Roughness of Classic Wooden Coasters

I thought the term "rough" meant a bumpy ride you didn't like, while "Intense" was a bumpy ride that you'll defend because you happen to like that coaster for whatever reason. ;)

Heh, nice macho ;)

But I will still say that there's a MAJOR difference between a rough ride and an intense ride. Intense rides make you say "gotta wait a minute, but let's do that again!", rough rides make you want to light the thing on fire when you're done.

I'll echo what everyone else has said about maintaining the things, but I'll toss this out there; I heard recently (and it might just be a rumor) that Kennywood's relatively smaller wooden coasters need to be basically completely rebuilt every 5 years to keep them smooth(er), structurally safe and enjoyable to ride. I bet some parks (and park operators) are not willing to basically rebuild their wooden rides every 5 years, and would rather put the money towards new rides. Those are the parks you see with coasters that people complain are "rough". And if a low-to-the-ground, uncomplex structure like Jack Rabbit and Thunderbolt need to be rebuilt every 5 years, you gotta figure a monster like Mean Streak probably only has a 3 or 4 year maintenance life.

When you have that many connections, and that much dynamic force on a structure made of a material that is naturally more susceptible to movement, shifting, warping and crushing, it's no surprise that it's constantly a game of catchup trying to find what pieces of wood are failing or getting crushed under the weight or what screws are loose (gator ... ;) )

--Brett, see I can make a diplomatic post if I want to ... but it's more fun to stir the pot :)

^Brett...what we've found from most *reputable* people who actually care for wooden coasters is that, on average, it takes about 5-7 years for a wooden coaster to be "re-built". That's not to say each individual PIECE of lumber, but that in general, that's approximately the "replacement rate" for the structure itself....about 15-20%/year. Compares well with Paula's figures for Voyage as well... ;)

Not surprising that the Kennywoodies average on the higher end of the spectrum - they are WELL cared for... :)

Oh, one more woodie to add to the "rough list" (aka, "steaming pile") that I already listed with Sonny, Herc, and HC5. I'd now like to add Psyclone - see the trend? Three in four are gone, the last one has been NOTHING but headaches. Another look at this list DOES seem to show the validity of the argument that Moosh was addressing...sometimes it's poor maintenance, sometimes it's poor DESIGN. ;)

*** Edited 2/21/2007 4:34:05 PM UTC by rollergator***

I rode Hades in September this year and it was painful!

They've taken the original PTC padding on it and replaced it with some harder stuff that really beat me up. In fact, the people I rode with have also been on The Voyage and they *loved* The Voyage, but thought Hades was too rough. Why do parks take off the nice soft PTC padding??

I did manage about 8-9 rides on it, but some moments really left my head and back hurting.

Cory, Thats pretty easy to stop.

It PTC had the balls to do so. They could make any non manufacturer approved items void any liability and warranty.

Problem is the trains are so common, there's actually some after market companies leaching on them. AT THE RIDERS EXPENSE.

Chuck, who's seen too many oversized dividers, Hard high backs and foam seats for my time.

Count me as someone that hates hard seat padding and oversized seat dividers. Georgia Cyclone would have been much better if the seat cushions had a little more "give" than the asphalt we parked the car on. And I don't get the doublewide seat dividers- what's the point? Is the rider no longer safe unless some bones are being squeezed to the point where they might snap?

woodies, by the very nature of wood, which flexes and vibrates, will always be rougher or more intense than steel, which flexs very little.

I tend to agree with you, although there are steel coasters that are a lot rougher than wood coasters. Compare Morey's Pier's defunct Pinfari RC-48 or a Zamperla Volare to Kennywood's Racer or the Dania Beach Hurricane and you'll see what I'm talking about!

Arthur,KD runs two trains on each side of Rebel Yell.

To be honest I'd love to see CF just run both side forward again myself...riding the thing backwards has just become too much of a rough experience in my book.

I never got the riding backwards thing. To me, part of the thrill of a wood coaster is the visual aspect of the experience. By sitting backwards, you defeat that. Plus there's something about "backwards air" that doesn't sit too well with me. Talk about rough? THAT'S rough.

I rode Hades in September this year and it was painful!

Hades, in its opening year, was intense but not rough. Reports from this year is that the ride is now both intense and rough. That leads me to guess that the park has not spent as much time on maintenance as the ride requires.

I think part of Hades problem is that it needs some track work, especially at the end, but I think that the padding on the train is it's biggest problem right now!

It's sort of like the G-trains padding. You just feel every bump in the track with that stuff and it really gave me a headache. I remember seeing them selling the old padding from Hades on Ebay last summer, but I just figured they replaced it with the same stuff. For some reason though, they put this new high density stuff on it. I never got to ride it with the normal PTC pads, but I would bet it made a big difference.

That's too bad about Hades. It was a phenominal ride back in 2005 and I hate to think of it becoming unrideable. There are a lot of wood coasters there- hopefully Nick has a plan for keeping all of them in good running order.

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Rob Ascough said:
Count me as someone that hates hard seat padding and oversized seat dividers. Georgia Cyclone would have been much better if the seat cushions had a little more "give" than the asphalt we parked the car on. And I don't get the doublewide seat dividers- what's the point? Is the rider no longer safe unless some bones are being squeezed to the point where they might snap?

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This is just a thought, and someone please correct me if I'm wrong. On rides with laterals, the seat divider would (help) prevent me from smashing into you like on a Musik Express. Not that it's unsafe, but I'm sure the insurance premiums due to less probability of rider injury would be a high motivation, especially for corporate parks.

Don't get me wrong - I don't like the seat divider either, but sometimes it makes it easier to swallow if I try thinking about it from the other point of view instead of assuming that the world revolves around me/us.

The seat dividers sole purpose is to keep people under the INDIVIDUAL RATCHETING LAPBAR. Not to keep you from sliding into the other rider. Look at the picture on the THIS ISN'T BLUE STREAK thread and tell me that little girl isn't snug against the other rider, WITH A GRIN A MILE WIDE!

To me, Thats what a WOOD coaster is all about and Im so glad there are places like Kennywood that I can still ride them the way THEY ARE MEANT TO BE.

Chuck

To clarify, I don't have a problem with all seat dividers. I have a problem with the newer ones that seem a lot wider than the older ones. Sorry if I was confusing.

I wonder why the KW Racer has a seat divider with its buzz bars. Years ago the Racer did not have seat dividers and now this is the one thing that prevents this coaster from being an ACE classic.

Of course, the Thunderbolt and Jack Rabbit still have cars without dividers.

I think PTC mandated it just like they did with the seatbelts a couple years ago

Also on KI Racer, after the 1st drop my lap bar crushed down into me about 3 clicks. Why are the bars that way? Shouldn't they be in a *locked* condition?

The locking mechanism is meant to prevent PTC's Individual Ratcheting Lab Bars from opening...not getting tighter. That's why when I get into a PTC with IRLBs I simply lower it to my lap. It's gonna end up there anyway, lol!