simon8899 Posted December 14, 2011 Share Posted December 14, 2011 I rode the new Vekoma trains on the Boomerang "The Speed Of Sound" at Walibi Holland and it was a great ride - including an onboard sound-system. I'm also eager to check out the lapbar-only trains on the Vienna Prater Boomerang in Sept. 2012.... The MK-900 family coasters are also okay - at least the ones I rode so far. Next to that the Inverted Boomerangs are way better than the stnadard SLCs - wonder why... I think I've read something about that coasters were the wheels grip from inside - Arrow, Vekoma, Meisho, div. chinese - are by design rougher than coasters were the wheels grip from the outside. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bear92 Posted December 14, 2011 Share Posted December 14, 2011 I think I've read something about that coasters were the wheels grip from inside - Arrow, Vekoma, Meisho, div. chinese - are by design rougher than coasters were the wheels grip from the outside. How do you explain the perfectly smooth Intamin woodies then? And the rough Togo rides? One of Vekoma and Arrow's main problems was their train design; the zero car is located at the back, whereas Intamin and BM position their's at the front. This is so that the first car is almost completely rigid (it can yaw and the wheel assemblies move, but overall it is very restricted to support the rest of the train) so it can steer it's way around the track better. With the zero car at the back, the front end of the train constantly has to hunt for the track to steer it round the course properly, which gives the *BANG* sensation of hitting a tight turn at speed. This also would explain why the back car of most Vekoma loopers is so much smoother! Dammit Vekoma, turn your trains around! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rollin_n_coastin Posted December 14, 2011 Share Posted December 14, 2011 ^^Count Floyd rules! Whoot! I've found a Joe Flaherty/ SCTV fan. I thought no one would catch that After experiencing Disney Vekomas, I think they can really build some good stuff with the right guidance. As for their mainstream stuff, still prefer the boomerangs to the SLCs. Also love their mine trains. Oh, they've made some crazy and interesting loopers, if only because the rails aren't always parallel. I guess they've essentially continued on where Arrow left off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bryce232 Posted December 14, 2011 Share Posted December 14, 2011 Expedition Everest is one of my favorite roller coasters and I was shocked when I learned that it was made by Vekoma. Based on TPR's reviews, I am not looking forward to riding my first SLC or Boomerang. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schotcher Posted December 14, 2011 Share Posted December 14, 2011 Yeah, I rode my first SLC this summer, and I will never ride one again, as when I looked up at the side wheel on the brake run, I find that it was not touching the track. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cfc Posted December 14, 2011 Share Posted December 14, 2011 My first SLC was Kumali at Flamingoland in the UK, and it was good ride; then again, it wasn't a "standard issue" SLC. Everest is basically a variation on a Vekoma Mine Train (which are pretty good rides, overall). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
australianalex Posted December 14, 2011 Share Posted December 14, 2011 Expedition Everest is one of my favorite roller coasters and I was shocked when I learned that it was made by Vekoma. Based on TPR's reviews, I am not looking forward to riding my first SLC or Boomerang. Im not sure why everyones making them out to be so bad. I've ridden a rough SLC and survived and I'd do it again. To me at least, I didnt find an SLC bad enough to the point of being unrideable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cfc Posted December 14, 2011 Share Posted December 14, 2011 ^I guess if you can survive Lethal Weapon at Movie World, you can survive almost anything. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KDCOASTERFAN Posted December 14, 2011 Share Posted December 14, 2011 Vekoma has a rep of making uncomfortable-to-ride roller coasters. But, I really like that they are making improvements with the new restraints. Props to Vekoma for that. Having ridden carolina cobra back in august I can say that the new restraints are an improvement,if it weren't so hot on the day of my visit the ride probably would've been better...still vortex was far worse & that's a B&M!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cfc Posted December 14, 2011 Share Posted December 14, 2011 ^I agree that Carolina Cobra is better than Vortex. Stand-up coasters, with the exception of Riddler's Revenge and Georgia Scorcher, tend to be bad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KDCOASTERFAN Posted December 14, 2011 Share Posted December 14, 2011 ^I agree that Carolina Cobra is better than Vortex. Stand-up coasters, with the exception of Riddler's Revenge and Georgia Scorcher, tend to be bad. I find shockwave to be far smoother by comparison. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xChris125x Posted December 15, 2011 Share Posted December 15, 2011 Yeah, I rode my first SLC this summer, and I will never ride one again, as when I looked up at the side wheel on the brake run, I find that it was not touching the track. Most Arrows and Vekomas have the side wheels on the inside of the track and have a tolerance between the wheels and rail, meaning they are not forced to grip the track like Intamin or B&M wheels. This tolerance of the side wheels is generally responsible for the roughness found on these coasters in turns or inversions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
