Mantis?

[Coasterlicious]

Mantis hurt my chest and legs.... it dug into me ... though I will say the view of the park going up is amazing and its scary as hell because It just seems higher than it really is... Though I have to say that Magnum hurt the worst..... I had soo much airtime that i got bruised...

[Billy]

the one thing Mantis did to me was put an insane amount of pressure on the lower halfs of my legs, the back side. It felt like some veins were going to explode. It was impossible to enjoy the ride. My least fav. beemer to date. I was in the middle of the train on the far left. Anybody find it better to ride in the front or back?

[coasterzak]

I used to be a Mantis hater, but this last year I got some excellent rides on it. I found that riding in the back row eliminated a lot of problems. Sure it is more intense, but when the train makes the "stand-up moves" (I think you know what I'm talking about, when it rocks back and forth really fast around the midcourse) your head is not thrown as violently. In the front, you take those really fast and don't have the reaction time that the back provides. I think its location is great and it's an intense coaster. If you want to have a special experience, wait until 10 minutes before close and the ride will have NO LINE at all. You can ride it a few times then go get on MF.

[Gnome]

The best way to ride a stand up, imo, is to have your legs slightly bent before they lock the seats down, and then once it is locked, then stand up nice and strait, that should keep you from having your "sack problems"

As for head banging just keep your head back, and keep erect for the most part, although I know when I'm really enjoying a ride, I'll put my head forward, and I'll get some head banging on some B&M's but its not that bad, so i just enjoy it.

[Milkchan]

I like the second half of the Mantis better than Riddler's Revenge, definitely more intense.

 

Riddler's Revenge (Look after Mid course.)

http://www.rcdb.com/ig470.htm?picture=7

 

Mantis (Look after Mid course.)

http://database.thrillnetwork.com/dbgallery/photo_view.php/544/cedar_point/mantis1205.htm

[FeelTheFORCE]

I rode Mantis once Thursday and once Friday. It wasn't that bad, just the normal roughness and forces, nothing out of the ordinary.

[Milkchan]

^

When i went on Monday there was no trims on the coaster so there was some high g's.

[asr]

I rode Mantis on opening day this year, and I did not really like it. The first drop and loop where great, and everything else up to the MCBR was decent. After that, it was very rough, tons of headbanging. I would ride it again, but I would also ride Great American Scream Machine (SFGAdv) again so that's not saying much.

[Homer]

I rode Mantits back in 2003. It was a decent ride but a tiny bit bumpy. Keep in mind, tiny.

 

Mantits is fun, but not as intense as Georgia Scorcher.

[PKI Jizzman]

I love Mantis. I ride last year in the very front with no trims, I went grey at the bottom of the loop, and it was awesome! Can't wait to ride Chang soon.

[kewlcoasterdude]

I love Mantis! I rode Riddlers Revenge, which was my favorite ride at SFMM, and I dont think it is any better than Mantis. First drop is taller, thats it.

[kraxleRIDAH]

I rode it last summer, with the trim brakes on the first drop OFF!!

 

The trim brakes on the first drop are no longer used I believe. They were only used when Mantis ran a 3 train operation a while back when it opened.

 

Not true. The first time I rode Mantis, I definitely felt the trim on the first drop tug on the train (really odd sensation) and the ride was in two train operation.

 

I believe it depends on the time of year and the temperature. When the ride tends to be running faster than usual, the trims are activated.

 

As for the ride itself, it's pretty fun. I liked it and it wasn't painful nor did I get any headbanging.

[steel]

Ugh, I hated Mantis with a passion. It isn't that it's very rough (although it does have its moments), it's that it's WAY too forceful for a standup coaster. The strain on your legs is horrible, and I've only ever ridden in the first few rows.

[kraxleRIDAH]

If your legs are bent that requires you to use more effort yourself.

 

Ideally you want to just stand straight up with legs locked. With the joints locked the forces will be better taken through your legs and you wont feel much.

 

I would NOT recommend riding with legs locked, I find it most stressful on the legs that way -- and is also damaging to knee caps (having your knee caps absorb bursts of G-forces up to 4.0 is NOT a good thing).

 

To thoroughly enjoy stand-up coasters, the first step is to ride them in the best stance.

