Question about smoothness of older B&M's

"Batman-the Ride" at SFGrtAdv was without a doubt the roughest (and noisest) B&M I had ever ridden, I was shocked! However, the flip scale of that is I adore Kumba, DD, and my fav B&Ms are Talon. Nitro, and Batman Knight Flight. In comparing BTR to Talon, there is definitely more smoothness in Talon but I'm thinking AGE and up keep rather than design has something to do with that.

No matter what B&M I ride, it always comes back to my absolute favorite, my baby, Raptor :)
And since I got yet one more Raptor tattoo it had BETTER stay my favorite forever!! ;)

Jo
2000/2002 Raptor Crew
Lifetime Raptor flights: 708 :) (goin for 1k in 03)
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It's all about getting around the barrels or over the fences, right leads, no faults, fastest time and still looking pretty when done. What's so hard about that? :)

Well, in my recollection, Iron Wolf and B:TR @ SFGAm ride pretty much the same as they did when they opened. They have gotten no *rougher* than day one. Now, if you compared the transitions on B:TR to say Talon, then BY FAR Talon would be the one considered "smoother". But that is due to an evolution of B&M engineering, not poor aging properties.
lata, jeremy
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American troops "have started to commit suicide under the walls of Baghdad. We will encourage them to commit more suicides quickly." Muhammed Saeed al-Sahaf

When I rode PGA's Vortex (last July), I paid particular attention to the "roughness" because I'd heard it was a rough ride. Fortunately, I came up empty handed. My head didn't hit the harness *once*, nor did I ever feel the ride bouncing around, or bainging through bad transitions. I'll be the first to admitt that those older stand-ups are mean - the transitionis are quick, foreceful, and intense, but that's what I love about those rides. The idea of Demon being smoother than Vortex is hilarious to me; though Demon isn't one of the worse Arrows out there, it's nowhere near "smooth" and has quite a few bumps and bangs of its own.

I also think there's something to be said about the only B&M rides enthusiasts ever complain are "rough" are the stand-ups (mainly Iron Wolf, Vortex, and Mantis). Maybe there's just some unspoken discrimination there.

-Nate

No discrimination from me because Mantis was supa smooth (loved that ride) while Vortex was rough *for me.*

Rides aren't the same everyday, and please, don't sit over the wheels.

I don't think there is a rough B&M (I may have argued before that Mantis is rough, a contention I still somewhat support, but in fairness Mantis is the only B&M standup I've experienced). Certainly not any of the inverteds - all of the ones I've ridden are absolutely fantastic. My favorite changes depending on the park I visit - when I'm at Cedar Point I like Raptor, when I'm at Tampa I like Montu, etc (but I routinely do not prefer Alppie to either of those or to Nemesis).

Someone really loves Raptor!

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Your Park only has 1 good coaster! That's too bad!

(Hmm... The quote feature has disapeared for me...)

Krazy Koaster said:

"The reason why people think Iron Wolf is rough is because of the harness. They changed them a couple of years ago and now they come up over your head, and your head fits in there pretty tight . When you go through the turns you head wants to move and all it can do is bang up against the harness. I bet if they changed the harness back it would not be as rough."

I beg to differ. Iron Wolf was getting very rough before the new seats and restraints. And, yes i say rough, not intense. IW's always been intense: I didn't always constanly bang my head against the shoulder harness. Anyway, the frist time I remember a hint of headbanging was around '96 or so, and it just kept getting woese every year. I vividly remember hoping that the new harnesses (and what I hoped was a general re-hab of the trains, too) would help return the ride to its former glory. They didn't.

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I hear America screaming...

Then only problem with Mantis is the ride ops raising the bike seat up to where My feet are not on the floor. I belive its an unsafe ride because of the way they load it like that and make everyone be rasied up with their feet dangling above the floor like that. It happend during Coastermania last year they wouldn't even let you get a confortable position in your seat.

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Chris Knight
Be sure to download my latest NL Wooden Looping Coaster creation Dream Blast.
*** This post was edited by Sawblade5 4/18/2003 2:23:09 AM ***

I would have to say that B:TR at SFGAdv is a bit on the "rough" side for a B&M. Perhaps I'm spolied by the super-smooth ride of Talon, but I have a hard time enjoying B:TR the same way I enjoy Talon.

The only "trick" I've managed to figure out on B:TR is that the inside seats have less head-banging than the outside ones (obviously, due to the differences in center of gravity, etc.).

Don't get me wrong, it's still a great ride, but compared to the other three B&M's at SFGAdv, it's the roughest.

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Men are like parking spaces... the good ones are all taken and the rest are handicapped or too far away.
www.TiggerMan.com
*** This post was edited by TiggerMan 4/18/2003 11:09:03 AM ***

Well I'm not saying you imagined the roughness or anything PT300, I'm just saying that I felt nothing that could be considered rough when I've ridden any B&M, whether it be Iron Wolf, to BTR, to Vortex. Then again, there's always the possibility that I was just lucky.:) Jeremy brings up another good point, that people could just be expecting glass-smooth transitions, like those found on rides like RR, or Talon.(don't get me started on Talon;))

Just rode Kumba last week. Still very smooth. As was Montu. IMO, Vortex at PC is by far the roughest B&M I've ever ridden. To much head banging for a B&M if you ask me. I think that the wheels that ride the upper part of the rail are off a little. I've noticed at times they seem to loose contact with the rail. This may be what causes some of the head banging?????

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rollergator said:
Personally, I find that the stand-ups DO in fact age poorly....the inverteds seem to do MUCH better....could be *just me*...;)

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It's just you.

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Is that a Q-bot in your pocket or are you just happy to see me?

GP....*yours* (SFoG's)....is glass-smooth, as is RR....

Mantis, Chang, the Vortices, Iron Wolf....they were fun, and I had a good time, but none of them were what I'd refer to as "smooth"...I think the inverted, when there's a little shuffling or whatnot, transfer the vibations to the butt, as opposed to the stand-ups, which rattle my head more...(perhaps THAT'S the source of *my little problem*....;))...
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Acronymphomania (n): the socially unacceptable love of heights, and acronyms
Thanks for the memories #23...there is NO "next Jordan"

Lewis, if Vortex was rough for you, I will indeed stay away from it this year!! This is coming from a lover of Manhatten Express? Whoa. ;)
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