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How is your tolerance of roughness?

^ I also found Mine Blower to be perfectly rideable. I mean it beats you up a little, but that's kinda the point.

In general, I like roughness on a coaster, in the right place. No wooden coasters really get to me. There's a few truly awful rides out there, but my least favorite coasters aren't really about their roughness, more a mixture of roughness and boredom. I think the most painful rides I tend to go on are Zamperla kiddie coasters. I have long legs so my knees are always hitting the front at any jolt, and it's Zamperla so there's many a jolts.
 
Peet said:
Not exactly, I suppose there are plenty that I would enjoy a lot more if they were smoother. Formula Rossa springs to mind; it's only rough because it is so incredibly fast, but it is so uncomfortable to ride for the majority of the fairly long circuit that I don't find it all that enjoyable (except for the launch which is phenomenal).

Still, I haven't been on Bandit, and I only went on Goudurix after the track replacement, so there are a few notoriously rough European coasters I don't have on my list!
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Ah right. Thanks @Peet! Formula Rossa always looks very smooth from POVs, so I'm surprised to hear it's rough.
 
Hi guys. A recent discussion I was having a few days back in the Blackpool Pleasure Beach thread on TowersStreet about the roughness of the park’s wooden coasters, and the differing opinions on the matter, spurred me to create this thread asking; how high is your personal roughness tolerance on roller coasters?

I must admit, mine is not very high at all. There are definitely a fair few rides I don’t enjoy because I find them too rough for me. Grand National and Infusion are two notable examples, and many others like the Big One, Steeplechase and Big Dipper also fall into this category for me within Blackpool. Outside of Blackpool, rides like Colossus at Thorpe Park, and all 3 of the Gerstlauer thrill coasters I’ve ridden (Speed, Saw and Smiler) fall into this category for me, as well as pretty much any wild mouse coaster. Even though I still enjoy it, I do personally find that even Nemesis, a coaster often cited as being “glass smooth”, has head banging in places that can definitely detract from the experience for me. Megafobia, despite the fact I absolutely loved it in the front and middle rows, even in some rows towards the back, is a coaster that I found a little too rough to fully enjoy in the very back row, and I think the way that those PTC trains take some of the turns can be a slight detractor dependant on where you sit (again, this was a problem that was far worse in the back).

However, there are some coasters that I have heard referred to as rough that I honestly did not have a problem with. Notable examples here include:
  • Avalanche at Blackpool Pleasure Beach, which while it does have a slight rattle, didn’t detract from the ride for me, and I find it tremendous fun; against the common grain, it’s my #2 in Blackpool behind only Icon! However, I’ve heard other people say it’s one of their least favourite coasters due to how rough it is.
  • Mine Blower at Fun Spot Kissimmee, which while it wasn’t glass smooth, just felt like a regular modern wooden coaster to me; no undue roughness anywhere in the ride, and no pain when hitting the brake run. I did admittedly sit in the very front row, however; it might be rougher towards the back. I’ve heard other people say it’s unbearably rough.
  • Wicker Man at Alton Towers. I’d heard people saying that this had become back-breakingly rough in parts of the layout, and it was so unbearably rough that people were actively skipping rides on it, so with my naturally low roughness tolerance, I was very nervous to reride. However, I rode towards the back of the train (not very back row, but towards the back; row 8 & row 9), and it was fine; again, just felt like a regular modern wooden coaster to me, and I think the trains track so well that it prevents any real pain. It wasn’t glass smooth, but a wooden coaster is never going to be (aside from RMCs and Intamin prefabs); no pain at all, and I was even more buzzing getting off than I was in 2018! In fact, I’d say it was one of the less painful rides at Alton Towers for me; I probably felt more pain getting off The Smiler and even Nemesis!
But how high is your roughness tolerance? I think this could be an interesting thread, as I know some on here like a rougher ride!
 
Not sure if we need another one of these!

How high is your tolerance for rough coasters?

