is still a gimmick. It was Pro-Line's last gasp before the sale to Rex, and HCA was getting passed by all the "new guys." I'm not an engineer, but I think the limitations of cf is the hardness of the material. New tech or old it is still prone to cracking due to shock. All of the bicycles you speak of are road bikes. They are not usually subjected to a lot of shock. Read the blogs on cf mountain bikes. Majority are still saying to use a lot of caution. There are also a lot of recalls on cf mountain bikes/parts. The terms "catastrophic failure" and "serious injury" are used quite a bit. This is why we shoot our cf arrows into shock absorbing targets. Once we are able to "shock proof" cf then yes, it will be the bees knees. Until then it's a marketing guru's dream. Just my $0.02

 

[centershot]

It's early folks, give the technology a few years to catch up. I'd be willing to bet you've shot a carbon arrow........remember when they were taboo.

 

[IlBuckMaster]

It will fizzle if shooters have to stop shooting it when they ding it on something.

I have had mine for a couple of months now - been hunting with it on a daily basis. Haven't treated it special and it has about 15 to 20 dings on it from hitting things and being dropped.

I don't believe there is going to be any issue with this.

 

[jeff herron]

Given that weight is a small issue, or none at all, I don't see any real benefit to carbon over aluminum. Most people add weight to their aluminum bow to help stabilize them.

Bikes and bows are like apples and oranges. Hard to compare.

I wouldn't pay $25 dollars extra for a carbon riser. I probably end up spending $50 dollars just to add more weight to compensate.

Carbon arrows are great and use them but they also have issues.

 

[jcmorgan31]

I have had mine for a couple of months now - been hunting with it on a daily basis. Haven't treated it special and it has about 15 to 20 dings on it from hitting things and being dropped.

I don't believe there is going to be any issue with this.

Hope not. I don't know much about Carbon Fiber risers myself. Maybe the warnings are just their to cover their arses and it makes it sound worse than it is. I'm all for new tech as long as it isn't introduced early at the expense of shooter safety.

 

[sawtoothscream]

idk if i would like carbon fiber. i like a heavier bow so ya. i also dont dont want to spend that price.

but i think its cool more options are coming out for bows. maybe it will make the aluminum bow cost less in the future

 

[zwalls]

:noidea:

 

[stevewmn]

My guess is that eventually the forged aluminum bow will go away in favor of carbon. Right now you've got cast bows and forged bows with forged being the high end product. I see the high end going a little higher and transitioning over to carbon. They'll be marketed as the top of the line hunting bows and the must have target bows. The popular hunting bows that make up the middle to lower end of the product lines will stay in aluminum and will all go to castings to maintain costs. Instead of having $500 mainstream bows with $900 high end bows you'll see $600 mainstream bows and $1200 high end models.

 

[HCAarchery]

HCA as made carbon bows before I owned the SSR for 2 years and didn't have a prob with it at all they were older bows. Here's the link I found on it.

http://www.bowhunting.net/NewProducts/2003/03-HCA-SSR2.html