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Will Gerstlauer finally get it right with Infinity?

Is Infinity the answer?

  • Yes

    Votes: 9 50.0%

  • Maybe

    Votes: 5 27.8%

  • No

    Votes: 4 22.2%
  • Total voters
    18
Darren B

Darren B

Giga Poster
Gerstlauer have introduced a new coaster type for 2013 called the Infinity Coaster. It seems to be more technologically advanced, and irons out the faults they've had with their large Eurofighter coasters.

The only 2 in existence right now are The Smiler (Alton Towers) and Karacho (Tripsdrill). The enthusiast community seem to be crowing over Karacho, and surprisingly The Smiler has received generally positive reviews since it's opening, with some calling it a Nemesis beater (which is a little hard to fathom), but most enthusiasts are now referring to it as the second best coaster in the park, something that many wouldn't have anticipated before the rides opening.

So, have Gerstlauer got it right so far with Infinity? And is this a ride type that Gerstlauer can finally master to challenge Intamin and B&M

Link below

www.gerstlauer-rides.de/products/roller ... y-coaster/
 
The Smiler is hardly running trouble free, but we don't know how much of that is down to Gerstlauer, and how much is due to poor construction.

Also, are the new T-Bars the same as those used on New Texas Giant, which may mean they require a redesign in the near future to stop them from flinging people from the rides.

However, other than this, the coasters are generally well received and aren't "bad". There's still a degree of mixed comment though about The Smiler - much as there was with the Euorfighters. Again, is it Gerstlauer, or the construction?

Until we see more appear, I don't think we can really say how competitive the type will be, as we need to know they can achieve consistency. Maybe the UK are just **** at installing Gerstlauer rides? There's definitely a wide range of quality and trouble free operation from their rides though which makes me suspect they're a bit of a Vekoma...
 
Opinion based on Smiler experience only.
Infinity coasters seem to be a lot better than the Eurofighter, seem smoother with a good range of mods available to the respective parks. However, just because the Smiler is up in top 2/3 for Alton doesn't really say much.

It comes down to the old argument that Alton as a park is great but the coasters are middle of the road. Jumping to top 2/3 isn't hard for this new ride type when you're competing with 13, Rita and a brilliant but obvious 1 trick pony.

We also have no idea how it will age, and maybe Furie's right, and the UK can't install them properly. If Karacho is still lauding the plaudits in 2 years time then they may have a winner, but it's a winner within a specified ride type.

The way I look at it is that I will happily go to Holiday Park JUST for GeForce, PortAventura JUST for Shambhala (if everything else was closed I really wouldn't mind) and will go all the way to Hershey JUST for Skyrush.
I won't go hundreds/thousands of miles JUST for an Infinity coaster, no matter how many inversions or launches.
 
^What did you think of it when you rode it?

Going to leave judgement until I have been on one.

Tbh their launched ones have always seemed ok as they were, it's only ever been Eurofighters that I've ever had a problem with.
 
Well, it certainly seems like an improvement over the eurofighters (haven't ridden an eurofighter yet, but Smiler was kinda fun) but it is still pretty much behind all the better Intamins and B&Ms. I'm with delpiero on this one, I also think that they aren't worth travelling hundreds of kilometres just for one experience on them...
 
Jason Voorhees said:
If by Infinity they mean Smiler, no....no.
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You haven't ridden it so you can't judge it by ride experience, but I guess you're opinion is based upon the amount of downtime it's had this year, so fair enough.

Yes it's had a lot of downtime, but it seems to be improving now and the worse seems to be behind them, and don't forget it was a HUGE project a lot of manufacturers wouldn't have been comfortable building.

As for the ride experience, I'm yet to be convinced. I've only ridden it once (front middle right) and I wasn't that impressed with it, but it seems to be growing on enthusiasts the more they ride it so I'm hopeful it's going to have the same affect on me.

Marc, I haven't ridden a launched Gerstlauer yet, but of the Gerstlauer's I have ridden I'm very much divided, their small coasters up to Rage are really good, but anything above Rage I find really meh and quite painful (not judging Smiler yet).
 
I think so. It's a work in process, it's well documented that The Smiler has had many issues but Rome wasn't beat in a day. The Smilier in my opinion is a step up from the Eurofighters I've ridden. In time the Infinity model could be very good.
 
