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B&M Hypers; for or against?

I've only been on Nitro. It was an alright ride, nothing spectacular or amazing but still was a good ride. I got more floater airtime on my first ride than on my second.

I'll be riding Raging Bull later this year which I say will be similar..
 
I'm all for them (unless there are Intamin Hyper alternatives, then screw B&M). They are huge, at least from a GP perspective, they sound quite reliable (maybe Thorpe would manage to screw them up, but otherwise, I haven't heard of B&M Hypers with reliability issues), and if you have the land and ceiling to work with, it can be a major draw to any park. I think I like them most for their draw factor, and their ability to eat crowds like nothing.

Heck, I just realised that I've played too much RCT.
 
Behemoth, Goliath, Nitro, Apollo's Chariot - rode them all many, many times & love the first three (AC is ok, I just expected more). So I'm really looking forward to Diamondback & expect it to top this list.
I've also ridden all three Superman:RoS coasters & the Bizarro one rules. The other two don't compare, even though the one at Darien Lake is superior to it's Washington DC clone.
Of the Intamin prefab woodies, I've only ridden El Toro & I believe everyone knows how I feel about the Wild Bull.
So El Toro & S:RoS (SFNE) rank higher than the B&M floaters, but I like them all. To say that I prefer ejector over floating isn't quite right however, as I love both when done right. I also agree with Ben in that floater airtime just feels more 'natural'.
El Toro (woodie ejector), S:RoS (steel ejector) & Behemoth (floater) have it down to perfection. I'm sure Diamondback will equal or exceed Behemoth as the top dog in the B&M floater department. Goliath is also great, but not quite up to Behemoth's floaty goodness. Nitro could be better, but the left turns at the top of two of the hills have no floaty bits. Apollo's Chariot just doesn't have the sustained airtime the other have.
As far as the restraint argument goes I can't imagine an ejector without one, but anything ots would kill the ride IMO. The restraints on the B&Ms absolutely rule. I love to barely lock those suckers into place, giving me a good 6-8 inches of floater space under the restraints (yeah, I'm a skinny
icon_censored.gif
!) There's no better feeling than having a sustained float out of your seat until your thighs gently touch the restraint undercarriage. But you have to know how to ride with loose restraints or they will lock into place in the valleys & you could fly right out of your seat if you're not careful. :wink:
 
Uncle Arly said:
Some, think they lack any real airtime and would rather an Intamin.
Click to expand...

That. I've only ridden Diamondback and I'd really like to ride some other's (Apollo's Chariot, Goliath at SFOG, and Nitro being the ones I want to ride the most) but they all look very similiar...unlike Intamin's incredible hypers with unique layouts, air-time and force.
 
Well my two favorite steel coasters are B&M Hypers but only because I've only ridden 87 coasters and not many too amazing ones. I used to love them so much, until May 9th. 2009 when I marathoned Diamondback 19 times and got sick of it. Now I don't care for it, and I barley notice airtime on it. The airtime on the B&M Hypers I've ridden (Goliath SFOG, DB, Raging Bull) all had kinda weak airtime. Ever since I rode Cornball express, DB hasn't been the same it just seems boring and I have no need to reride it. So I'm kinda getting sick of B&M Hypers, I'd like to see more Intamin ones.
 
Well now that I've done more I might as well post again, even though my opinion has mostly stayed the same. Now I've ridden Diamondback, Behemoth, Goliath, Nitro, and Raging Bull, and I can safely say that at least two of these rides were in the amazing category, as they made my top ten. I really enjoyed Nitro, but not quiet a top tenner, whereas Goliath didn't have fantastic airtime and Raging Bull wasn't.. Very good at all. It had a few good pops of ejector and that's it.

So, it seems the more recent ones in the last two/three years are the really good ones. The other ones are still good, but not amazing. They should keep on buildin' em' though because they seem to get better as each year goes by.
 
B&M hypers are absolutely amazing. I've only been on Apollo's and Goliath at SFoG, but they were so smooth and delivered so much air time. I love how they vary between floater and ejector air on each ride as well. B&M is by far my favorite designer and their hypers are a blast to ride.
 
Forgetting airtime for a second, the layouts are painfully mediocre.

Whilst Intamin are experimenting with fast ground hugging turns and twisting hills, B&M seem to have bought a vast overstock of standard camelbacks, thrown them together with a few unimaginative turns, then followed all that by a mid-course-break-run which is placed 5 seconds from the end of the ride just for good measure. Dont even bother expecting anything taller, either.

Try something new for gods sake.
 
I love me some B&M hypers, and every one that I've ridden (less Raging Bull) is in my top 10. Behemoth, Goliath (SFOG), Nitro, Goliath (La Ronde), Apollo's Chariot. All great rides full of airtime and exciting.
 
I might as well post again since I've added three(I think, I can't remember when I last posted) new B&M hypers to my list. I still think these rides are hit and miss, but I do believe that B&M is learning through trial and error(so to speak) and these rides are becoming more of a hit. Diamondback has some great pacing and some great forces to it. The water splash is also awesome. Apollo's Chariot was the surprise of my trip this summer. I wasn't expecting it to have as much pull as it did. Nitro wasn't bad, but it wasn't outstanding either. It was pretty meh, but I expected it for being an older coaster and also from the reviews I've read. The helix was one of the better helices though. I still think these should be built, because every one is different in some way, but I would also like to see some Intamins built as well. I finally got on another Intamin mega coaster this summer besides Millennium Force.

