The material of the limb's inner layers changes how much the bow vibrates after the shot
1 study
The summary today
It rests on a single laboratory test, run by a university group that built the limbs it compared. In a carbon competition recurve limb of 68.42 lb, the inner bakelite layer was replaced with a 1.5 mm glass-fibre layer: measured with an accelerometer over four shots per condition, the vibration after the shot falls from 500 to 280 m/s² vertically, from 2,000 to 1,500 fore and aft and from 1,200 to 800 sideways, that is by 45, 25 and 33% on average. With a 1 mm layer the values rise slightly (290, 1,600 and 950 m/s²) and stay below bakelite by 42, 20 and 21%. The surrounding measurements explain how: glass fibre is stronger and stiffer than bakelite in tension, bending and compression, shifts all the limb's natural frequencies upwards and, in the simulation, cuts the amplification of vertical vibration towards the limb root from 73.6 to 33.2%. Two limits weigh on it. The largest gain is on the vertical axis, while the strongest vibration, fore and aft, falls by only a quarter; and the test concerns a single new limb against the earlier one, with four shots and no statistics, no archers and no measurement on the arrow or the target. That is why the status is "Reported".
Also phrased as: "carbon limbs vibrate less"; "limbs that damp vibration"; "limb material and vibration"; "a better limb gives a cleaner shot"
In practice
It is said that high-end limbs, with more advanced cores and layers, vibrate less and give a cleaner, quieter shot than cheaper ones.
Evidence
-
2023
For Equipment tests Published later
Carbon competition recurve limbs of 68.42 lb, four shots per condition with an accelerometer: with a 1.5 mm glass-fibre inner layer in place of bakelite, vibration falls from 500 to 280 m/s² vertically, from 2,000 to 1,500 fore and aft and from 1,200 to 800 sideways (on average -45, -25 and -33%); with the 1 mm layer it is 290, 1,600 and 950 m/s², that is 10, 100 and 150 m/s² more than with the 1.5 mm layer and still 42, 20 and 21% less than bakelite. A single limb per condition, no statistics.
Manufacture and Vibration-Damping Effect of Composites for Archery Carbon Fiber-Reinforced Polymer Limb with Glass Fiber-Reinforced Polymer Stabilizer · Won Wook Heo, Seung Kook An, Jeong Hyun Yeum, Seong Baek Yang, Sejin Choi
-
2023
Context Equipment tests Published later
Specimen tests and a simulation on a scanned limb: glass fibre beats bakelite in tensile, flexural and compressive strength and modulus, and moves the limb's first five natural frequencies from 38.4, 126.9, 156.8, 362.9 and 402.0 Hz to 39.4, 135.5, 162.7, 426.7 and 448.2 Hz. In the simulation the amplification of vertical vibration towards the limb root goes from 73.6% with bakelite to 33.2% with glass fibre.
Manufacture and Vibration-Damping Effect of Composites for Archery Carbon Fiber-Reinforced Polymer Limb with Glass Fiber-Reinforced Polymer Stabilizer · Won Wook Heo, Seung Kook An, Jeong Hyun Yeum, Seong Baek Yang, Sejin Choi
-
2023
Context Equipment tests Published later
On the shot the limb's strongest vibration is fore and aft (2,000 m/s² with bakelite against 500 vertically), and it is the one glass fibre reduces least: by about a quarter on the values in the conclusions, by about 10% according to the results section. The authors also state the practical reason for the change: with bakelite they had delamination problems, with a loss of fatigue strength, in producing carbon limbs.
Manufacture and Vibration-Damping Effect of Composites for Archery Carbon Fiber-Reinforced Polymer Limb with Glass Fiber-Reinforced Polymer Stabilizer · Won Wook Heo, Seung Kook An, Jeong Hyun Yeum, Seong Baek Yang, Sejin Choi
Status history
- 2023 Reported The first and only test: in a 68.42 lb carbon limb, a glass-fibre inner layer in place of bakelite cuts vibration after the shot by 45% vertically, 25% fore and aft and 33% sideways, over four shots per condition, and with a thinner layer the gain shrinks slightly. Material tests and a simulation explain the mechanism. It is a direct test on equipment, but a single one, on one limb, without statistics and without archers: reported.
Related
Related articles
- What a bow is made of: what the materials of limbs, riser, string and arrows changeWood, horn, carbon, glass fibre: what bench tests on limbs, risers, strings and arrows have measured, and how much of it reaches the archer's hand.
- Stabilisers in archery: what they actually do, beyond the folkloreWhat research has measured about stabilisers: how the bow moves at release, muscle work, vibration, barebow weights and accuracy.
Research lines
Cite
Campagna, M. (2026). The material of the limb's inner layers changes how much the bow vibrates after the shot (Version 1). In Evidence Registry. Retrieved 16 October 2026, from https://matteocampagna.com/en/registry/equipment/limb-material-vibration
@misc{campagna2026_materialeflettentevibrazioni,
author = {Campagna, Matteo},
title = {The material of the limb's inner layers changes how much the bow vibrates after the shot},
year = {2026},
howpublished = {Evidence Registry, matteocampagna.com},
url = {https://matteocampagna.com/en/registry/equipment/limb-material-vibration},
note = {Version 1; accessed 2026-10-16}
}
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