Which is worse, Arrow or Vekoma?

[Guest]

Most of the Arrow coasters ive been on I really like (Shockwave, GASM, Vortex, Lochness Monster, Demon). The only Vekoma's I really like are DejaVu which im not really going to count as a positive for Veko and some that are meh that WED/WDI made really good. Plus most Vekomas are far rougher than Arrows and the SLCs and Boomerangs are just flat out awful.

[Jumboshrmp]

I didn't vote in the poll because I don't have enough experience with either of their rides to really contribute. (I can't stand people who say "I voted A or B because I watched some POVs and they look rougher")

 

Vekoma coasters I've been on:

 

Rock 'n' Roller Coaster. Amazing ride, not rough at all.

 

Expedition Everest. Another Amazing ride, and VERY smooth.

 

A few kiddy coasters, which are usually not extremely smooth, but the lack of OTSRs makes this not a problem.

 

Arrow:

Python at BGT (sadly it's now gone).

I actually liked this ride.

I loved how the corkscrews were a continuous roll, unlike the B&M "snap corkscrews" (which I still like).

But, I waited about 45 minutes due to 1 train operation. This was a month after Sheikra first opened and I never waited more than 20 minutes for anything else.

 

Really, the only thing anyone can accomplish with this poll is voting on which company has built more coasters that have given you a rough ride.

Neither company is "worse".

[Killwize]

Well not being a stinker, I would to say I like Arrow better. The last Arrow roller coaster I rode (Viper, sfMM) was still awesome even after so many years. I think Arrow has contributed more to the 'coaster scene' anyway.

 

Witch one is rougher? Can't say.

[duffgun]

I remember ridding a Boomerang a few years back and i got my head banged so hard my glasses fell off, I have never been hurt so badly on a roller coaster before. I love the first drop on the Pepsi Max and i also like the Revolution which has a very intense loop backwards it was also fairly smooth so i think Arrow are better. The only Vekoma i have really liked was Rock 'n' Roller Coaster although Infusion wasn’t to bad for a SLC but was a bit rough. You also can’t really compare the newer Vekoma rides as Arrow are not around to compete.

[Bolliger&Mabillard]

Vekoma is worse. They're both rough as sh*t, but at least Arrow's are always open.

[monsterfan99]

Vekoma even if just for awful the SLC. The two at MI Adventure and SFKK just hurt...a lot. I also find their flying coaster to just suck.

[cal1br3tto]

I'm having way too much trouble deciding. I've been on coasters by both companies that were unsurprisingly rough (but none were too bad, not even stereotypically rough ones like Kong), and ones that were surprisingly smooth (Wild Waves' Wild Thing--supposedly extremely rough, but actually very smooth, with only a painless hint of banging near the end).

However, I prefer Vekoma. I don't care for any of the Arrows I've ridden, but GIBs and Invertigos are great in my book.

[xVicesAndVirtues]

I really can't vote on this one, because I don't consider Vekoma or Arrow "bad".

 

I think a decent Arrow or Vekoma is appropriate for a park and really adds to the park's coaster collection. Think of Cedar Point, minus Magnum, Gemini, Corkscrew, Cedar Creek Mine Ride, and Iron Dragon, Great Adventure without GASM and Runaway Train, or Animal Kingdom without Everest. Better yet, think of Busch Gardens Williamsburg without Loch Ness Monster and Big Bad...err...nevermind. (too soon?)

 

Basically, my point is, we've all been beaten up by a few coasters every now and then, but I really don't mind a little "defensive riding" to get to experience something else a park has to offer. My only exception would be some SLCs...which are nearly impossible to avoid the pain on...yet, I've even been on a smooth SLC at SFA.

 

I love my B&Ms as much as the next person, but sometimes I even prefer the random, unique layouts of some Arrows and Vekomas to "loop, dive loop, zero g roll, cobra roll, interlocking flat spins".

[CorkscrewFoley]

I can't decide either. I like both Arrow and Vekoma. I've been on as many Arrows as I have Vekomas, and honestly, the only Vekoma I didn't like was Head Spin, erm...Carolina Cobra with the ugly old trains. I've never found their SLCs to be rough, but maybe I have a high tolerance to pain when it comes to riding.

[themeparkman25]

Basically, my point is, we've all been beaten up by a few coasters every now and then, but I really don't mind a little "defensive riding" to get to experience something else a park has to offer.

 

See I would disagree with that. I rather enjoy sitting back and enjoying the coaster for what it is worth, meaning sitting back and "relaxing". I don't think it is the riders responsibility to ride defensively especially when they don't necessarily know what they are getting in to.

 

Moral of the story: Coasters should be fun and the rider should be focusing on that, not on how to prevent their ears from bleeding.

[B-RadG]

Honestly I have no opinion. I love Arrows. I don't care if it's not as smooth as a B&M. The one Vekoma I've been on is considered one of the worst (Sidewinder) but I found it to be smoother than a lotta coasters.

Honestly I could care less how rough it is. I just don't like roughness on wooden coasters cause it's constant. Arrows and Vekomas just have one or two spots where you scream a very naughty word into the sky and be done with it.

[Coasterfusion]

This is a tough question because both have coasters which are extremely rough and both have coasters that seem to break down a lot.

 

If I had to choose I would have to say Arrow because of X....

 

Don't get me wrong it's an awesome ride but that's what put them out of business...

[themeparkman25]

^But that didn't have to do with the roughness of the coaster, that was a design flaw in the weight of the trains and the undersupporting of the track. With that, I don't know if that is a valid reason ahaha.

