# Hoyt matrix riser 2003



## MickeyBisco (Jul 14, 2012)

I have one. Not certain what year it is, but it might be marked in the pocket. I'll look.

It's basically very similar to the Nexus ( sans integrated damper).

Pretty certain it's aluminum, and the tiller bolts/ dovetail pivot bolt are identical to the Helix, Nexus, Aerotec etc. 

Not a lot changed until the floating tiller bolts.


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## MickeyBisco (Jul 14, 2012)

I've found this very helpful while looking at the chronology of Hoyt risers.

Side by side, the Matrix resembles the GMX more than the Nexus.


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## Jim C (Oct 15, 2002)

MickeyBisco said:


> I have one. Not certain what year it is, but it might be marked in the pocket. I'll look.
> 
> It's basically very similar to the Nexus ( sans integrated damper).
> 
> ...



The Nexus has a much thinner grip than the Matrix. The thinner grip first appeared on the Helix and the Nexus.

I have shot every bow hoyt has made since the TD 4 up through the GPX and the Ion. I have a Prodigy with the bar but have not shot it due to lingering elbow injury issues. I no longer have a Radian but I have several Matrix risers. It was a well made riser and its most likely the same 6000 series aluminum that the other risers are made of


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## esubagio (Apr 20, 2015)

Mickeybisco, 
thanks for the chronology picture, brilliant!
I wonder why did hoyt change the limb pocket position farther away from the shooter in HPX...

Jim C,
Where do you think matrix sits around the hoyt line-up? I am considering to get a second handed matrix
Need some advice..


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## Jim C (Oct 15, 2002)

esubagio said:


> Mickeybisco,
> thanks for the chronology picture, brilliant!
> I wonder why did hoyt change the limb pocket position farther away from the shooter in HPX...
> 
> ...



I really liked it but when the Helix/Nexus came out I liked them better because of the grip. My wife ran a shop and I got a couple matrix risers as stall-I haven't sold them 
We had ZERO problems with the Matrix risers.

I think the current GMX is the best riser they made for ILF. Very few Hoyt risers were "bad". The original Avalon would crack, the Radian was often crooked (due to stress relief in machined risers which is why many early machined risers had "adjustable limb pockets" and the first version of the Axis would cause some really interesting issues if you tried to adjust the tiller since the engineers didn't take into account what would happen to the secondary limb bolt receptacles when the angles changed with the limb tiller change.

The grips on the RADIAN sucked too-that Riser is supposedly what caused James Loesch to start his grip business. The first really good machined riser from Hoyt was the Avalon+ with the Elan being excellent as well. The Aerotech was the first ILF tech design-a great riser but hard on elbows. I love the feel of the ION and the GPX but having had elbow surgery, I am back to a GMX and perhaps my old RX.


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## williamskg6 (Dec 21, 2008)

Perhaps this is a little off topic, but have a look at the Cartel Midas next to the Hoyt Matrix. I wonder where Cartel got their inspiration for the Midas? 









- Kent W.


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## Seattlepop (Dec 8, 2003)

esubagio said:


> Does anyone know what is the material used for Hoyt matrix riser 2003 edition?
> And how can one tell whether it is a 2003's or 2005's matrix?
> 
> I tried to search on the internet but came back with very little information about this matrix riser
> (given the fact that many archers been advising this riser as one of the best ever made, but I found very little technical information about the riser itself)


I've never heard of any year Matrix being other than aluminum. For the year of manufacture, one of the limb pockets will have an "R" with "03" or "05", etc. engraved in the metal as seen below. Note that the pre-2005 Matrix may not have the updated dowels which I understand are no longer available.


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## Seattlepop (Dec 8, 2003)

*Dowels*

I didn't edit fast enough so continued here...I checked and if you have a Matrix with the old dowels, you can replace them with the newer GMX dowels. As you can see here they fit just fine:


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## esubagio (Apr 20, 2015)

Thanks Jim C, I would try for the original grip and see if my hand does/doesn't feel comfy
Seattlepop, thanks for shedding some light. I supposed the newer model with updated dowel is more superior than the older one?


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## esubagio (Apr 20, 2015)

Seattlepop said:


> I didn't edit fast enough so continued here...I checked and if you have a Matrix with the old dowels, you can replace them with the newer GMX dowels. As you can see here they fit just fine:
> 
> View attachment 2330209


and what the new dowel does? All I can see is the additional small allen key in the middle of the pocket... forgive my dumb question, I am new to hoyt


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## limbwalker (Sep 26, 2003)

williamskg6 said:


> Perhaps this is a little off topic, but have a look at the Cartel Midas next to the Hoyt Matrix. I wonder where Cartel got their inspiration for the Midas?
> 
> View attachment 2329921
> 
> ...


I've shot both, and the Midas is the smoother and quieter of the two.


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## williamskg6 (Dec 21, 2008)

limbwalker said:


> I've shot both, and the Midas is the smoother and quieter of the two.


Which is one of the reasons why I bought (and still have) my Midas riser from your brother.


