so, about 6 months ago i bought a new bow, from a reputable UK dealer. recently i've noticed it seems to have small "gaps" in the hair, where the stick is visible through the ribbon, even when it's tensioned. is this something i should be concerned about? (it looks like it could be from hair breakage, but i don't play very aggressively and tend not to break many hairs...)

It might be worth a rehair depending on its value. Cheaper bows are often not well haired and a rehair means you end up with something better than new. On the other hand if costs more to rehair it than to buy another then obviously that is another matter.

Within a year you might well be able to get a replacement from the shop anyway, it's worth asking.

Liz

Liz,

thanks - should i infer from your reply that this isn't normal, and either a rehair or a new bow would be in order? (it's not an expensive bow, but i'm sure the cost to replace it would be more than a rehair.)

Well, it's difficult to be sure without seeing it. I do see that a lot with cheap bows but it's hard to know exactly how much hair loss / lack of proper hair spreading you are talking about.

Liz

well, i'm not sure how much it helps, but here's a (low quality) picture: linky. the white lines are light shining through the hair.

That doesn't look very serious to me. Is it affecting playing at all? I wouldn't have thought so.

Liz