Vekoma Roller Coasters

[cfcI've gone pantless!]

My first SLC was Kumali at Flamingoland in the UK, and it was good ride; then again, it wasn't a "standard issue" SLC. Everest is basically a variation on a Vekoma Mine Train (which are pretty good rides, overall).

[australianalexA village is missing its IDIOT!]

Expedition Everest is one of my favorite roller coasters and I was shocked when I learned that it was made by Vekoma. Based on TPR's reviews, I am not looking forward to riding my first SLC or Boomerang.

Im not sure why everyones making them out to be so bad. I've ridden a rough SLC and survived and I'd do it again. To me at least, I didnt find an SLC bad enough to the point of being unrideable.

[cfcI've gone pantless!]

^I guess if you can survive Lethal Weapon at Movie World, you can survive almost anything.

[KDCOASTERFANI prefer to mate with donkeys over humans!]

Vekoma has a rep of making uncomfortable-to-ride roller coasters. But, I really like that they are making improvements with the new restraints. Props to Vekoma for that.

Having ridden carolina cobra back in august I can say that the new restraints are an improvement,if it weren't so hot on the day of my visit the ride probably would've been better...still vortex was far worse & that's a B&M!!

[cfcI've gone pantless!]

^I agree that Carolina Cobra is better than Vortex. Stand-up coasters, with the exception of Riddler's Revenge and Georgia Scorcher, tend to be bad.

[KDCOASTERFANI prefer to mate with donkeys over humans!]

^I agree that Carolina Cobra is better than Vortex. Stand-up coasters, with the exception of Riddler's Revenge and Georgia Scorcher, tend to be bad.

I find shockwave to be far smoother by comparison.

[xChris125xWhich came first the turtle or the donkey?]

Yeah, I rode my first SLC this summer, and I will never ride one again, as when I looked up at the side wheel on the brake run, I find that it was not touching the track.

Most Arrows and Vekomas have the side wheels on the inside of the track and have a tolerance between the wheels and rail, meaning they are not forced to grip the track like Intamin or B&M wheels. This tolerance of the side wheels is generally responsible for the roughness found on these coasters in turns or inversions.

[australianalexA village is missing its IDIOT!]

Yeah, I rode my first SLC this summer, and I will never ride one again, as when I looked up at the side wheel on the brake run, I find that it was not touching the track.

Most Arrows and Vekomas have the side wheels on the inside of the track and have a tolerance between the wheels and rail, meaning they are not forced to grip the track like Intamin or B&M wheels. This tolerance of the side wheels is generally responsible for the roughness found on these coasters in turns or inversions.

Does that mean that if different trains were installed it would fix the problem? Or is the track designed so only trains with that wheel type can run on it?

[KDCOASTERFANI prefer to mate with donkeys over humans!]

Yeah, I rode my first SLC this summer, and I will never ride one again, as when I looked up at the side wheel on the brake run, I find that it was not touching the track.

Most Arrows and Vekomas have the side wheels on the inside of the track and have a tolerance between the wheels and rail, meaning they are not forced to grip the track like Intamin or B&M wheels. This tolerance of the side wheels is generally responsible for the roughness found on these coasters in turns or inversions.

Does that mean that if different trains were installed it would fix the problem? Or is the track designed so only trains with that wheel type can run on it?

It's also a problem of poorly designed transitions leading into curves or complex inversions(a simple loop doesn't shift enough to be rough) such as on the Togo standups for instance.

I've seen roughness on a couple intamin's & B&M's,not to mention the premier LIM bowls(pre lapbar) so having the wheels all gripping the track isn't the solution though it does play a role.

[MrSum1_55I just swallowed a whole donkey!]

One reason why I believe Vekoma never improved their SLC's was enough parks were willing to buy them. You can price a flash game at $2,000, and, as long as there is an idiot willing to buy it, it will get sold. With SLC's, small parks were in need of a star attraction, and Vekoma offered a cheap one for them. Now, while I do wonder why they did little to make them better over time, the only thing that matters is that they created a design that some parks are willing to buy. Besides, more SLC's have been sold than B&M inverts.