 

This is what I do: I straddle the bicycle seat with both feet supporting my entire body weight standing on the floor of the train (not just touching, but actually holding my entire weight, not the little seat). The little bicycle seat isn't up against my crotch either, but is barely touching, I'll explain why I do this. I do that so I have enough space to stand up fully, yet also enough space to bend my knees slightly through heavy-G turns. I stand with my back straight, shoulders back, head up -- legs and feet planted slightly behind where my shoulders are and have my knees just slightly bent, NEVER LOCKED RIGID. At the bottom of every inversion or drop where the G-force load is heaviest, bend the knees with a little flex of the legs and have the muscles in your thighs and calves absorb the force, not the cartilage in your knee! Then at the top of the inversions or any ascent, relax them. But don't make it a chore, as it should come naturally.

 

I find it that I have never experienced sore legs or had ANY painful rides on ANY stand-up coaster so far by riding like this.

 

If you just happen to have very weak knees and legs, then this approach might not be the best for you though.

[swampfox]

I think CPers have it easy with Mantis. I ride Shockwave whenever I go to Kings Dominion, which means a ball-bashing, blackout after the loop, herky-jerky at the end, ride.

 

Literally, I've blacked out on Shockwave so that I didn't get my sight back until halfway through the double helix.

 

I plan to ride Mantis this summer, so that I can no longer sound like I'm talking from my a$$.

[steel]

^^Yep, exactly. Locked knees basically encourage blackouts, which is not what any self-respecting human being wants. Slightly bent is the way to go if you absolutely HAVE to ride Mantis.

[coastakid]

When I road the Georgia Scorcher at SFOG, I by accident ended up a good 3 inches off the ground (first ever foot dangling stand-up ).

[FeelTheFORCE]

At least on Mantis the ride ops ask you to raise your hand if you aren't standing straight up once the seats are locked, and tell you not to bounce...on Riddler's when the seats are locked, you're stuck in that position whether you like it or not (at least that's how it was when I went last summer). This girl on front of me was pretty much sitting down and the ops didn't do anything about it, all they were busy doing, was fooling around kicking each other.

[Darien Laker]

I had absolutely no problems on Mantis. That last turn on Raptor is actually worse than any element Mantis has to offer. But both rides stick out in my memory as being "smooth".

 

The positive G's were the main trick of the coaster.

 

I found Magnum to be more painful than Mantis, though I still rank Magnum higher.

[ConleyKE]

Personally, I don't think Mantis is too rough. It is a little bit more jerky than chang, particularlly Mantis's second half, but not at all bad. Either way, i'm not a hugh fan of standup coasters. Don't find them that thrilling or spectacular.

 

And can someone explain what exactly it means to black out. I know you like can't see for awhile, but is it just like temporarily passing out, and why does it happen? I'm asuming it's from to much G's. Is hard to comprehend of you've never felt it I guess. Sound's scary.

[Magnumfan]

I hate it.

[bulldogmom]

Re: blacking out- it occurs as a result of too many positive Gs, most likely coming out of a vertical loop. What happens is your field of vision goes black, then comes back. This has happened to me many times, and I never knew what it was until I started learning about coasters. It's not really scary, just not all that pleasant, and not fun like negative Gs.

Re: Mantis- This coaster pulls some very strong Gs, which are absorbed by your legs/knees, even if you ride correctly and don't lock your knees. I was on it once (when I was "younger"), and I would not go on it again because it would kill my knees.

[Milkchan]

Does the Mantis Have the most g's for a B&M Standup?

I was at Cedar Point on Monday and Mantis was running with no trims.

[kraxleRIDAH]

^ You would think so, but The Riddler's Revenge actually does, with a 4.2 maximum G-force rating. A lot of people report Mantis and The Georgia Scorcher being the most intense, but that's because of their numerous rapid directional changes of track which The Riddler's Revenge lacks, which has nothing to do with the amount of maximum positive G's felt.

[Milkchan]

^

When I went on the Riddler It didn't seem like much strong g's, but when i went on the Mantis (No trims), all I can say is WOW.

 

 

A lot of people report Mantis and The Georgia Scorcher being the most intense, but that's because of their numerous rapid directional changes of track which The Riddler's Revenge lacks,

 

That's why I love the Mantis Layout more than the Riddler's.