Goofy question

[Badger]

  When you look at the best of the best which is probably the closest way to compare styles you won't see all that much difference. I think the recurve has a slight edge. A bow with only deflex will not be a good performer. I have seen a lot of decent performers with the tips even with the back or even slight on the string follow side but I have never seen a real top performer with the tips less than about 2" behind the back.

[sleek]

  When you look at the best of the best which is probably the closest way to compare styles you won't see all that much difference. I think the recurve has a slight edge. A bow with only deflex will not be a good performer. I have seen a lot of decent performers with the tips even with the back or even slight on the string follow side but I have never seen a real top performer with the tips less than about 2" behind the back.

I have made only 2 deflex bows, because thats how they grew. I figured the deflex in them would offset any set they may take and went to work. They weren't fast around 160s, but the were still good performing bows. You werent going to win any flight shoot for certain, but a deer wouldnt have known the difference. 
These tqo biws are what got me to start considering using deflex to compensate for set, and of course recurves keep string tension up and add to performance. 


I

[sleek]

Please don't take this as argumentative because I don't mean for it to be.  I am not any kind of engineer or physicist (lord knows), but I cant see how string angle wouldn't come into play.  Yes with only 2 inches of deflex you minimize that, but the tips still start behind the handle by 2 inches.  With no reflex the angle is there to some degree, and it gets worse as you draw the bow.  Early draw weight might offset some of that, but wouldn't early draw weight AND some reflex, like the Duoflex for example make for a more efficient bow?

CALM DOWN!

Kidding, no need to sweat here man, we are just talking and spit balling. No offense perceived. That said, im gonna need you to define what you mean by string angle? Because you and i may be talking about two different things. Im talking about the angle the string and the tips make. What are you referencing?

I will add this. Yes, recurves at the tip are best, and it happens to be my favorite design. And yes, the recurves help pick up that early draw weight, but that is a function of how far the tips have moved to get to brace, not how much they move once drawn. String tension comes from how prestressed the bow is when braced.

[SLIMBOB]

By string angle, I mean the angle of the string in relation to the limb tip, so I think we are talking about the same thing. The greater that angle the less leverage.  The string angle on such a bow, would render it less efficient than the same bow with some recurve added to the tips. It would also add string tension and increase early draw weight.  I think you could also have a lower brace height with the tips recurved which adds additional benefits.  Anyways, that would be my thoughts on the op's question.

[Woodely]

Well I thought while it was out I would pull it.

Is that a bow you just completed....     What a drag   

[DC]

Sorry Woodley, I kind of misread your question and got side tracked. I would think that deflex only would increase the draw length you can get from a given piece of wood by decreasing the strain. ie. same amount of strain for a longer draw length. The draw weight will be whatever you tiller it to be. They are easier to brace. I really think that you have to combine it with reflexed limbs to gain any performance.

[DC]

Well I thought while it was out I would pull it.

Is that a bow you just completed....     What a drag   

No it's been kicking around for a while. It was kind of a test of design and Hazel at the same time. Now I don't know if the design or the wood was at fault. Or maybe even the bowyer

[willie]

Are you talking deflexed handles or tips?

I dont know, what ever deflex was in the mohegan bow you mentioned in the post previous

[SLIMBOB]

The Mohegan bows I am familiar with had deflex in the handle and reflex tips. Maybe there are examples of them without the reflex, I don’t know, but Hamm and Alleys book shows it as a pretty typical R/D bow. From memory.

[PatM]

Are you talking deflexed handles or tips?

I dont know, what ever deflex was in the mohegan bow you mentioned in the post previous

They have a classic D/R shape although the handle is much thinner and  almost certainly somewhat working.  I doubt they were all bows that had massive handle set which had been rectified by having the tips reflexed.