2011 alien x

[sway]

Do the 2011 alien x have barnesdale limbs?? Have there been any changes to the bow from 2009-2010 models. If so for better or worse?

[Spiker]

'09 used plain roller bearings in the cams with spacers between cams/limbs. Barnsdale limbs and Stone Mountain strings.
'10 used flanged bearings and no spacers. Barnsdale limbs/Stone Mnt. Strings.
'11 use's '10 bearings, Martin PowerTough limbs and Hammerhead strings.
Other than that they are the same.

[sway]

Isnt the barnsdale limbs supposed to be better?? Why change if so? Do limbs have any affect on speed of a bow or is that all in cams i have a friend thats got a 09 x and it smokes...

[archerx7]

The Barnsdale limbs are considered by most people to be one of the best limbs on the market.....that also makes them more expensive to use. It wasn't that many years ago that Martin limbs were also considered to be some of the best out there. Their laminated Elite limbs are still considered by many people to be some of the best target limbs ever made.
Unfortunatly there are a lot of manufacturing decisions made by bean counters instead of engineers, not just in archery but in any type of manufacturing.
The PowerTuff limbs are based directly off the barnsdales with the exception of being a solid instead of laminated limb so they should prove to be just as durable at a lesser cost, helping to keep the price of bows down.
Martin hasn't raised their prices in years, this was probably a measure taken to ensure they could keep costs down for another year.
The bows speed is mainly based upon the cam system, preload on the limbs, and power stroke, the limb material itself has little to do with the speed.

[Brem]

the grip changed 09 to 2010. they thinned it up. I much prefered the 09 grip.

[sway]

Thanks archer just wondered cause i got a 2011 x coming i just had a firecat 400 replaced due to limb failure let the dealer keep it and ordered me the x.. Hoping to have better luck like i said got a buddy thats got a 09 x and it is considerbly faster than the firecat by about 10-12 fps smoother and better feeling to boot...

[Brem]

sway,
My '09 was faster than my '10 by a few fps and both are faster than both firecats I had(09 and 10) Please tell us about the limb failure on the FC400 because most of us have not been exposed to the new solid limbs

[sway]

Brem, i bought the firecat new Dec 31 shot it Jan1 and had to take it back for cam string and cable replacement cams had burrs in them and cut the cables.. Finally got it back shot it about a week and the top limb cracked from the fork back down the limb really dissapointing to have they kinda of probs but martin was understanding when i told them i didnt want parts but rather a new bow and sent one out. I told my dealer i didnt want the firecat back and instead had him order me the alien x i just hope i get the speeds ur getting with yours im a 27.5 to draw so im hoping to get at least 300 or better if your getting 318 that puts me at about 313-310 right??

[Brem]

sway,
thats unfortunate, we had all hoped that the limb issue had been solved by going to the solid limbs. I would say absolutely 310 is what you should be looking for even with a loaded string.

[archerx7]

sway,
My '09 was faster than my '10 by a few fps

The early 09's were a few fps faster, they would actually do a little over IBO with a few tweaks. They made some minor changes to the cams about mid way through 09 to improve duability and those changes resulted in a loss of a few fps, they will still hit IBO but the cams are now a little more durable.