Why Is Magnum XL-200 So Rough

How can someone call Gemeni rough? And by the way it has no upstops.
As for Maggie it wouldnt "seem" rough it it wasn't for B&M and their smooth as glass coasters.
-----------------
Does CCI know how to make a bad coaster?
*** This post was edited by MagnumForce on 11/21/2001. ***

*** This post was edited by MagnumForce on 11/21/2001. ***

Dont ever put Riverside Cyclone and "sucks" in the same sentance!
-----------------

i never said that the riverside cyclone sucks. since they put the ptc's on it ,it has become very rough ecpecially on the second drop (by the street). when it had the morgans and the original 1st drop it was rough because the trains were not padded. since the ptc's are heavier and six flags doesn't grease the tracks it has become rough in a bad way (like the mean streak). the whole ride should be re-tracked by the two guys in montreal, who have a maintance contract with lake compounce.they usually use douglas fir for re-tracking.

Jeff and Dweaver say it like it is. B&M spoiled us rotten. (not a bad thing)Unfortuantley with them around, rides like Magnum, Shockwave, Gasm and other great Arrows are evil to some. I'd bet anything that if Walter and Claude, or Intamin never gave coasters a try that Shockwave would still have one of the longest lines in the park. It's exactly the same with Magnum.

-------------
You're mama told you that you're not supposed to talk to strangers. Look in the mirror, tell me do you think you're lifes in danger?-Ozzy
http://sfgamunoffical.tripod.com/template1.htm

I really enjoy a coaster that's a little rougher than normal. Psyclone at SFMM is no exception. Though it is so rough, it makes you feel in danger, and even made my girlfriend cry from fright. This is what a rollercoaster should do, envoke fear into the hearts of those who ride it.
-----------------
Bow Down to...The Sleeping Smiley!!
--_--zzZZzzz
(tm)

Amen, RagingBullGuy.

B&M is B&M.....smooth, wonderful rides. Love them, but.......

Arrow is not B&M. Variety is the spice of life. Sometimes I'd rather have a tooth chipper!

Liz
-------------
"The only real limit to height is what people are willing to get on." - Ron Toomer

Its Arrow, the coasters they design have a bad tendancy to get rough as they age

Like a few people mentioned... it depends on when you rode it. There have been some times this year were it was as smooth as glass, and there have been other days were it beat the crap out of me. And if you rode ejection seat(1:3) then your likely to find it more rough than say 2:1. Perhaps that is why I like it, it gives a different ride each time. As why it is number 1... For me to explain why it is number one... it would take several pages....

-------------
Andrew Hyde
http://www.experiencethepoint.com

no reason to explain.

Ok, first of all, I love Magnum, and have ridden it dozens and dozens of times. It always puzzled me how people always complain about Mean Streak being so rough, when Magnum routinely leaves bruises on my thighs, and my fingers tingling from the spine jolting it gives me. I usually start to hang on before the first tunnel, cuz the pretzel is a killer, and let go before the bunny hops so i can fly out of my seat and laugh my butt off. But I do really feel its not aging well, and the red devil train always finds me, hahaha.

Anyone on this post who finds Magnum "rough" is using the wrong terminology.

Arrow, the people who literally invented the modern steel coaster have made their rides to track well, run smoothly and last for decades. Their design and welding methods have been very successful within the amusement, space and aviation industry.

However, the computer technology they were using in the Mid Eighties and early Nineties was a little off, so what you may find "rough" is an underdeveloped transition. The undercarriage design on many of their rides is also slightly underdeveloped for Arrow has the tendency to space their guide and upstop wheels further from the track rails.
So when the coaster makes a transition, the wheels will bang in that direction as they guide the train along its designed course.

Also, since Arrow trailer many of their trains, you will find a unique "shuffel" while trotting along the track.

So, in a nutshell, the rides are not "rough" , they have violent transitions.

*** This post was edited by john peck on 11/24/2001. ***

Lance Baker said:
Please tell me why this ride is so rough. I liked it a lot, but it was so rough. I'm not sure how peoples think it is the Number 1 coaster.
-----------------
I Survived Millennium Force!
1.) Millennium Force 2.) Steel Eel 3.) Raptor 4.) Mantis 5.) Magnum XL-200

Because it sucks!!!!
Just Playing.
-----------------
YA DID!!!

