BARE AS YOU DARE
In principle, every take-down-riser can be shot as a barebow, but you often hear and read the question of a suitable riser for a beginner or an intermediate. Risers specifically designed for barebow have some advantages. According to World Archery rules, a barebow has to be shot without any stabilizers, sights or other additions and has to fit through a ring with a diameter of 122mm. The only items allowed for adding stability to the bow are weights.
If you have shot a normal recurve bow without any weights or stabilisers, you know that it will not stay in your hands on release and the upper part will usually jump backwards. Dedicated barebow risers try to eliminate that by shifting the center of gravity downwards. Some risers are already manufactured with more mass in the lower half. Alternatively, often there is the possibility to build weight directly into the riser, plus enabling the archer to add additional external weights, so that everyone can tune their bow in the way they like it best. The aim is to have the bow react as calmly as possible, to gain maximum control and precision.
As almost every recurve riser can serve as a barebow, at tournaments, you can see a wide variety of setups, with Hoyt, SF/WNS or Win & Win risers not uncommon. A very common riser for beginners as well as advanced archers is the
