ASK THE EXPERTS
STIFF OR DAMPED: WHICH WAY TO GO?
Q My son shoots competitive compound target archery. He currently shoots a 30" front bar of a larger diameter and my thought is to upgrade to a much smaller diameter bar to decrease the wind effect.
I am wondering about the vibration dampening materials being added to stabilizers by most of the major manufacturers, such as Bee Stinger (Countervail), Axcel (Carboflax), Conquest (Smacwrap fiber), etc.
My question is, with very small diameter bars do the added dampening materials detract from the stiffness of the high modulus carbon bar to an extent that it isn't worth the vibration dampening? In other words on the basis of mechanics am I better off concentrating on the stiffest small diameter quality rod and not being concerned about dampening? My son does not currently shoot with a large amount of weight on his front bar (approx. 5 oz); however, that might increase with time.
A The mass distribution and stiffness of a stabiliser determine its flexing frequency and the damping the rate at which vibrations die out. It is the same as a car suspension where the unsprung mass and spring stiffness determine the frequency and the shock absorbers the nature of the vibrations. The damping does not change the stated stiffness, just the nature of the vibrations.
An important consideration for stabilisers is that the resonant frequency must not be close to the archer’s muscle tremor frequency