I haven't ridden any Eurofighters, so my opinion will be biased, but from hearing about the roughness of Eurofighters, the Infinity coaster doesn't seem as bad as a lot of peoples' reviews on Eurofighters. When I rode the Smiler, there were only a couple of real rough bits (2 half of cobra roll and first barrel roll at the end) and I had a very enjoyable ride.

But yeah, I can't say for certain just yet. :)
 
Both EuroFighter and Infinity coasters seem to vary widely. Of the ones I've ridden, super smooth EuroFighters are the newer models Iron Shark and Dare Devil Dive as well as the older model SpongeBob SquarePants Rock Bottom Plunge. Untamed and Speed: No Limits weren't as rough as the other six I've ridden, but not as smooth as those three.
Karacho doesn't even seem like it's the same type of coaster as the Smiler. It's so much better and as smooth as the three EuroFighters I first mentioned. Smiler doesn't even come close to any of them, not even Untamed or Speed: No Limits IMO.
My first ride on Smiler was in the front center left, which wasn't as bad as my second ride in the back row far right. Ian and furie, who rode with me, seemed to agree that the front wasn't as bad as the back. Yet I'd still say that the front row was about the same roughness as the medium rough EuroFighters I've ridden, like Saw or Fluch von Novgorod, but the back row is every bit as bad as the roughest EuroFighters I've been on - Mystery Mine and Huracan.
So I'm not sure if Gerstlauer will get it right with Infinity, but if Smiler ends up being a one-off and all the future Infinity coasters are like Karacho then they'll have a real winner on their hands.
 
I've always found Gerstlauers to be fairly hit-and-miss, and there is no exception with The Smiler as I thought half the ride was decent yet the second half complete crap.

My favourite Gerstlauer is Anubis, but this opened the same year as Saw which is a very mediocre ride.

I doubt this hit-and-miss randomness will ever end, even with this new design.
 
What's Takabisha considered then? It has a launch like Karacho but still has the drop. I know it came before but what is it?
 
NAPayne31 said:
What's Takabisha considered then? It has a launch like Karacho but still has the drop. I know it came before but what is it?
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It's a Eurofighter as it has the traditional beyond vertical drop.

The Infinity coaster is more about technology advancement more than anything else, they've redesigned the trains for better durability and ride experience, and I'm guessing much more involving track work etc.

The Eurofighter will still be in demand, and I expect the newer models will come with the same technological advancements as the Infinity coaster but under the Eurofighter name. I believe the Infinity coaster is just Gerstlauer's answer to the multi-looper without the beyond vertical drop, and I think it will also absorb Gerstlauer's launch coaster, think Anubis.
 
I've got to be honest, I didn't think much of The Smiler. Was rough most of the way round (despite what a lot of people have said) and it seems like a half arsed attempt at something good. Yeah it looks great from on ride and off, but there are no need for all the inversions in such a small cramped space. Karacho looks much better, spaced out and more fluent, I know AT didn't have bags of space but truth be told I much preferred Saw and even Rage at Adventure Island, these being the only 3 Gerstlauer's I've ridden.

No real great forces on The Smiler, drops are ruined by the corkscrews, yu dont get much time to gather your senses between the inversions, one lovely bit of airtime after the 3rd inversion after the second drop when you go through the mist, and the last inline was nice and fast but other than that i have to say i was a little disappointed.

The way I look at it is that I will happily go to Holiday Park JUST for GeForce, PortAventura JUST for Shambhala (if everything else was closed I really wouldn't mind) and will go all the way to Hershey JUST for Skyrush.
I won't go hundreds/thousands of miles JUST for an Infinity coaster, no matter how many inversions or launches.
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Bang on with that statement. Even though its a record breaker its wasn't worth the 2 and a half hours i queued up, let alone travelling miles and miles to ride something similar.
 
I ment by the downtime of Smiler @marc. If Karacho is an Infinity it may win, I can't judge it because I have never ridden it but it looks like the perfect ride for me.
 
From what I've seen so far with The Smiler? No. It's perhaps a slight improvement on what went before, but it's still flawed, just like most of the Eurofighters that came before it. Gerstlauer still have a long way to go if they want to make a ride that doesn't rattle around the entire layout.
 
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