Coasting before and after B&M ( A Love Thread)

B&M has really created the modern coaster benchmark. B&M designs have great transitions,incredible elements,smooth as glass from beginning to end,and aesthetically pleasing structures.
Before B&M were on the scene coasters were rough for the most part and ride elements were pretty much cookie cutter.
After, we see an improvement in a lot of coasters and it was probably the influence of B&M that probably raised the bar in the indusry.of course there are other great companies one that comes to mind is Intamin.
But Intamin, didn't have as much of an influence as they have today. I would credit B&M for Intamin's growing success especially in the United States.

Can I play devil's advocate? I can!? Goodie!

No doubt that B&M makes great rides. However so did arrow 10-20 years ago. They were state of the art, mouth dropping creations at the time. Now I see more Arrow bashing than anything else. The oldest B&M coasters are just reaching that 10 year mark, we'll see how they continue to hold up.

B&M did break the door open with new elements but they've become quite stale and "cookie-cutter" in there own right. There's only so much you can do, I guess.

I just wonder if one day a majority of enthusiasts won't look back at B&M with disdain the same way so many seem to with Arrow now.

I personally feel Intamin will be to B&M what B&M was to arrow. They just find a way to do it better. The newest Intamin coasters are much more enjoyable to me than the newest B&M creations.

Walter and Claude have had a stellar run, much like Ron Toomer had in the past. We'll have to wait to see who steps up to fill those shoes next...

I love both companies don't get me wrong.
But because of B&M I think Arrow's Tenn Tornado was made to be as smooth as....
I think it's great.
Better coasters from everyone.
Parks and Enthusiast won't tolerate mediocre.
Expectation levels have risen.
It's all good.

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Lord Gonchar said:
"Walter and Claude have had a stellar run, much like Ron Toomer had in the past. We'll have to wait to see who steps up to fill those shoes next..."

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LOL! As if they are all washed up or something. I have (now) done every single B&M in the United States and guess what? The very last one I rode (Nitro) was the absolute best one they've done (IMO, obviously). To say things like the above just cracks me up! :) I mean, Talon and Nitro are two of the best B&M's ever, and they're also the newest. I think, while losing much of the old-skool intensity they once had, B&M are better than ever right now! Have you seen the floorless in Madrid? Now that's a damn good lookin' coaster!

Legendary, certified B&M Fanatic

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"No listenin', you hear me?"

B&M did not HAVE a stellar run, they are HAVING a stellar run. The B&M hypers are their best creations yet, and who says arrow is gone, look at that giant rising in California, i say they are not done being one of the top coaster manufacturers just yet...As for B&M, all i can say is wow. I know it's my opinion, but they are the best, sure Intamin has nice rides as well, but B&M have revolutionized the industry just as Arrow did, a little while back.

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"Thank you for challenging the Raging Bull. We hope you enjoy the rest of you're day, here at Six Flags Great America"

Hey, I'm not discounting B&M in any way in that post, nor am I saying their time is up. Just some speculation on trends and innovations in the industry.

The is no solid way of judging who makes the best coasters as it's all a matter of opinion. Right now there's no denying that B&M is the "hot" company. It won't last forever...nothing does. I'm enjoying everything they (and other manufacturers) throw at us. I just find myself looking ahead at times, I was a fan before B&M became the golden child and I will be long after another manufacturer takes the lead as the "hot" designers.

I just love to play the other side on any B&M arguement as I don't consider myself so much a "B&M fan" as I consider myself a "coaster fan". I don't tend to go in thinking that because a ride was made by a certain company that it will instantly be good or bad. I find that all the major companies have hits and misses. Right now my personal top 3 include and Arrow, Intamin and B&M (Magnum, Millennium Force, Kraken).

At least I can say B&M fans are a devoted bunch! :)

I love B&M, I think that they are doing good right now, and they will be doing good for awhile. I think one of their best contributions were specially designed trains, B&M's trains are absolutely gorgeous and they look as nice as the new auto-mobiles!

I feel that Setpoint will be the next big contendor, that's just my opinion though. Their Seizmic(sp) coaster has ALOT of potential, and I can only imagine the many things that thing can do!

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"Villain-Once You Drop, The Fun Don't Stop!"~SFWoA Rules In 2001~X Marks The Spot In 2001(SFWoA)~With SFWoA ANYTHING Is Possible!

