I know many people think that this coaster is the roughest around and I admit I thought it was more than a little rough last year, but after riding it tonight in the front row it was quite smooth. I really dont know if this is just because I was in the front row and not on the inside of the 1st helix or what, but to me the roughest part of the ride was towards the end in the turn right after that little "air-time" hill. This also proves to me that it does not just run smooth in cold weather (as some people said last year), it just needed time to break in. Did anybody else notice that this coaster was some what smooth for a woodie, or is it just me?
*** This post was edited by matt1080 on 4/6/2001. ***
*** This post was edited by matt1080 on 4/6/2001. ***
I also rode it tonight with the ride supervisor for it and Top Gun. She told me PKI spent more money on it over the winter making it smoother. She also explained to me that they have (belive it or not) changed the lapbars. The improvements are a big step forward from the problems of the last year.
I didn't ride SOB in the spring last year, but when I rode it in late June it didn't seem objectionably rough. Certainly it was much smoother than either Villain or Mean Streak, and it was not rougher than Raven or Legend. My comparison should be pretty good since I rode all of these in a 10 day period.
I personally loved riding SOB last year and I dunno why so many people hated that ride. I rode it 6 times in a row, three at night which was awesome and I loved the drop, the loop was smooth and I thought that the helices and all of the track was completely smooth and had no rough spots. I thought the helices were smoother than the major helix at the end of the Beast. I would love to ride SOB this year and i thought the ride was smooth and amazingly designed. I wish there was some more airtime, then SOB would be one of the best if not the best woodie.
Dave
I loved SOB also last year. I rode it in the front and middle. It was very smooth for a woodie IMO. Of course now I might think every woodie is smooth, I shall call this the Mean Streak Syndrome, LoL (I love MS though...LoL).
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MF Drops-15
SOB Rides-2
Me and my sister rode it twice last year. That was one hell of a rough ride both times!! We rode in the front car the first time and in the middle the second time!! The front car was still rough, but not as rough as the middle was. My sister had bruises on her legs for two weeks after riding in the middle!! I hope they did find a way to smooth the ride out just a little!!!
Will they be running three trains this year?
I hope they run 3 trains this year but last night there was 2 trains running. I don't know if the third train is still torn apart since I forgot to check if it was on the transfer track. Did anybody notice if the third train was on the transfer track or not?
*** This post was edited by matt1080 on 4/7/2001. ***
I rode it yesterday at the sneak preview, and I thought that it was a tad rough but I like that.
maybe it was rougher than usual due to the rain that had just happened. I also swear that that thing broke 80. ;)
I saw the third train nowhere, I looked and looked but I didn't see it. The third train was also missing from Vortex. Maybe that has something to due with that crane spotting about a week ago
*** This post was edited by Sinker515 on 4/7/2001. ***
*** This post was edited by Sinker515 on 4/7/2001. ***
I know that Adventure Express didn`t have three trains like it normally does resulting in a long line fore that ride! Also, when Flight of Fear finally opened late in the evening, it was only operating one train.
I didn't notice anything different about Sonny's lap bars, but it did feel like someone had put a 2x4 under the floormat.
I thought Sonny was running about like it was at the end of last season.
--Dave Althoff, Jr.
Well, when rides are open at the beginning of the season, they are going to be smoother then they year before because of new wheels, maintance, etc... But I heard SOB was really rough last year, I hope that they did fix all the problems for when I get to ride it.
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"4 Seats are better than 2"
RideMan said:
"I didn't notice anything different about Sonny's lap bars, but it did feel like someone had put a 2x4 under the floormat.
I thought Sonny was running about like it was at the end of last season.
--Dave Althoff, Jr."
Hey RideMan, what do you mean by floormat?
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Coasters...the best natural buzz available.
At the bottom of the train there is a floor mat. And it did seem like there was an added something underneath it.
In order to be allowed to run all 3 trains, don't they have to have all three trains on the track at the time of inspection? I thought that I remember someone saying that the reason that they only had 2 trains on the track last year was because they didn't have the 3rd train on the track at the time of inspection.
I'll let ya know after the 21st of this month.
All I know is that Adventure Express and the Vortex didn`t have their third trains on yet either! Last year when SoB was down, the department of Agriculture had re-inspected the ride. So I`m sure, if PKI wanted to add the third trains, they could get the department of agriculture back out and inspect the rides if that was the case!
When we rode SoB last year, we found out that if you ride in the middle seats of a car you will get a much smoother ride. The seats over the wheels are rougher. This proved to be true no matter where on the train we were.
If they've made it smoother this year, it will surely climb my list of best coasters. My wife and I loved SoB as it was.
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"I'm going off the rails on a crazy train." - Ozzie Osbourne
*** This post was edited by DEK on 4/8/2001. ***
SOB gave a much smoother ride today than last year. We even got two walk-on rides out of it. I like a little bit of roughness of woodies. That's what seperates 'em from the steelies. The drop and the helixes are incredible!
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PKI-Kings Mills, Ohio-Wooden and Kiddie Coaster Capital of the World!
You are the Weakest Link! Goodbye!!!
I rode back seat and next to back seat yesterday, the ride was less jarring, just the right amount of shake and vibration to make it intense, also the thing screeched like a fright train going thru the mountains!! That "two-by-four" thing sort of forced your knees up into the bar for a sardine can fit!! If your legs can't move they can't get bruised.
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As heard on Amtrak 44: "If you look out the left side of the Train you will see the coasters of Cedar Point."
