I went down to Kentucky Kingdom last weekend, and got to ride both sides of Twisted Sisters. (Yes, they actually had both sides running!) The (Gerstlauer) trains on each side featured the modified lap bars with the extra bit of padding on the sides.
After riding each side three times, I personally thought the modifications did very little. The padding isn't very thick, and it's not very soft. Both of the Sisters have some intense laterals, and the sides of my legs were repeatedly thrown into, or pressed against, the sides of the bars. Compared to Villain and Legend last year, I just didn't notice much of a difference. And I wasn't the only one. My wife thought the extra padding didn't do anything, and I heard a couple of people getting off of the ride say it was rough on their legs.
Now, I should say that this was the first time that I had ridden Twisted Sisters, so I don't know what it was like before the modification. And it didn't make the ride unenjoyable - like I said, I rode each side three times. And I rode Legend and Villain last year dozens of times without the padding, and I love both of those. I just think the extra padding did very little to ease the roughness on the legs.
Has anyone else had a chance to ride in a modified Gerstlauer yet? What did you think?
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I know a little German. He's sitting right over there.
I've also ridden Twisted Sisters this season (both of them). The new padding on the lap bars is silly at best, and I said so at IAAPA when I saw it. But the major benefit is the extra four inches of legroom between the side-rails of the lap bar. That makes a TREMENDOUS difference.
The real test will come in a couple of weeks when I ride the Legend again.
--Dave Althoff, Jr.
Mega Zeph has the modified trains. The padding does nothing for your legs. You still walk off the ride with bruises if you ride a few times.
Actually, Dave, I was so busy checking out the padding that I totally forgot that they made the bars wider. Thinking back on it, they did seem roomier.
I really wish they could figure a way to pad those bars better because I like the Gerstlauer trains. They look sharp, they seem to track well, and they are quite comfortable other than the bars.
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I know a little German. He's sitting right over there.
Just ride hands down, like your supposed to. It's that simple!
-rob (5 Gerstlauer equipped coasters and no bruises to date...)
