Jump to content
  TPR Home | Parks | Twitter | Facebook | YouTube | Instagram 

The B&M Rattle Directory


Recommended Posts

With all of the reports lately of many B&M coasters rattling, I thought an unofficial listing should be compiled. So if you would be so kind, please list the B&M coasters where you've experienced the rattle. Please also share the "non-rattlers," especially if you see them on the list of "rattlers". I'll keep track of the number of people who have rattled and those who haven't on each coaster. Once more data is obtained, I'll sort them by percentage of rattle reports. Thanks in advance everyone for the help!

 

Also, you can use this SurveyMonkey survey to record your responses. LINK

 

EDIT (12/2/14):

Data has been removed until the final report is released. Information is still welcome!

Edited by GwaziBSRider1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Replies 116
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

This isn't going to work, all B&Ms rattle on some days, and on some days they don't. The exception is new ones who are usually spared for a couple of years. It's all about the maintenance, and when it's done.

Edited by _koppen
Link to comment
Share on other sites

With all of the reports lately of many B&M coasters rattling, I thought an unofficial listing should be compiled. So if you would be so kind, please list the B&M coasters where you've experienced the rattle. Please also share the "non-rattlers," especially if you see them on the list of "rattlers". I'll keep track of the number of people who have rattled and those who haven't on each coaster. Once more data is obtained, I'll sort them by percentage of rattle reports. Thanks in advance everyone for the help!

 

The List

Alpengeist - Busch Gardens Williamsburg [Rattle - 1]

Apollo's Chariot - Busch Gardens Williamsburg [Rattle - 1]

Great Bear - Hersheypark [Rattle - 1]

 

I don't think any of these rattle (and we rode them all in multiple seats just this year). Nitro only rattles in Train C and I think that's fixed. That's not really a "B&M Rattle" though, just Six Flags maintenance.

 

The B&M rattle doesn't bother me much. Even on the coasters with an insane amount of rattling (Diamondback and Hydra for example) they're still pretty smooth rides compared to most of what's out there. Plus, very few B&M's rattle in the front so if it does bother you then there's an easy solution in most cases. Hydra is probably the only one I can think of that rattles in every car but it's really not a big deal.

 

Anyway I'm going to sit back and patiently wait for someone to complain about Kumba or Raptor being rough now so I can laugh at them.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Raging Bull has a slight B&M rattle throughout the ride. It's not painful, but it is noticeable and slightly irritating. I personally find the rattle more annoying than the trims. Also, something must have happened to Kraken since I last rode it because I rode Kraken a bunch of times and never noticed a rattle.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It is true that on some coasters it is consistent and hard to keep track of. For example, I rode Dominator in 2011, and the rattle was one of the worst I had experienced on any B&M. Then, I came back the very next year to find that the rattle was gone. I had heard that they replaced the wheels over that offseason, but I cannot confirm this.

 

Several other B&M's can be very hit or miss, as well. I have gotten both amazing and bad rides on Scream, Riddler's Revenge, and even Mantis.

 

Some others I feel are only perceived as rough due to the snappy transitions. Batman, Flight Deck, Raptor, and Alpengiest most come to mind for this category. (Alpie's transition into the MCBR is probably B&M's worst transition on any of their 'big' rides in my opinion)

Edited by MrSum1_55
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Nitro's was so bad for me that it wasn't rerideable.

 

If you get another chance to ride it please do... I'm almost 100% positive you were riding in Train C and I believe that was a wheel issue that's since been fixed. That train jackhammered through the entire course especially near the back of the train.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I remember when visiting Mirabilandia back in 2005 they were running two trains on Katun. One of the trains gave super-smooth rides, while the other one had a quite significant rattle. While other rides may be more consistent when it comes to rattling, a lot of it comes down to individual train maintenance.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Nitro's was so bad for me that it wasn't rerideable.

 

If you get another chance to ride it please do... I'm almost 100% positive you were riding in Train C and I believe that was a wheel issue that's since been fixed. That train jackhammered through the entire course especially near the back of the train.

