Will B&M ever top the charts?

[tarheel1231]

I wonder if B&M is going through a renaissance right now. Banshee some-what restored interest in B&M again, so maybe they will continue to make great rides. Either that, or Banshee was a one time thing. I just hope it's the former.

[gerstlaueringvar]

I don't get it either, B&M coasters are smooth for the 90s even though there are Schwarzkopf coasters that are even smoother. For today's standard, they aren't among the smoothest anymore. Premier, Intamin, Gerstlauer, Mack, S&S etc are pushing their technology and making smoother ride while B&M is still using the same technique on track manufacturing. Their new train designs just aren't as good as the old ones IMO. Plus seems like the majority of B&M coasters would get horrible rattle if the wheels aren't being changed often.

Pretty sure that'd be the case for any coaster

From the feedback of Ocean Kingdom, they spent a lot of money on keeping Parrot Coaster smooth, they change wheels very often. Same thing don't happen on Intamin coasters that much. B&M wheels don't even touch anything on storage track while Intamin coasters are on their wheels all the time. I remember Tranan didn't change the wheels for two years!

 

I still think B&M is for the 90s. Back then Arrow coasters' wheels are hitting the track, B&M's bogie, track design etc made their coasters low maintenance, smooth and reliable. But nowadays probably no coat hanger is being produced anymore and every manufacturer is using better engineered trains. B&M fell from the best in the world to "one of the best" showed that they aren't making enough progress.

[rcjp]

^I wonder if there is some sort of problem with B&M's wing coasters as the roughness reports on those ones seem a lot more often than on other types (given how new they all are).

[IronWolfman]

^I think that it is because of the seats being over the side themselves, which means all the weight of the riders is put onto a bar extending back into the chassis instead of it going straight into the chassis itself like normal coasters. The bar that supports the seat is going to be shaky at higher g-forces since the weight isn't put directly into the main chassis/wheel boogies, because the bar has less support than normal coasters. Sorry if it sounds like I have no idea of what I'm talking about, this worked out a lot better in my head haha.

[rcjp]

^Yeah, I suppose it makes some sense. The problem is that there isn't a lot to compare them to. The only intamin wing coaster is very rough and it uses a single beam that holds all seats. B&M went for a more complex solution but it still doesn't seem to work perfectly.

[coasterbill]

Anyone who thinks B&M wing coasters are rough in any way, shape or form is insane. Those rides couldn't be any smoother.

[FaithPlus1]

Anyone who thinks B&M wing coasters are rough in any way, shape or form is insane. Those rides couldn't be any smoother.

 

I agree

[beenagins87]

Anyone who thinks B&M wing coasters are rough in any way, shape or form is insane. Those rides couldn't be any smoother.

 

I've been on 2 of the 3 us Wingriders [ Wild Eagle & X-Flight] and I agree they are glass smooth, the restrains though were a bit tight at times, especially on Wild Eagle.

[Paradox]

I had no problems with Wild Eagle's restraints at all.

[gerstlaueringvar]

Anyone who thinks B&M wing coasters are rough in any way, shape or form is insane. Those rides couldn't be any smoother.

Try Parrot Coaster and you'll be insane.

[rcjp]

Anyone who thinks B&M wing coasters are rough in any way, shape or form is insane. Those rides couldn't be any smoother.

The fact is I got some pretty shaky rides on gatekeeper closer to the back. Yes, I know, I could just sit near the front then, but you shouldn't need to do that with a brand new ride. It might not have been RCCA rough (or anything near) but those rides were way rougher than 20 year old raptor standing nearby (which I thought was silky smooth, like the BTRs I've been on). It wouldn't be so bad if the restraints weren't so tight because they seem to glue you to the seat and so you vibrate along with the train which gave me a mild headache (something I had never experienced on any other B&M).

So they might not be very rough but certainly not as smooth as most B&M (some of which are two decades old) that's why I find it odd. If you look at the B&M rattle poll done recently you could see that, given their age, wing coasters weren't doing so well. I mean, I didn't agree with every single thing those results showed but I guess this must say something.

Out of curiosity, in the 90's, did any B&M apart from the standups have any sort of rattle when they opened?

[Manic Monte]

For me, B&M's best coaster type right now remains their dive coaster. And if a park ever decides to take one to 300ft, they've got a shot at the top spot imo. I'm just waiting on Knotts to pull the trigger!

[canadianparkfan]

^Or Canada's Wonderland!

[Ed Farmer]

Will B&M ever top the charts?

Does Billboard have a category for Lullaby songs?

 

*ducks*

 

Kidding, but it is a bit of a bummer to compare many post-2000 designs to most of what they've done in the '90s. There have been a few promising signs of life- Banshee, and IMO their Speed/Mega/Hypercoasters among others, so there is that.

[dippindotsguy8]

I don't think so, at least with their current style. I'm sure they're going to keep doing well with parks though, as they are very good at creating reliable, smooth attractions that the majority of guests will like.

