Is Raging Bull Dying?

B&M hypers seem as moody as any woodie to me. Last year I rode Nitro, and wasn't too impressed. This year it amazed me. It's the same with Bull. Lately I've been having great rides on it, but early on in the season I was getting a bit worried. That first drop always seems to be the same though... :)

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Never Has Gravity Been So Uplifting.

Raging Bull....back row.....'nuf said! ;)

After having hypers follow the same old out and back style since Magnum, it's nice to finally have a hyper that is actually a twister. Bull has remained my number one for three years now.

I love the layout and how the queue meanders around the ride.The first drop is fantastic and the brake on the third hill doesn't really bother me much in fact I like to sit on an edge seat and slightly 'hang over' the queue on the high left turn over the station.

X Factor

Imagine if you would Raging Bull as built by Intamin

Silent chain lift followed by an 80 degree drop into an underground tunnel up into an overbank turn almost 15 feet in the air. Next follows the third hill with air rivaling the 3rd hill of SFA's and SFDL's. Then it get's nuts as we get more air before going into a stengel dive into another huge overbank.

This is an Intamin so forget the Midcourse so add an extra bunny which woudl put 3 in a row right there, loop around the drop in another overbank followed by another killer airtime hill and a viscous 90 degree banked figure 8 finale. then hit the magnetic brakes at break neck speed.

While the public absolutely loves Bull as do I, nothing comes close to the reaction of riders returning from a ride on any Intamin Hyper. B and M leaves them happy, time and time again Intamin leaves them speechless. Watch the reaction from S:RoS and Millie, the crowd is cheering and clapping. I have yet to see this happen on a Beemer hyper.

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If given the choice I'd choose a hamburger over a hotdog anyday of the week.

"Watch the reaction from S:RoS and Millie, the crowd is cheering and clapping. I have yet to see this happen on a Beemer hyper."

Whenever I ride, most of the train is cheering at the end of the ride... and clapping in the station.

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« adix@nedesigns.com »

Raging Bull is best when you're first. [6/16/03]

People come off Bull all the time clapping.

Trimmed to death? I say no, theres 1 trim thats usually always on and it doesn't hurt the ride because you still get some nice floater air on that hill. The figure 8 trim is rarely on, and I wouldn't count the Midcourse brake as a trim because it barely touches most of the time.

I don't get why everyones saying "If Intamin built it, it would be better" because Intamin would have never built it....it has barely any flat track.
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Superman: Ultimate Flight Count (SFGAm) = 50
Dave
http://www.SFGAmWorld.com

RB is an absolute snooze. I will give credit to the ride for having the most intense first drop of any coaster in the back seat. I also love the seat and restraint design. Besides the first drop, this ride just bores me. The ride just seems to creep along the course with little or no air or speed. The drop of the midcourse is good, but two good drops are not enough to keep me impressed on a coaster. To tell you the truth, I don't think B&M hypers work all that great. B&M's give you complete gracefulness and smoothness, which is something you desire when doing inversions with a huge OTSR next to your head. Although I want gracefulness on a hyper, I want the ride to be fast and intense, and neither AC or RB did it for me. Intamin rides are fast and intense, and deliver aggressive air, which is something B&M's so not give.

Don't get me wrong, B&M is still my favorite designer. They defintely make the best rides that actually age with grace. Maybe we'll see B&M deliver a really great hyper-looper, combining the smoothness of their hypers with the agressiveness of their inverts.

Three things to say to Coasterdude316:

1) I haven't seen people clapping on Raging Bull in years - basically since SFGAm started trimming the ride to death.

2) Read the rest of the thread. Raging Bull is clearly trimmed in three places, and all three places, at times, trim rather hard. The midcourse *always* grabs hard.

3) You've obviously never ridden or seen pictures of SFH's Goliath, Expedition Ge-Force, or SFNE's Superman: ROS. Take the time to actually research before making such a ridiculous statement.

-Nate

I'll second 318's assertion that people haven't come off Bull clapping in years. They look pretty bored, actually.

On the other hand, you still get some clapping from Batman's patrons as it hits the final break run.

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Buy "Stereotype Be" from Kevin Max at Amazon.com

Comparing an Intamin hyper to a B&M hyper is almost as relevant as comparing an Intamin hyper to a flyer, or stand-up. Almost, I said. They present different concepts in ride experience, and it might boil down to the train design.

