# Variable Bow



## Mac Pointer (Mar 30, 2005)

*hmm*

"The FITA technical committee considers the Variable bow to be a bow in the sense described in the FITA rule book, for the Recurve Division. It does not fulfill the requisites for the FITA barebow class, as the riser cannot pass the 122 mm ring. "

It's legal. It's just not conventional. It doesn't have the marketing to be pushed like other bows. If someone shot a 1245 with it, it can't be too bad. I know someone on archery-forum has one. You could try asking there to see how they like it. (I mean, he wouldn't shoot it, if he didn't like it, right?)


----------



## baldmountain (Apr 21, 2003)

The variable is a wonderful bow if you love to tinker. But most people just want to shoot their bow rather than tinker with it. They'd rather leave the tinkering to bow designers.

Also most top archers want the simplest equiptment possible. There are too many screws to come undone on the variable.


----------



## Chris RL (Oct 30, 2011)

Resuscitating this old thread....

The Variable is the only riser design that allows user tuning of deflex, center of gravity, center of thrust, arrow rest and plunger heights, and a host of other variables that are usually fixed by the manufacturer in other designs. The Variable weighs 1.55 kg, the Light version 1.25kg, which is lighter than a Hoyt Matrix and just an ounce or two heavier than the 2013 Hoyt Ion-X.

Bertil Olsson of Sweden designed, patented, and makes it. Only he distributes it, so you'd have to get one from him. The people who own them seem to be keeping them, and also keeping quiet about them too. Mainly, of course, they're in Sweden so probably on a Swedish archery forum there's more mention of it. In Swedish, natch.

It's not IBO legal, as stated above, but it is FITA legal as long as the 40mm rule is observed (i.e. the pivot point of the grip cannot be more than 40mm away from the pressure point of the plunger). It's possible to set the grip back further than this, but at that point it won't be FITA legal. There's a set of spacers (one at 40mm) that prevents the grip from slamming into the rest of the riser at full draw should it come loose, and a few safety devices built in to stop other obvious problems from occurring.

Having said all of that, Bertil takes incredible pride in his workmanship. He's been on national and international podia in his time and with this design.

He's obviously not into mass marketing and also obviously he's particular about whom he sells to. In short, he's not a capitalist.
That means he doesn't advertise, won't come to you or try to push you into buying his bow - you have to go find him.

In my opinion, he's well worth the effort.

Chris


----------



## lksseven (Mar 21, 2010)

Chris,

_"Bertil Olsson of Sweden designed, patented, and makes it. Only he distributes it, so you'd have to get one from him."_

I would say that makes him very definitely a capitalist, as he's obviously invested his own capital, or borrowed capital, in his enterprise of bow design, manufacturing, and distributing in exchange for money so he can recapture his invested capital, and presumably realize a profit when possible. More power to him!

But I'm quibbling - I understand your point that he's apparently not interested in a sprawling leviathan of mass marketing (and again, more power to him!).


----------



## Chris RL (Oct 30, 2011)

LKS
You're right in the first part - I believe any inventor who is also an engineer wants to see his inventions realized. 
However, I do believe he's also what I called a signature artist - like a photographer, delegation of mission critical tasks is difficult for some people, easier for others. 
He's hand making a wooden box to send my riser to me in, for instance. 
Now that's what I'd call old school craftsmanship, and pride in workmanship well executed. Definitely not mass production mentality.
Check the bottom photo of the Equipment section of my blog, below.
C


----------



## target1 (Jan 16, 2007)

so what does one cost?


----------



## Greysides (Jun 10, 2009)

Found on an Australian website........... they have travelled in search of heat!