australianalex Posted December 15, 2011 Share Posted December 15, 2011 Yeah, I rode my first SLC this summer, and I will never ride one again, as when I looked up at the side wheel on the brake run, I find that it was not touching the track. Most Arrows and Vekomas have the side wheels on the inside of the track and have a tolerance between the wheels and rail, meaning they are not forced to grip the track like Intamin or B&M wheels. This tolerance of the side wheels is generally responsible for the roughness found on these coasters in turns or inversions. Does that mean that if different trains were installed it would fix the problem? Or is the track designed so only trains with that wheel type can run on it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KDCOASTERFAN Posted December 15, 2011 Share Posted December 15, 2011 Yeah, I rode my first SLC this summer, and I will never ride one again, as when I looked up at the side wheel on the brake run, I find that it was not touching the track. Most Arrows and Vekomas have the side wheels on the inside of the track and have a tolerance between the wheels and rail, meaning they are not forced to grip the track like Intamin or B&M wheels. This tolerance of the side wheels is generally responsible for the roughness found on these coasters in turns or inversions. Does that mean that if different trains were installed it would fix the problem? Or is the track designed so only trains with that wheel type can run on it? It's also a problem of poorly designed transitions leading into curves or complex inversions(a simple loop doesn't shift enough to be rough) such as on the Togo standups for instance. I've seen roughness on a couple intamin's & B&M's,not to mention the premier LIM bowls(pre lapbar) so having the wheels all gripping the track isn't the solution though it does play a role. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrSum1_55 Posted December 17, 2011 Share Posted December 17, 2011 One reason why I believe Vekoma never improved their SLC's was enough parks were willing to buy them. You can price a flash game at $2,000, and, as long as there is an idiot willing to buy it, it will get sold. With SLC's, small parks were in need of a star attraction, and Vekoma offered a cheap one for them. Now, while I do wonder why they did little to make them better over time, the only thing that matters is that they created a design that some parks are willing to buy. Besides, more SLC's have been sold than B&M inverts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanks4me05 Posted December 17, 2011 Share Posted December 17, 2011 Let's see my track record of Vekomas: Boomerangs: Boomerang, DL Sidewinder, HP Boomerang, Great Escape Zoomerang, Lake Compounce Flashback, SFNE The Bat, CW SLCs: Mind Eraser, DL Mind Eraser, SFNE Mind Eraser, SFA Flight Deck, CW Miscellaneous: Rock 'n' Roller Coaster, WDW Flying Unicorn/Flight of the Hippogriff, IOA Okeechobee Rampage, Cypress Gardens (went in 2007) Swamp Thing, Cypress Gardens (went in 2007) Silver Streak, CW To be honest, I actually had a lot of fun on most of them (I *LOVE* Boomerangs, and most of the SLC's were good as well.) Are they rough? Yeah, a little, the SLC's more so. But most of them are still well within my tolerable range of roughness, so I accept it, try to anticipate the turns, and have a good time. Their rides really are awesome and intense, and from what I have heard (haven't gone on one yet, I will next year when I revisit HP) their new trains are a lot better. They have always made good rides, and luckily they now heartline everything and have used more comfortable trains. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KDCOASTERFAN Posted December 17, 2011 Share Posted December 17, 2011 One reason why I believe Vekoma never improved their SLC's was enough parks were willing to buy them. You can price a flash game at $2,000, and, as long as there is an idiot willing to buy it, it will get sold. With SLC's, small parks were in need of a star attraction, and Vekoma offered a cheap one for them. Now, while I do wonder why they did little to make them better over time, the only thing that matters is that they created a design that some parks are willing to buy. Besides, more SLC's have been sold than B&M inverts. And just look at the queue times for most of those SLC's as an example of why vekoma never modified the design.....people were riding after all & not really complaining about the roughness in the same way we enthusiasts do.After all the manufacturer's don't design their products around what we,the enthusiasts want but instead they base their products on what the park's want. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The49er Posted December 18, 2011 Share Posted December 18, 2011 My Vekoma list: Gadget's Go Coaster @ DLR Space Mountain @ DLR I have still yet to try a GIB (thanks, SFNE!), an Invertigo (thank you, Dorney!), an SLC, or a Boomerang. Out of the 6 Vekomas in CA that I haven't been on, there are 3 Roller Skaters, 2 Boomerangs, and 1 SLC... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarienLaker Posted December 18, 2011 Share Posted December 18, 2011 The only Vekoma coaster i've rode are Chaos (from the now-defunct Opryland park), Boomerang, and Mind Eraser both at Darien Lake and I had some great times riding them even if Vekoma built coasters were the only coasters left on Earth! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cfc Posted December 18, 2011 Share Posted December 18, 2011 (edited) I had some great times riding them even if Vekoma built coasters were the only coasters left on Earth! I'm having trouble decoding this sentence. So, if Vekoma coasters were the last coasters on Earth, you'd enjoy them? Edited December 18, 2011 by cfc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
molemaster43 Posted December 18, 2011 Share Posted December 18, 2011 WHY DO I HATE VEKOMA COASTERS? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cfc Posted December 18, 2011 Share Posted December 18, 2011 ^No need to SHOUT young man. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CorkscrewFoley Posted December 18, 2011 Share Posted December 18, 2011 Expedition Everest is one of my favorite roller coasters and I was shocked when I learned that it was made by Vekoma. Based on TPR's reviews, I am not looking forward to riding my first SLC or Boomerang. Since you've never been on a boomerang or an SLC, for me, my first times were in the front. You can see what's coming, and ride defensively. While most rag on the SLCs, I thoroughly enjoy them, alot of feet choppers in one ride. You'll be fine, Bryce. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CorkscrewFoley Posted December 18, 2011 Share Posted December 18, 2011 ^No need to SHOUT young man. Chuck, it's alright. He's probably not ready to come out of the Vekoma Kloset. I'm still battling with it myself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kcjensen Posted December 18, 2011 Share Posted December 18, 2011 I always thought that RnRC at WDW and Disney Paris were a Vekoma LSM clone, the same as Xpress at Walibi Holland? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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