bill_s Posted July 28, 2014 Share Posted July 28, 2014 I like SLCs; back in the day I really liked them. Evaluating them fairly requires some context of when they were designed. B&M did come out with their first inverts first, but they were not well known yet. To myself and others I knew, we wanted to see bigger, badder, meaner coasters. The word was not yet out that an intense ride did not have to be rough, and that making it smoother allowed you to enjoy the intensity that remained. Vekoma just was giving parks what they asked for, back when B&M was still trying to convince most of them to do something different. They are also impressive designs, even if you don't care for the results. 5 inversions crammed into a small space for a somewhat reasonable amount of money. There's even a nice little airtime hump after the pretzel. The 2-wide format is superior to B&M's 4 wide, although the capacity makes it more suited to less ambitious, lower priced designs. The length of the trains also results in a large variation of ride depending on seat, with the front row feeling like driven by demons at times, although those apt to complain of roughness should not choose the end seats. Boomerangs are also pretty cool, but I strongly prefer the SLC. I rode Batwing twice, unfortunately back-to-back. Must have liked the first time around enough, but felt really sick afterwords. More a novelty coaster I think. The best SLC is probably Fly! the Great Nor'easter at Morey's Piers in NJ. I haven't ridden it for about 12 years so haven't tried the new vest restraints; this is the only SLC with them. It is also the top ride there, so it is well maintained. The setting is amazing -- all 5 inversions face out over the ocean. As one of the most ambitious rides ever to be constructed on a beach, it is without compare. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tarheel1231 Posted July 29, 2014 Share Posted July 29, 2014 I'm not a fan Carolina Cobra and Carowinds is my home park. Lol. I'm not that tall, so headbanging is an issue. Probably my reason for disliking it. Nighthawk is decent, but it's still rough. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheDark8 Posted August 1, 2014 Share Posted August 1, 2014 I'm not a fan Carolina Cobra and Carowinds is my home park. Lol. I'm not that tall, so headbanging is an issue. Probably my reason for disliking it. Nighthawk is decent, but it's still rough. Cobra is one of the better boomerangs. How does headbanging occur with vest restraints? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
julioot Posted August 1, 2014 Share Posted August 1, 2014 Did you guys catch THIS news? Vekoma has included a new coaster design in their catalogs, the single car racing launch coaster is a small dueling family roller coaster. That launches 4 person cars at 60 km ph over a 450 to 460 meter long track. In other News: Vekoma had a loss of 2 million euros over 2013. While their sales volume went up from 47 to 80 million euro. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jcoaster Posted August 1, 2014 Share Posted August 1, 2014 Imagine Vekoma trying their hands at a Hypercoaster? I noticed they never attempted that design. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rcjp Posted August 1, 2014 Share Posted August 1, 2014 ^I actually would like to see that. We complain so much about their rides but lately they haven't really built anything bad, have they? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gerstlaueringvar Posted August 2, 2014 Share Posted August 2, 2014 Vekoma hyper coasters sounds great if it is not as boring as Human side of Battlestar Galactica. Actually I think one of the Chinese parks already planned it because Vekoma signed like a million contracts with those parks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coasterkid124 Posted August 2, 2014 Share Posted August 2, 2014 I find that some SLCs are decent but some are extremely painful. I really enjoy Boomerangs but the headbanging can ruin some of them. Darien Lake has both but they are sort of like the opposite to other parks. Their Boomerang is really enjoyable with virtually no headbanging. However their SLC is the most painful that I've been on especially near the back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lbeeler Posted August 2, 2014 Share Posted August 2, 2014 I will say I'm excited about T3 (SLC) at KK coming back next season. hopefully it gets reworked for a smoother ride because it was a head banger lol . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jcoaster Posted August 2, 2014 Share Posted August 2, 2014 Vekoma hyper coasters sounds great if it is not as boring as Human side of Battlestar Galactica. Actually I think one of the Chinese parks already planned it because Vekoma signed like a million contracts with those parks. I agree, you can't quote me on this since I haven't rode the Human Side of Battlestar Galactica but it looks as dull as they come from the ride footage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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