----------



## Micke E (Jan 22, 2010)

I have had the opportunity to meet with Bertil Olsson many times, he is a really nice guy. I think he is about 80 years old, very skillful engineer and inventor.
For him it is not about looks or earning a lot of money, its about solving problems.
I´m shooting with a special version of Bertils Swingbar, adapt to fit perfectly on my Axis riser. The result is quite remarkable!
I´m very glad to have meet and discuss with Bertil, there is not many of his kind left out there.
Best Regards
Mikael Ekholm


----------



## Micke E (Jan 22, 2010)

I have had the opportunity to meet with Bertil Olsson many times, he is a really nice guy. I think he is about 80 years old, very skillful engineer and inventor.
For him it is not about looks or earning a lot of money, its about solving problems.
I´m shooting with a special version of Bertils Swingbar, adapt to fit perfectly on my Axis riser. The result is quite remarkable!
I´m very glad to have meet and discuss with Bertil, there is not many of his kind left out there.
Best Regards
Mikael Ekholm


----------



## Chris RL (Oct 30, 2011)

I had a few photos on the Equipment page of my weblog, iShootRecurve.com, below, as my riser starts to come together, but it's started to grow out of all proportion - so now it has its own page:

http://www.ishootrecurve.com/p/blog-page.html

$700 plus $70 shipping (and that gorgeous CAD designed and hand made wooden box!)


----------



## Chris RL (Oct 30, 2011)

Mikael, hello!
I'm *very* curious about Bertil's Swingbar, having seen a picture or two on his website, but otherwise knowing next to nothing about it.
What's their story?
Cheers
Chris


----------



## Micke E (Jan 22, 2010)

Hi,
There is some pictures here, look under "swing bar": http://www.ide-teknik.com/
It is me shooting with the Axis just after the assemble , sins then I have shorten the centrum bar of the swing bar because it was hitting my arm.
Swing bar in general must be the single most under rated gear in Archery. With a proper setup, the sight always stays in the middle of the target, just before aiming, during the whole shooting sequence and after the shot. 
It works equally well at target and field, in the field you can stay on target regardless of shooting uphill/downhill and/or slope because the swing bars longrods always stays vertically with a very low center of gravity.
I have been using Bertils swing bar for 1,5 years now, and there is no way back to v-bar for me.
My results has gone up considerable and still rising!
Personally, I think there is some gyroscopic effects involve during release, because the bow moving forward as the long rods just standing still.
Best Regards
Mikael Ekholm


----------



## Micke E (Jan 22, 2010)

P.S. 
You have to look at the swedish version of Bertil´s site to be able to see all the pictures of the swing bar.


----------



## Chris RL (Oct 30, 2011)

Now on the line most weekend mornings at the Woodley Park Archery range:

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tffCpAhP3ys/UM_GUPuSGAI/AAAAAAAAAXY/U47KG7_nhOo/s1600/IMG_1362.JPG

I know some of you think it's ugly - but I don't! 

Happy Holidays!


----------



## TwilightSea (Apr 16, 2012)

oO it looks like a crab mated with a boomerang.


----------



## Chris RL (Oct 30, 2011)

Lol!!


----------



## Chris RL (Oct 30, 2011)

Micke, hello!
Bertil is making mine up! 
Any suggestions as to what length/type stabs on the SwingArm?
Chris


----------



## gnm (Dec 27, 2012)

Hi All,
The picture is me at the Australian Open last year. I have been using a Variable for a few years and love the bow! Left handed or right handed with the same riser and so many combinations you can play with. I use a finger sling so I never have to muck around with tying my hand to the grip! I still get people asking me about it as it is so unusual. For me a Variable bow is like comparing VHS to BETA video tapes. BETA is far better but VHS won the advertising war. 

I bow is so tuneable that you could spend all your life exploring the different combinations. (But that could be bad thing as well!)

I would recommend the bow to anyone who wants to try something different. You will not be dissapointed

gnm


----------



## Chris RL (Oct 30, 2011)

gnm, hello!
Chris here.
Well I'm not at your level just yet but even I can feel that, once set up, this riser is as stable as a rock.
Far superior to the Aerotec I was using.
I set it up at first to mirror the Aerotec's dimensions and therefore characteristics - and had it tuned in two sessions.
The Border limbs were another unknown, but three sessions later they're pretty well dialed in too.
I have the plunger and arrow tuning remaining, and the bow already shoots well.
I expect to be very happy with it once I'm fully tuned up.

gnm, when you use a finger sling, do you wrap the sling around the top of the handle rod? Or the bottom? I'm having difficulty getting my head around the face that either way, to my mind, a finger sling would just slip off the end of the handle...