 

If only they were still building stuff like they did in the 90s. I just rode Kumba and Montu for the first time in 10 years this week. They still are better rides than a lot of what is out there today. Having ridden both fairly close together, Montu kicks even Banshee's ass at nearly 20 years old.

 

*Banshee is still a great ride though! Its the closest to a "return to form" that I've seen from them in awhile.

[thrillseeker4552]

From the look of things, I don't think B&M will ever "top the charts" again, but that doesn't mean they won't do well as a business. 5 years ago, B&M strictly had 7 types of coasters. They have since expanded their product line, introducing the wing coaster, the launch coaster, the family coaster, and who knows...maybe we'll see a wooden coaster one day.

 

They will definitely do well with parks for many more years to come.

[Invertalon]

I am in the minority, I am sure, but B&M makes up most of my top 10 for steel coasters... Including some of their newer stuff (Gatekeeper, Leviathan, Silver Bullet, X-Flight, Manta, Banshee, etc...)

 

I don't have the most diverse coaster collection (mid 200's) but I always love the B&M's I ride... I do prefer the old model inverts (Raptor, Talon, Great Bear) over the newer Banshee style with it's flowy, non-snappy transitions though. The speed/hypers are getting better though IMO with rides like Leviathan... I can't wait for Fury this year... I have no doubt it will be a top ride for me.

 

The wing coasters are just a blast for me... I love them. I have been on all three in the US and will for sure get to Holiday World next year for theirs... X-Flight remains my top pick, followed by Gatekeeper and finally Wild Eagle.

 

I like Intamin as well, but their new stuff does not appeal to me with the excessively intense, "twisty" designs like Intimidator 305 and Sky Rush. I miss the stuff they used to do around the 2000's with Expedition Ge-Force, SROS @ SFNE, Goliath, etc... Those layouts appeal to me far more. Just my preference though!

[ArizonaGuy]

They've already topped someone's chart.....a few times over I'm sure. The discussion is rather subjective. They've done well for themselves. B&M may not build as many coasters as intamin or other manufacturers in a single year but I'm sure as hell they make a lot more money a year than most of the other manufacturers.

 

Cedar Fair sure thinks highly of B&M so I guess that's one chart already topped.

 

Just my take on it.

[rcjp]

^Actually, in recent years, B&M has been building quite a few more (adult) coasters than intamin.

[GwaziBSRider1]

^Actually, in recent years, B&M has been building quite a few more (adult) coasters than intamin.

 

I was skeptical of this at first, but after checking RCDB, I realized you're right. I was surprised to see that, but even more surprised to see that there's only one Intamin scheduled (so far) for next year.

[rcjp]

^Assuming it does open next year. I mean, I haven't heard of anything about the construction so far and given its size I guess it'll take a while.

[ArizonaGuy]

 

For 2014:

Mack - 11

Vekoma - 11

Zamperla - 9

Intamin - 7

B&M - 5

Zierer - 4

Gravity Group - 2

RMC - 2

S&S - 2

GCI - 0

 

I was just going off this previous post not thinking about 2015.

B&M is pretty well off and still my favorite coaster manufacturer in terms of looks, feel, and reliability. I don't spend too much time judging it's forces. As long as the ride is fun, they're at the top of the charts for me.

I do think however they need to step up their game in layout design. They got quite a bit "cookie cutter" with very similar layouts and the interlocking corkscrews have been over done a bit. But I guess at the end of the day it's what their customers want so.....

[prozach626]

I am in the minority, I am sure, but B&M makes up most of my top 10 for steel coasters... Including some of their newer stuff (Gatekeeper, Leviathan, Silver Bullet, X-Flight, Manta, Banshee, etc...)

 

I don't have the most diverse coaster collection (mid 200's) but I always love the B&M's I ride...

 

No offense at all, but that's the first time I've ever seen anyone of your experience with Silver Bullet in their top 10, haha. Also don't sell yourself short. 200+ coasters is a pretty impressive count. People sh*t when I tell them I've been on 150ish.

 

I do think however they need to step up their game in layout design. They got quite a bit "cookie cutter" with very similar layouts and the interlocking corkscrews have been over done a bit. But I guess at the end of the day it's what their customers want so.....

 

I have agreed with all of your posts in this thread. I really think B&M is trying to step up their game. Maybe not in giant leaps and bounds like a lot of the critics would like, but if you look at at Banshee, Thunderbird, and Fury, they are making some more aggressive design changes.

[ArizonaGuy]

^^

Yup I agree. Slowly but surely we'll see some good design updates from them. B&M pushes the envelope a little more slowly than other companies. I guess that's why they don't have to retrack or take out elements on a new coaster cause of design flaws. They pretty much deliver a reliable product in one shot.

[Superbatboy]

I'd love for B&M to try their hand at building rides without long and drawn out elements, seems like B&M did some of their best work when they had extreme height (Nemesis) or extreme space (original Batman) restrictions.

 

I'd also love to see them try their hand at building a ride the size of Lightning Run, Alpina Blitz, the Mega-Lites etc;

 

I guess it's safe to assume as long as parks are willing to pay >20 million for a single coaster we won't be seeing that anytime soon from them