*** This post was edited by gatorwoodie2 on 11/24/2001. ***

The Arrow / B&M comparisons just make me drool in anticipation of the rides of the future that will make the current B&M's seem as bad as the older Arrow's do now. They'll be spectacular!

That said, I never had a rough or uncomfortable ride on Magnum. Call me lucky, perhaps. Granted I've only been on it 40 or 50 times in the past 6 years but it's still one of (if not my top) favorite coasters.

Then again I never had a problem with Steel Phantom. Phantom's revenge is no doubt an incredible ride, but if they never changed it, I wouldn't have minded.

One final note, too. The oldest B&M's are now reaching the age of some of these "rough" Arrow coasters. The oldest one I've ridden was Kumba - this past February and I did encounter some headbanging. Nothing major but for a B&M I was a bit taken. Perhaps age has something to do with it regardless of manufacturer?

I was waiting to see what other people said before I threw my 2 cents in. If you want the simple answer John Peck gives the best reasoning.

I have ridden magnum in nearly every condition possible from extreme heat, wind, rain, cold, and sleet and to me its not a rough ride and I know how the trains act in each condition. I think I can be a bit bias becasue I have ridden it enough times subconciously my body knows how to react to the trasnitions.

I just think the most of the problems come in when the lapbars are down too low and people just get their thighs, and legs beat up becase of the bars. I normally don't have a problem with the bar becasue when I ride I cross my legs and try to keep them back under my seat.

-----------------
Daniel Haverlock
magnum count :2166
www.spiritofthepoint.com

A lot of people here are talking about 'transitions.' What transitions are you talking about? I think it is just a term that I haven't heard before. Could somebody define them please?

The transitions from element to element. Such as the track section between hills 2 and 3.
-----------------
Fighting for peace is like screwing for virginity.

Quailroberts said,

A lot of people here are talking about 'transitions.' What transitions are you talking about? I think it is just a term that I haven't heard before. Could somebody define them please?

A transition is the section of the track that slopes from the steepest point of the drop to the flat section.

Well, "transitions" are also at every point during the ride when the track goes from straight to curved, banked to unbanked, upward to downward. Coasters have hundreds of transitions, and some rides just handle them better than others. When I speak of an "underdeveloped transition", I essentially mean that the "transition" doesnt have the proper banking or pull out time that the train needs to maintain its momentum in a "smoother" force.

From what I have felt there aren't many on Magnum but the transitions that are there can be forceful depending on certain things like the wind and pressure on the trims. Now when I look at it I look at it from the second day of this season where I did 70 laps in 8 hours. My body wasn't in my midseason condition and there were several spots that really killed during the ride.

1. The pullout from the second drop through the first tunnel can be violent at times.

2. The pullout from the third drop up into the turnaround. Now if the trims are off this can be a rougher transition. I would imagine that in the first year of operation this would have been the worst transition due to the fact that the drop of the third hill went farther down to the ground. Now I didn't first ride Magnum until 1993 but from what I have heard from everyone that rode it in '89 said that it was the worst part of the ride (not to mention the trims were ontop of the third hill instead of their current position) and that 53 was the worst seat to be sitting in back in '89.

3. The third spot would be the pullout from the turnaround into the third tunnel. This is another rough spot becasue the track leading into the third tunnel isn't straight. That track section is somewhat banked and forgive me if I say this almost reminds me of a trick track.

4. The fourth rough transition that sometimes has strong laterals is the right hand turn leading to the final set of bunny hops (that provide maximum airtime jk)

-----------------
Daniel Haverlock
magnum count :2166
www.spiritofthepoint.com

Dan said:

3. The third spot would be the pullout from the turnaround into the third tunnel. This is another rough spot becasue the track leading into the third tunnel isn't straight. That track section is somewhat banked and forgive me if I say this almost reminds me of a trick track.

Did you mean the second tunnel? That one jerks you fast to the right out of the pretzel and then back to the left. I actually like it :)