On Intamins, you gain a greater sense of speed and g-forces since your feet can touch the floor of the car. On B&Ms, your legs dangle, and your body is further from the track than on an Intamin, so you gain a greater sense of floating or flying. I think both designers exploit those aspects very well in their rides.

While I wouldn't mind riding a B&M design with Intamin trains, I can say that I probably wouldn't want to ride an Intamin design with B&M trains. But I enjoy both types for what they are. My two favorite coasters are Millennium Force and Raging Bull, but I can't really choose a #1 because they provide two distinctly different experiences. Both rides have amazing first drops, and I found the airtime on RB to be very comparable, if not better, than the airtime on the remainder of MF.

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Come on fhqwhgads!

In every ride I've been on, the first trim and midcourse were always on, and were very noticeble... the third one, before the helix, hasn't fired on any runs I've had.

~Adix, who wishes everyone would stop the damn "If this ride had this train and this ride was made by this company and so on and son on...." crap, and just enjoy the ride.

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« adix@nedesigns.com »

Raging Bull is best when you're first. [6/16/03]
*** This post was edited by Adix 8/2/2003 12:44:24 AM ***

Nate, eairlier you said you haven't been to SFGAm in awhile. I was there just last weekend and people were indeed clapping after Bull. I have video to prove it as I just so happened to be taking Raging Bull video while at the park on Sunday for my site. :) (The video will be done in about 2 weeks, and ill be sure to put the clapping part in it just for you :) ) Do some research before you making such a rediculous statement like that! ;)

Also as stated eairlier in the topic Raging Bull's trim before the figure 8 hasn't been on much this year, and I don't see how you can count the midcourse brakes as a trim. Thats almost like counting the final brake run as a trim IMO.

Anybody care to second me? Come on, im begging for a 2nd :)

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Superman: Ultimate Flight Count (SFGAm) = 50
Dave
http://www.SFGAmWorld.com

Fellow wrestling enthusiast to second ya,my man...

I have yet to experience the trim before the figure 8 this year at all. And clapping is going to vary,the GP are quite the fickle bunch. Compare and contrast that to the vigorous applause that follows the conclusion of a Space Shuttle America ride...people are just glad it's over.

"Haven't been to SFGAm in awhile" means a month. In all the times I've been there in the past two years, I have yet to see *anyone* clap on Raging Bull. Not one person.

A trim brake is any brake on the course that trims speed off the train. Since the ride is over when it hits the final brakes (because there is nothing but straight track, advancing tires, and brakes before the station) the final brake run is clearly not a trim brake. However, the midcourse is in the *middle* of the ride! It is most definitely a trim brake. Anyone who thinks differently is flat out wrong or doesn't know what a trim brake is.

-Nate

Clapping on a coaster only shows what a geek you are anyways. Who cares? RB is a good ride. It will remain so, but many won't like it. Fine. I don't like B:KF at SFWoa. It was rough, yet everyone I talk to says I am high. Fine. I am high. I love Medusa West, and hate Goliath. I love Xcelerator, and dislike S:UF. So? My taste. My opinion. Enjoy what you enjoy. You certainly aren't going to make me enjoy what you do, nor will I you. I say we all cut the elitist crap.

My 2 cents. :)
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Death on two legs

The majority of today's coasters have mid-course brakes that will tap the train enough to slow it down somewhat. I attribute that as being it's for blocking purposes.

If I remember correctly as I haven't been to SFGAm since last year the mid-course lightly taps the train which doesn't really result in a major slow down of speed.

X Factor

Trimming in the midcourse has absolutely *nothing* to do with "blocking purposes." And as I said, there are plenty of times where the midcourse on RB grabs plenty hard.

-Nate

Well its fine with me if everyone stops riding it, shorter lines for me. :) It seems to me that RB is still the most popular ride in the eyes of the GP, for example if you're talking to someone about SFGAm, they will probably ask "Have you ridden Raging Bull?" Thats how it usually is for me anyway.

True...the GP still loves it...but, to draw an analogy, don't serious film buffs (i.e. enthusiasses) care more about what the critics (other enthusiasses)think than the average joe shmoe off the street who knows nothing about movies?

In conclusion, I still think its a great ride, the best in the park, but it just doesn't do anything for me anymore, and I am in mourning because of it.

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Buy "Stereotype Be" from Kevin Max at Amazon.com

It's a fun and enjoyable ride,enough said.:)

Comparing Intamin and B&M hypers is like comparing a toilet seat to a lazy boy recliner.Some people are gonna want to squat while others like to kick back.;)

That is defintely the quote of the year!

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"No, it offends me as a comedian."