 

Yeah from what I hear, all three trains are fine now. From what I hear the A Train rattles a little more than the other trains do now but it's nothing like how it used to be. I've also found that Dragon Challenge and Incredible Hulk both have slight rattles to them. It was nothing uncomfortable though, plus those rides run pretty much everyday all year so it's understandable.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I've also found that Dragon Challenge and Incredible Hulk both have slight rattles to them. It was nothing uncomfortable though, plus those rides run pretty much everyday all year so it's understandable.

 

I visited IoA in september and Chinese Fireball was smooth as glass, even in the backseat. Hungarian Horntail had a very small rattle, but still very smooth. Incredible Hulk had somewhat more of a rattle to it..

Link to comment
Share on other sites

This B&M rattle trend of discussion has gone too far. Nylon/polyurethane wheels as they wear down, get warm, cool off, or sit in one place for a long time are going to affect the smoothness of a ride. An empty versus full train is also going to affect smoothness. There are a variety of factors at work. Some the park can control, some the park can't.

 

A great example of this is GateKeeper. A warm mid-season day, where the trains are full and wheels are running constantly with daily operation, will give way to glass smooth rides in any seat. You ride in a half-full train on a chilly Friday night during HalloWeekends after GK sat most of the week with few cycles since last Sunday, and you will feel the difference.

 

Some B&Ms, like stand-ups run on the rougher side, but in general you can rely on 95% of them or more to give a comfortable ride. Also, to not expect some small vibrations when a huge amount of different forces are exerted on the train is pretty ignorant. Unless you have all brand new wheels in perfect weather, expect to feel some personality to each coaster from every manufacturer.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks to all who have helped so far. Every coaster that has been mentioned has been put into a spreadsheet on my computer. So, if you don't see something of yours on the first post, don't worry, I have it.

 

To those complaining:

Yes, it's not going to be 100% accurate. Yes, every coaster runs differently on different days and depending on numerous factors. This is simply stemmed from curiosity from all of the people mentioning the rattle. I thought it would be an interesting way to see if there are any trends. I'm not going to send this to B&M or any parks, and I'm not going to use this as any sort of "tool" to blast B&M or any parks. It's simply an experiment.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hair Raiser's rattle is unbearable! Roughest steel coaster I've ever been on, and I've been on SFStL Ninja!

Wow that's very surprising!

 

Out of the coasters (or some) that have been mentioned, I can say that I never got any rattle on Raptor, great bear and hydra. I got some rattle on nitro (don't know which train) a year ago in the back seat on the bottom of the first drop, mantis was just rough and green lantern was sort of rough (not bad near the front). Gatekeeper had a nasty rattle closer to the back on the outside seats.

 

Like some have already said, it depends on a variety of factors including maintenance. This September I went to parque warner Madrid and superman had some rattle closer to the back but nothing too bad (I noticed it because we pay more attention to these things than most people) except for the exit of the first corkscrew where the hole train shook a bit (especially the back). The behaviour was consistent on my 20 rides throughout the day (it was warm and they were running two trains) while batman was silky smooth.

I get the impression that inverts are the coasters which seem to age the best. Take the case of SFGAdv's BTR: it was 20 years old when I rode it a year ago and it was amazingly smooth. I would say that the "least smooth" invert I've been on was talon which was still very nice, but all the others were perfect.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Obviously as many have said, coaster have their good days and their bad days, so this list is not 100% perfect.

 

From my personal experiences:

 

Wildfire has a noticeably bad rattle. It's been this way all season.

SheiKra - No rattle.

Kumba - Slight rattle.

Montu - No rattle.

Incredible Hulk - Slight rattle.

Dragon Challenge - Rattle.

Raptor - Rattle.

Mantis - Rattle.

Nitro - Rattle.

Batman SFOT - Rattle.

Goliath SFFT - VERY slight rattle.

Superman Krypton Coaster - Very noticeable rattle.

 

(I think that is all for now. I'm sure I will come up with more in time.)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I haven't been on a B&M that didn't have a slight rattle so far. Even the new ones like Manta had something slightly.

 

I have been on:

Kraken

Manta

Hulk

Dueling Dragons

Hydra

Bizarro

Talon

Batman the ride

Superman

Green Lantern

Batman the Dark Knight

Nitro

 

The ones with the most rattle would be Duelings Dragons Ice and Batman The Dark Knight. But they are still super smooth.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.

×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

Terms of Use https://themeparkreview.com/forum/topic/116-terms-of-service-please-read/