Thought on looping woodies post SOB

Just wondered what people's thoughts were on the next generation of looping woodies. Perhaps from those who have ridden them.

Having ridden Hades 360 memorial day weekend I think I preferred it without the inversion. The inversion was probably the least thrilling part of the ride for me, and it was still pretty rough in parts.

However, Outlaw Run's inversions were fantastic along as was the rest of the ride. The ride is amazing possibly as good as El Toro.

Also, are the Timberliner trains on Hades the same ones they were going to put on the Voyage? I hope not because they are very uncomfortable, and despatches were awful (although thats probably because Mt Olumpus staff are so bad.)

I love them! I never rode any of them, but they look cooler than SoB. I never rode SoB because the one chance I had was nixed by my dad who said that ride might scar seven year old Tyler Boes for life.

Because not riding a coaster is a GREAT way to know that you love it.

I rode them on youtube, and they look awesome.

(Shakes head sadly...)

There is no RMC re-tracked rides near my house. The closest one is Hades 360. My family doesn't want to drive that far to ride it. Oh, well. Hopefully Mean Streak gets the treatment.

I don't care what anyone says, if the track is made of steel beams, it's not a wood coaster. Rides like Outlaw Run are kind of a toss up, because the track has wood almost for the point of being cute. But Hades I think is a genuine looping wood coaster. That some of it is rough doesn't surprise me, given that most of the ride isn't new.

New Texas Giant is thought by RCDB to be a steely. It's also the 5th best steel coaster according to Golden Ticket. Click or Click

Iron Rattler is also considered a steely on RCDB. Click

Outlaw Run is considered wood, and so Hades 360 is also. I think this is appropriate because the tracks look different than the NTG and IR. Click

The part of Hades that has *always* been rough, IMO, was well beyond the section where the inversion has been installed. The few hundred feet of track where it was rough, just past the station fly-by on the return leg, has been a problem since my first rides about a decade ago, and was still very noticeable on the last trip in 2011. Was hoping they'd fix that while doing all the other work.....now sounds like that didn't happen.

Nobody cares, Tyler. We can all read other Web sites and still form our own opinion.

I might overlooking something, but I find interesting that this new generation of inversions on "wooden" coasters features no traditional loops, but rather, all roll or corkscrew-type elements. I don't know if the lingering SoB stink is that strong, but I'm curious to see whether we see that type of wooden inversion again.

Looking back at SOB I always felt that the loop didn't do anything for the ride. It was simply for bragging rights and visually it was pretty cool to look at. Once it was removed I didn't feel like anything was really missing.

Oh I did. The only rideable part of the ride went missing.

I don't know much about the physics of performing a loop, but it seems like the basic problem with a loop is getting enough energy to go completely around at a high enough speed without causing people to black out. Really there shouldn't be a lot of difference when you use wood track or steel track, but the way a train navigates that wood track does make a difference. The normal bounce and give you'd expect on a wooden coaster does not seem ideal for performing a loop.

Haven't not been on Hades, I really can't comment on the latest wood track inversion. If I were a park operator, I would watch to see how that ride holds up in the long run before deciding to do an inversion on wood track.

Performing a vertical loop on a wooden coaster wouldn't be difficult from a track navigation standpoint, since it's almost all positive Gs.

The superstructure for such an element is probably where the problem lies. Steel track can support itself and can therefore execute maneuvers without support coming from the top. Wooden coaster track requires support every step of the way, so to go upside-down it essentially has to be hung from the supporting structure above.

The loop on the SOB was the smoothest and one of the best parts. A nice relief from the rest of the coaster. The loop section was constructed out of just steel, no wood at all. Hence, the smooth the smooth element.

Iron Ratter's track and heartline roll is similar, no wood in the actual track. Just plasma cut steel, creating a smooth track and hopefully smooth elements. The new Texas Giant was 'smooth as glass', using the same all-steel track. Thus, I can't wait to ride the revived Rattler.

I surprised to see to that Outlaw Run and Hades using the wood-steel track on their heartline twists. It's really neat they did that, a bold move. But, as we know, wood gives a little bit or alot in some cases. I'll be curious to see how this track holds up.

Wood, being a natural building material is quirky. It shrinks, cracks, warps etc. Maintenance crews do their best to repair and/ or replace track. Steel on the other hand, is a man-made, free of defects. It's not going to bend, twist, or distort like wood would normally do. Also, Rocky Mountain's steel track is formed from plasma cut steel plates. No pipe bending here.

But, loops on "woodies", not to sure about this, being a traditionalist.

From what I recall, a vertical loop on a wooden coaster has to be a certain size because of the weight of the trains, and so therefore the height of the drop must be tall enough to get it through the loop.

Flips and rolls do not have that same problem. They use less energy to turn riders upside-down.

That's my uneducated explanation, anyways, probably very simplified.

LK, that's true for wood and steel coasters.

Son of Beast had traditional wooden rails supported by a steel structure for the loop.

Hades 360 has traditional wooden rails supported by a steel structure for the roll.

Outlaw Run has steel box beams in the, otherwise, traditional wooden rails.

Iron Rattler and New Texas Giant both have steel box track supported by existing wooden structure.

Yeah, the loop was the best and smoothest part of SOB. Home park and I rode it Media day morning and several versions after till it was unbearable then no more. The rose bowls were just no fun and thus the loop was a good break. I too wonder about the wooden heartline type coasters now with mostly wood substructure. How will they take the beating and hold up. I still would love to ride the new hybrids.