4D and Air will probably dominate the next few years.

I've rode one B&m, Talon. All I have to say is "it isn't great, it's a fake"

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Steel Force+ me= floating airtime!

Let's not forget people that B&M actually originated from Intamin. Both manufacturers headquarters are in Switzerland (I believe it is Switzerland).

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Todd Steffey
# 1 * Alpengeist @ BGW
# 2 * Apollo's Chariot @ BGW
# 3 * American Eagle @ SFGAm

But they split because they wanted to build better rides

Why can't there be 2 great companies at one time? I personally LOVED Intamin's Millennium Force (who didn't?), and would love to see more Intamin hypers/gigas pop up. B&M is a great company, but it seems to me that the novelty is gone. Sure, its great to have a new B&M go up, but the novelty is gone.

The B&M novelty may be gone for enthusiasts, put I don’t it is for the GP. If you put a B&M floorless/inverted/hyper/whatever in an area that doesn’t already have one, I guarantee it will be a big draw. Only enthusiasts who travel to many parks notice that many of the B&M (and other manufactures) rides are similar from park to park.
There is no doubt that B&M raised the bar for roller coaster performance and creativity.
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Bob M.

Well, all you have to do is look at Talon to find that B&M still finds ways to be creative.

I think will be hearing quite a bit from S & S in the future. Hypersonic is awesome. One the kinks get worked out, I think you'll see TA2k's all over the place.

B+M needs to get in a new drawl of the coaster section. for their price small parks are forced to go to companies like vekoma and cci. Most of the larger parks have already added or started to add some of the large looping coasters. I think it will only a amount of time before they will have to design a new hybrid of coasters or lower their prices. I am not hating B+M but I think they need to expand there market. what are they going to do when no more parks want to fork out 15 to 20 million for a looping coaster when every other park has one. Hopefully they will get into the 4d market or the flying.

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Jordon "the jackal" Dunham
Team Berserk Blue

B&M definitely took "the next step". Inverting coasters need NOT be painful, and Walter and Claude should be praised for leading the way. I agree that Intamin (and Morgan) are charging hard into the fray, and we are ALL winners. However, don't expect B&M's to age the way Arrow's have. Kumba and Montu started getting a little rough a years or two ago, and resurfacing completely resolved the problem. From what I understand, a large part of their "innovation" includes the idea of using shock-absorbers to smooth out the path of the train on the trackwork. Walter/Claude, if you're reading this, "HIRE ME!"

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rollergator - intent on improving the "guest experience" - coming soon to a park near you

A couple of Swiss guys with a "drawl..." And you thought they had a tough time with "parabolic curve" in regular English!

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Jeff
Webmaster/Admin - CoasterBuzz.com

I enjoy the B&Ms. Superman Krypton at Fiesta Texas is one of my favs, though I've ridden B:KF and Medusa East (and no, Fiesta Texas is not my home park).

Indeed, Nitro was quite good. Apollo's Chariot was fun, but could have been so much more. I suppose BGW wanted to keep their hyper more family-friendly. All said, I've ridden several B&Ms and as much as I like them, their newest creations (S:KC excluded) don't do a whole lot for me. B&M intensities have been toned down from the all out chaos of the B:TR clones. I hope that they build some more rides with the treasured out-of-control feeling (haven't ridden Talon, yet).

I was highly impressed with Millennium Force and S:ROS (SFA). Even the S:ROS was incredible. The ejector seat airtime was out of this world and it truly conveyed a sense of real speed (because much of the ride is so low to the ground?) Lastly, its easy to see the high capacity benefits of B&Ms, but I honestly prefer two across seating. I prefer the more exposed and less protected feeling from Intamin's new train design (though I really LOVE the floorless).

anyway, that's just my opinion.

I have ridden all 3 new B&M's in the U.S. and I don't think any of them are less intense than some of the older B&M's. Wildfire has probably the best first drop out of any B&M coaster. Since it does not have a mid-course brake the ride is non-stop intensity from beginning to end. Nitro is a front seat coaster. The airtime was amazing in the front. Talon is great ride with good pacing and has some intense G's in it's helix. Only enthusiasts would complain about B&M coasters. What would you prefer to be riding Vekoma SLC's instead.