Tuesday, April 15, 2008

40 Years of Compound Design: The Changes I Have Seen

40 Years of Compound Designs: The Changes I Have Seen
Oh the changes I have seen in the compound bow!-From when I first started designing and shooting them in the early 70’s-until now. During those first years of selling the four wheeled compound, the market was limited, four wheelers were the only design available. At Martin we worked on the Kam Act and the one cam Dynabo around 1974. By 1976 the two wheel models were released and they soon took the market from the four wheel designs. The single cam Dynabo continued to sell into the middle 80’s.
One of the problems facing all bows at that time was string and cable stretch. The stretching was less of a problem for the four wheel bows than it was for the all string Dynabo. All string meant more stretching. Airline cables were used for the bus cables on standard compounds and this meant less string stretch for cabled bows. Around 1990 improved bowstring technology nearly eliminated any problems with string stretch.
Once the two wheel bows were perfected in the late 1970’s the four wheel models started to disappear. By the early 90’s the market was ready for some new ideas. In 1992 Matt McPherson started Mathews and reintroduced the one cam design. McPherson promoted his “Solocam” idea heavily via magazines and paid shooter programs. This highly effective advertising caused the single cam system to take over the market. The demand for one cam bows was driving the majority of bow sales-until recently. Even though the single cam was not as fast as a two cam bow, the promotional claim of “no tuning needed” created great deal of sales.
By 1998 Hoyt reintroduced and promoted 1 ½ or hybrid cam system designed by Darton. We now have several manufacturers making a move towards hybrid dual cam designs. Dual cam bows are faster and because of improved string material the tuning problems are minimal. What will the future bring? I can assure you that us bow designers are working on lots of fun new toys. I feel that the hybrid dual cam systems will continue to take over more of the market. Our bow sales definitely show this to be true.-Terry Martin

- Article Source : http://www.archerytalkblog.com/?p=63

Wednesday, April 2, 2008