Could you take some closeup pictures for me, please?

For me at the moment, a shoelace tied to the grip rod is going the truck. 

Would welcome your suggestions!

Thanks and Happy New Year!
Chris


----------



## gnm (Dec 27, 2012)

Hi Chris,
First you have to get the angle of the grip in the right place left to right. I have modified my timber grip to give a flat surface to rest my palm on. As the knuckles have to be about 45 degrees I put the finger sling on my thumb and second finger on the first joint. I just slip the grip into the loop and relax my hand in the the right position. I will organise some photos. Also if you have too much weight on the front stabiliser you have to counterbalance this with more weight on the back stabilisers. I like to have my boy COG just in front of the timber grip. You will see in the riser a circular hole near where the sights bolts on. String the bow, put a steel bar thru this hole and suspend the bow on this bar. You can then work out where the you want the COG. But I found that normal back stabilisers are too small which puts too much weight forward. Time to experiment!

Be in touch
gnm


----------



## Chris RL (Oct 30, 2011)

gwm, hello again!

Using a modified wrist sling, I've been able to pretty much exactly duplicate a classical/regular Olympic bow balance, which to me was approx at the pivot of the grip, and around an inch in front of the riser.

I've initially set up my Variable as a mirror to my Aerotec, taking limb pivot-to-pivot points as the baseline and mirroring grip length, plunger height and depth, etc., and have been able to arrive at a very Aerotec-like balance after only around a couple hours of setup, the first hour to get to know how to operate the Variable's controls. Even the brace height wasn't a hassle to arrive at - I just started with a string that was an inch too long (i.e. the limbs were almost straight when the bow was initially strung) and then added many twists to get to the Border limbs' inside sweet spot. Turns out the string needs to be only 1/2" longer than that of the Aerotec, due to the different angle at which the limbs meet the riser.

So, since I use a K1-archery wrist sling in any event, I removed the existing sling that was mounted to the bottom of the grip and just tied a shoelace to the grip rod where it meets the grip. 
By crossing the lace over before I insert my hand, I have a reasonable facsimile of the old Aerotec setup.

I then tuned my stabs to mimic the classic COG setup, which is at the pivot point of the grip, and, in this instance, around where the front of the riser is (which is around an inch in front of the old Aerotec position) and the bow now jumps and pivots, NTS wheelie style, as prescribed by the OTC and archery.tv 

I have a closeup slow motion clip of how the bow leaves the hand (and starts the forward wheel) at the bottom of my Variable bow page on my blogsite I Shoot Recurve, address in my signature below.

BTW, Bertil solved the main issue addressed in other sites wherein a longer front stab will obstruct the target at 70/90m. He built me a very cool conversion block that goes between the riser and the stabilizer that tilts the stab downwards either 2 or 4 degrees. See my photos on the same site. The conversion block cost $45.

And of course it will also work on any other riser/stab combination, not only the Variable, that exhibits the same problem.

So - the two main objections to the bow itself (front stab target occlusion and the "necessary" change in shooting form) have now been totally resolved. 

The only thing that remains is that Bertil ain't that great at advertising, or quick at answering emails. 

So let's cut him a break - he scored a clean FITA with 6 X's (he showed me a banner of that achievement) at the now extinct(?) San Pedro range - in 1953.

Well, well worth the minor delays, say I.


----------



## gnm (Dec 27, 2012)

Hi Mikeal,

I have one of Bertil's Variable Risers and have been very happy with it for 4 years. I have seen the swing bar but have never talked to anyone who uses one! How do you find it compared with V Bars? Is it set up the same way i.e. adjusting the position to get the right front/back balance? I would love to hear your insights as I have been thinking about getting one for a while.

Thanks
gnm
Australia


----------



## caspian (Jan 13, 2009)

Chris RL said:


> The Variable is the only riser design that allows user tuning of deflex, center of gravity, center of thrust, arrow rest and plunger heights, and a host of other variables that are usually fixed by the manufacturer in other designs.


most of which the vast majority of archers are not in a position to measure, quantify or compare objectively. they'd be far better off just buying a reputable ILF riser and shooting the thing a lot.