Here's how I rate the ones I've been on:

Diamondback
Apollo's Chariot
Behemoth
Goliath(La Ronde)
Nitro
Raging Bull
 
I still think they're bloody fantastic, and much better than the Intamin offerings.


BUT, Silver Star does suck. It's still better than the worst Intamin Hyper though!
 
Here's my real take:

While I'm a huge B&M fanboy, my #1 steel is actually Millenium Force. I rode it this year a few more times, and I still love the sensation of speed and sustained floater air that it provides.

S:RoS, (all 3) Goliath and EgF are all amazing rides in their own right, and I'd be glad to have any one of them in my back yard.

I still love B&M hypers, and have never felt let down by any of them. I wish the parks would turn the trims down or off, but that's certainly not Walter or Claude's fault.

I enjoy each one, Intamin or B&M, for itself and what it is; not for what it isn't, or what it could be.
 
Nitro is one of my favorite coasters. it's fast and smooth, and Intamin can't claim that they're they have the smoothest coasters...
 
B&M all the way. I like intamin, but they are not close to B&M in my book. I prefer the smoothness and the "roar" of a B&M over any other steel coaster.
 
I like the B&M hypers I've been on for their re-ride-ability, which is something even the most intense of them that I've ridden (namely SFOG's Goliath) possess. That being said, Raging Bull was a total dud for what's actually a pretty great layout due to two trim brakes in particular.

Making a quick aside regarding the Intamin megacoasters I've been on, they all seem to be a bit more unabated in their intensity. Also, they tend to fare better in the pacing department. Perhaps it's the train style that alters my perception, as Intamin trains are definitely far sleeker than the B&M ones, especially the older style that seem as aerodynamic-looking as airbrakes.

That being said, I also like the more open feeling and the better comfort level, and again, they can really kick butt when designed properly (I love Nitro and Goliath). I'm looking at Carowinds for a trip this year, so I'll be interested to see how the new style works out. It just seems like there are so many trims. Let 'em run as quick as they want, I say.
 
Is it just me or does anyone else think the rattle you get at the base of their drops, with Nitro in particular, is just... well, awful?

No one seems to really know what I'm talking about, or if they do the rattling doesn't seem to bother them much. The only ones that I didn't notice doing it at all were Intimidator and Silver Star. Diamonback and Goliath did it fairly badly and Apollo didn't do it enough to upset me. But Nitro... Made it unrideable for me.


As for the floater vs ejector argument. I think there's more to it than that. The B&Ms are nicer to be sat on and they offer a completely different ride experience. I think my mum could ride and would enjoy Silver Star (the only thing she enjoys is Air). That doesn't make them ****, in the slightest. Even SFA's Superman was more exciting than any B&M hyper, but that doesn't mean it was better. (Or any good at all for that matter). Apollo and Goliath in particular are just a whole lot of fun, without exhausting you or raising your heart beat in the slightest.
 
After riding Apollo's Chariot and Nitro, my opinion still stands that B&M Hypers are some of the most unoriginal coasters ever. And they're not all "good, fun rides" either. Nitro was so un-enjoyable and gave absolutely nothing. I think it barely makes my Top 50.

Apollo's Chariot was a great ride. The air-time is so surprising and it's by far the smoothest of the three I've ridden... But it's still un-original and drawn out. Not that that really matters since it's just a good ride, but I think this one is pretty rare with the sudden air on the hills. I know for sure that Diamondback and Nitro don't have any.

So while my opinion on B&M Hypers hasn't really changed, my view on Intamin's have. A few months ago, I had only ridden Millennium Force, which I loved and was my #1 coaster (still my #3). But now after riding i305, SROS, Bizarro, and I'll even throw El Toro in there, I've realized that they aren't my type of the ride.

The air-time doesn't mix well with my motion sickness. I305, SROS, and El Toro especially did this. Bizarro was perfect, which is why it's my #2. However, Goliath and Expedition GeForce look to be more intense in their air-time, and I don't think I would enjoy them much. Don't get me wrong, I like air-time (Magnum and Phoenix <3) but the feeling of being completely pulled over gave me vertigo. Yeah, I do know I'm a pussy.

In the end, I'm not sure which I prefer. They both have great rides (Bizarro, Millennium Force, Apollo), average rides (El Toro, i305 (even though the air wasn't enjoyable for me, I loved other parts of the rides), Diamondback), and complete crap (SROS, Nitro). I would probably go with Intamin, just because I have more of them ranked higher, but then again, I've ridden more of them.
 
I lack experiense of both rides hence I've only ridden Silver Star and Expedition GeForce, but out of those two I prefer Silver Star!

Silver Star is a very predictable ride and hasn't got the strongest airtime, but it's height, the great s-bend at the end and the otherwise fun ride provide a great coaster imo :)

Expedition GeForce, over-hyped to death, dissapointed me greatly.. The rumored "ejector" and "great" airtime was irl very weak, in fact a lot weaker than SIlver Star. And the rest of the layout was very slow and dull. Overall a great dissapointment hence I absolutely love Colossos (Heide Park) which is a similar irde from the same manufacturer..
 
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