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## Jim C (Oct 15, 2002)

Seattlepop said:


> I didn't edit fast enough so continued here...I checked and if you have a Matrix with the old dowels, you can replace them with the newer GMX dowels. As you can see here they fit just fine:
> 
> View attachment 2330209


true, the old dowels were open at the back, I recall getting some of the new ones from a Friend at Easton and changing them out. I had a kid lose a dowel and having to get a replacement for it


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## StarDog (Feb 17, 2007)

oh crap,that's all I need. ANOTHER riser to add to my upgrade list. 

Cartel Midas, available from Archery alternatives. $292.50 us plus shipping. How many stab holes front and back.

I was toying with used Matrix, used Nexus, GMX or Winex. and now Cartel Midas. Add This to the list. I use to have a Matrix by the way and sometimes think of dredging up another if I can find one.

Wish there was riser software like there is arrow software.


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## zal (May 1, 2007)

Should be 6061-T6 aluminium IIRC.

One of the best risers ever made, definitely better than anything Hoyt has produced in last 10 years, IMO.

Cartel Midas is a bad imitation. There might be good ones but I've seen plenty of really bad ones. Also it's been made of 7001 aluminium which is pretty cheap, but often poor alternative. Top of the range bows are usually made out of 6061 (most US made), 6082 (most italians) or forged 7075 (some Koreans, like Samick). You can buy bucketloads of 7001-T6 very cheaply in China.


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## williamskg6 (Dec 21, 2008)

StarDog said:


> ... now Cartel Midas. How many stab holes front and back?


Stab mounts on upper and lower limb pockets, standard long rod stabilizer mount on the back, and on the front (toward the archer) there's a downward angled stab mount. All have stainless steel threaded inserts.



























Sorry about the slightly blurry photos - took them a little hurried.

Note that there are at least 3 versions of the Midas. I have the oldest. The newer ones have smoother machining (beveled, rounded cutouts), are machined more (removed slightly more aluminum in some places), a painted finish (mine is anodized), and what I feel is a more convenient limb alignment system. The basic shape has stayed mostly consistent.

-Kent W.


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## Seattlepop (Dec 8, 2003)

esubagio said:


> and what the new dowel does? All I can see is the additional small allen key in the middle of the pocket... forgive my dumb question, I am new to hoyt


A good question. That is the third version of the dowel. The first is the one mentioned by Jim C that had a slot cut all the way through the dowel. That allowed the steel limb bushing to be pulled against the aluminum. They replaced those with the closed off the dowel like you see in the first Matrix photo. The latest version that came with my GMX has the allen screw. That lets you lock down the dowel presumably for smooth limb insert/removal for your particular limbs. Really unnecessary imho. That has never been problem in any of the Hoyt risers I've owned. 

No offense to Midas owners, but the Matrix is a forged, Olympic Gold medal winning work of art. Imho of course.


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## Seattlepop (Dec 8, 2003)

zal said:


> Should be 6061-T6 aluminium IIRC.
> 
> One of the best risers ever made, definitely *better than anything Hoyt has produced in last 10 years*, IMO.
> 
> Cartel Midas is a bad imitation. There might be good ones but I've seen plenty of really bad ones. Also it's been made of 7001 aluminium which is pretty cheap, but often poor alternative. Top of the range bows are usually made out of 6061 (most US made), 6082 (most italians) or forged 7075 (some Koreans, like Samick). You can buy bucketloads of 7001-T6 very cheaply in China.


I would agree with you, the Matrix is one bad-arse riser...except that I'm liking my GMX a lot. The basic geometries are the same, but the GMX has the improved limb bolts and the stabilizer has been moved a little closer to center. 

I did a (very crude) comparison between the X-Appeal, Matrix, and GMX to show some basic differences. I lined them up as best I could and then drew white lines to reference the sight mounts, plunger holes, and limb bolts. 

1. Between the Matrix and GMX, you can see that the stabilizer has been moved closer to the pivot point. Everything else seems to align the same.

2. Between the X-Appeal and the others, you can see that with sight mount aligned the same, the stabilizer mount has been moved toward center. The grip pivot and plunger hole are considerably higher as well. This is why you occasionally hear complaints about the sight window. When moving indoors it can be difficult to get the aperture high enough without changing the sight bar on your sight. You can also see that the curved design places a significant amount of riser mass behind the pivot point. This is what contributes to the X-Appeal's pretty remarkable balance.


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## zal (May 1, 2007)

It was just so easy to get a good balance with Matrix using a long, 5-6" extender. I set up plenty of those setups, although I never owned one, apart from one I loaned for a couple of months. I never got similar feeling with GMX, you had to use shorter extender and couple of riser weights to get even close. The bow felt very solid through shot, but still reacted lively enough for my liking.

The hardware is good (steel bolts ftw!), balance is good, weight is good. There is nothing not to like about them. I never had much issues with setting the sight, most archers have to adjust the bar in any case moving from outdoors to indoors, so not a big hassle, and even less these days as you don't need to shoot 90m.

I think I prefer only Axis and to some extend, Radian, above Matrix from any Hoyt risers. Matrix riser and Samick Ultra limbs still remains one of my favourite setups I've ever used.


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