----------



## Chris RL (Oct 30, 2011)

Caspian
Probably right. 
However, being able to adjust something doesn't necessarily mean that everything needs to be adjusted all the time.

I think that, if I'm not mistaken, most Variable riser folk will find a setting that suits them and then continue to shoot that setting - until they feel a need to change it.

For me, I love my Aerotec, my first riser, and my Variable is now set up to be a (very slightly) lighter development of that same basic feel, with one or two things adjusted that the Aerotec won't allow. 

Specifically, for me, the musculature of my bow arm means that a purely vertical elbow joint is truly difficult, especially with a heavier rig. I've been working on it for over a year and while I can do it, it's difficult to the point of distraction at the moment. 

The Variable's handle means I can get to that proper elbow placement right now, with zero discomfort, and concentrate on the rest of my form, and then, over the months, slowly turn the handle back to vertical as my arm becomes flexible enough to get to the vertical joint position without distraction. 

Apart from that, it's basically set up as a factory Aerotec. Once I get it fine tuned into shape, I don't think I'll be changing anything much, until a very long time in the future, or unless something unforeseen happens that necessitates a major change - if I should ever have an injury that requires me to switch eyes and/or sides, for instance.

Then I feel I might actually stay with this same riser longer, whereas another ILF riser shooter would then have to change out for another riser.

Don't forget that anybody who's buying a $700 riser will typically want to shoot the thing - a lot.

But, on the whole, it's as you say. This isn't a riser for every archer - or indeed, for every other archer.


----------



## caspian (Jan 13, 2009)

if the archer knows what they want, then by all means they're a great idea. your example of the grip movement to accomodate physique is an excellent example.

my comment was probably more around the propensity of people to fiddle with gadgets as a panacea as opposed to correcting the actual problem. for instance, it would be very easy for someone to take the approach that "hmm, I can't get my bow arm into a comfortable position on a normal grip, so I'll just twist it a bit and now it's fine". the obvious problem with this is twofold:

(1) rather than developing proper technique enforced by correct equipment configuration, the archer learns a bad habit because they're allowing themselves to.
(2) it develops a mindset that the solution to a problem is breaking out the allen keys, as opposed to analysing and fixing the root cause.

I'm a FITA compound shooter and instructor, and I see the latter regularly with newbies. they're changing draw weight, draw length, peep position, rest centreshot and height, letoff, timing, brace, tiller etc every couple of shots, because they're searching for a magic solution - surely if they're not hitting the x straight away, it's got to be just a tweak until they do, right? I take them through putting the thing back to default configuration, ban them from the allen keys unless they check with me first, and get them practicing some fundamentals that will actually develop shooting skills.

the Variable worries me because I think it's the same trap for recurve, and because I think that modern equipment is so well engineered that the vast majority of archers don't have the skills, knowledge or ability to improve on it.


----------



## Chris RL (Oct 30, 2011)

Caspian, totally agreed.

Took the Variable out on its, and my, maiden competition to Tulare, CA last weekend for the State Indoor Championship. Quite the learning experience. 

Scored terribly but that was to be expected, I've only had this rig for, what, under a month? Most would say "what are you doing? shoot what you know" and if I were competing seriously they'd be dead right. 

However, there's nothing like stretching out a little more than one's reach to get the kinks out - this is the first state level competition I've participated in in over a decade - and I still have that bug 

And of course it's not the toys, it's the boys (and girls). No matter what anybody says about gear or not gear, this piece or that piece, it's mostly down to the shooter - form, practice, fitness, attitude, mental game. No piece of gear is going to make up for any of that, once the gear is good enough for the archer. And most modern gear is way more than that, even the beginner's rigs, and mostly straight out of the box, at that.


So now this thread will probably go quiet for a while, since all that's really left for me, now that the bow's straight and at least rough tuned, is to go to work and just shoot it.

A lot!

More on this particular riser in the Variable pages of my blogsite, or at the shooting line of my club, the Woodley Park Archers in Los Angeles, unless something spectacular happens that's particularly newsworthy.

Cheers!
Chris


----------