[CreditCrazy]

Depends what kind of coaster...I'd say a Vekoma Boomerang with Vekoma trains is smoother than an Arrow Looper like Viper, Vortex, or Demon. Arrow mine trains a suspended coasters are smooth though, and SLC's are horribly rough. BUT...Vekoma's kiddie coasters and mine trains are smooth and Arrow's 4D is really rough. So I dunno..I'd say Arrow's are more enjoyable (I definitely like the company OVERALL better) but the rides that they do make rough are ROUGH and most of Vekoma's coasters pretty much average out somewhere in the middle imo.

[RedSpecial]

I had a feeling the motorbikes would get into this. They are Vekomas only redeeming ride if you ask me.

 

Why all the stick for Vekoma ? - I'd say you need to visit Flamingoland - North Yorkshire and ride Kumali - it's an excellent coaster and no way can be described as rough in any way and yes they have a bikes coaster from Vekoma as well and the only remaining Arrow Corkscrew in the UK. I'd agree that Corkscrew can be a little rough but I can't keep my youngest daughter off the thing every time we visit this park - so I'd say each to their own. If you have an under ten year old wanting to ride an Arrow multiple times never complaining of a rough ride I'm not sure what that says about other hardened riders here?

 

Getting back to Kumali; it's a great Vekoma that has been running for more than a few years now and seems to be getting better with age - always impressed just how low this ride gets to the ground - Flamingoland is my local park and hoping they get another new addition to their coaster line up - I'd not say no if they went for yet another Vekoma at some point.

[Coasterfusion]

The only ride that I do not like from Vekoma is Ninja at Six Flags Over Georgia. So rough!

 

If you take a look at their newest rides, they seem to be pretty good. Has anyone heard of their newest concept, StingRay....

[themeparkman25]

Steve Irwin is having is revenge, the concept (so far) is a flop and doesn't work/isn't operating at this time. At least according to Robb a few days ago.

 

>>Too soon?

[Canobie Coaster]

I voted for Arrow.

 

Of the Arrow loopers I've been on (Canobie's Corkscrew, Steamin' Demon, & Anaconda), all had some headbanging. The Corkscrew and Steamin' Demon just had one or two rough transitions coming in and out of the corkscrews, while the Anaconda was just plain painful for that entire second half.

 

The Vekomas I've been on actually haven't been that bad. Rock 'n' Roller Coaster is pretty darn smooth and 3/4 boomerangs I've been on (Flashback, Sidewinder, and Great Escape's Boomerang) have been on the smooth side. Heck, even SFNE's SLC wasn't all that bad in my opinion. Only Lake Compounce's Zoomerang was bad in my opinion during that cobra roll.

[PKI Jizzman]

Arrows:

Matterhorn - So much fun! A little bumpy..

Vortex (KI) - Love it

Adventure Express - Awesome

Big Thunder Mtn RR's - Great

Carolina Cyclone - Meh...

Magnum - It's good

Gemini - <3

Flight Deck KI - Awesome

Cyclone at Dreamworld - Good stufff

Road Runner Express - Loved it!

Tennessee Tornado - Yummyyy

 

Vekoma:

Boomerang SFFT - Smooth!

Rock 'n Roller Coaster - Really fun

Borg/Nighthawk - Great stuff

Firehawk - fun? rough...uncomfortable

Lethal Weapon - SLC was badddd..

 

Arrows are better than Vekoma in my book. But I haven't been on many.

[Cygnus12]

I think that Vekoma sitdown coasters seem to be smoother than Arrows. Boomerangs that don't use the original trains seem to be smooth as glass actually. SLC's however are just awful! The SLC's alone made me choose Vekoma as the rougher of the two.

[andre8]

I've only been on 2 Vekomas (Boomerang at SFFT and SFDK) and 1 Arrows. (Canyon Blaster and soon to be Demon at CGA)

So far, the Boomerangs were the best.

[atem122]

Arrows have never left me with red ears. Can't say the same for Kong, Boomerang KBF, and Boomerang SFDK.

 

Plus Vekoma totally jocked Arrow's style.

[Angry_Gumball]

I've probably ridden more Vekomas than I have ridden Arrow coasters; KBF Boomerang, SFDK Boomerang, Invertigo, SLC Kong for the Vekomas, and what...Ninja (Suspended coaster at SFMM) and Demon (CGA). If I were to compare Demon to a Boomerang, I'd say both have their share of rough moments, maybe Demon being smoother. On the other hand, Invertigo runs smoother than Demon (though being an inverted, still uses very similar track type). I'd say they both have a tie.

[coastercrzyjames]

I'm an Arrow fanboy at heart so naturally, I chose Vekoma. The majority of the Vekoma coasters that I have ridden were rough whereas the Arrow coasters I've ridden were bearable. Granted I've only ridden a handful of rides from each company. However you really have to see past the roughness of their rides, and into what both companies truly are and the unique innovations & characteristics both have attributed to the coaster industry. I hope that kind of makes sense. I have nothing against either company, but Vekoma coasters are noticably more rough to me and hopefully we'll see them do greater & smooother new rides in the future.

[Cantrip]

I say Arrow because my last ride on Vortex at KI gave me a headache . Adventure Express is rougher than it used to be. The only seriously rough Vekoma I've been on is T2, and it's not as bad as said ride on Vortex. I don't remember Invertigo or Firehawk being so rough. I haven't ridden that many from either manufacturer TBH.