Title says it all. I personally have a very high tolerance, and even enjoy SLC's, Boomerangs, old Arrow loopers etc.
coasterforce.com coasterforce.com

How is your tolerance of roughness?

How rough does a coaster have to be for you to consider it a 'bad' ride? For me it has to be really f*cking rough, I loved Space Mountain and I enjoy Saw, Grand National and Colossus which are also known for being pretty rough. I view all the coasters I ride with optimism, I actually found...
coasterforce.com coasterforce.com
 
Before this topic gets locked, there is a term for having a low roughness tolerance. It's called being a wuss. All the coasters Matt brought up I don't mind besides Infusion, Colossus and Saw. The rest are all perfectly bearable in at least one seat on the ride. Grand national is fine if you're not on a wheel seat, same with Big Dipper, and Big One I don't think is too bad in general. Anyone who thinks Wicker Man is painfully rough is dead to me.
 
CrashCoaster said:
Before this topic gets locked, there is a term for having a low roughness tolerance. It's called being a wuss. All the coasters Matt brought up I don't mind besides Infusion, Colossus and Saw. The rest are all perfectly bearable in at least one seat on the ride. Grand national is fine if you're not on a wheel seat, same with Big Dipper, and Big One I don't think is too bad in general. Anyone who thinks Wicker Man is painfully rough is dead to me.
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I certainly never meant that; I was only saying what I’d heard others say. I love Wicker Man; it’s my favourite coaster at Towers and my #3 overall!

But after all, it is entirely down to personal opinion. I do not personally like rough coasters and have a very low roughness tolerance, but I don’t disrespect anyone that does. And besides, I can only speak for my own experiences; some rides are quite variable.
 
Matt N said:
I certainly never meant that; I was only saying what I’d heard others say. I love Wicker Man; it’s my favourite coaster at Towers and my #3 overall!

But after all, it is entirely down to personal opinion. I do not personally like rough coasters and have a very low roughness tolerance, but I don’t disrespect anyone that does. And besides, I can only speak for my own experiences; some rides are quite variable.
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If you're tolerance is so low then I would bet you won't like 80% of all the coasters you ride.

There's so many coasters in the world that aren't smooth so you won't end up having a particularly fun time at some parks.
 
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CrashCoaster said:
If you're tolerance is so low then I would bet you won't like 80% of all the coasters you ride.
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I’ve ridden 72 roller coasters so far, and I’d say that excluding all the stuff like Reverchon spinners, the “don’t like because of roughness” tier of my count consists of about 10-20% of my count, if that, at a guess. Some of the above that I mentioned (e.g. Nemesis) are rides that I still enjoy, but enjoy less than I would if the roughness wasn’t there. Heck, my one overly rough back row ride on Megafobia didn’t stop it getting into the bottom part of my top 10, because every other ride I’ve had has been far more enjoyable, and within a level of roughness I can cope with (and I had quite a few while at Oakwood, across two visits in July 2016 & May 2019).

I accept that not every coaster is going to be glass smooth, and there is a certain level I can cope with without it really impacting the experience, but I ride rollercoasters for fun and enjoyment, and I don’t personally enjoy coasters that make me hurt or give me a headache.
 
CrashCoaster said:
Before this topic gets locked, there is a term for having a low roughness tolerance. It's called being a wuss. All the coasters Matt brought up I don't mind besides Infusion, Colossus and Saw. The rest are all perfectly bearable in at least one seat on the ride. Grand national is fine if you're not on a wheel seat, same with Big Dipper, and Big One I don't think is too bad in general. Anyone who thinks Wicker Man is painfully rough is dead to me.
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If a ride is only perfectly bearable in a certain seat, under certain conditions, depending on what phase the moon is in, then it's a bad ride. You shouldn't have to know how to ride a ride for it to not be rough. If that means people hate a large proportion of coasters, so be it.


I don't like rides which have a lot of 'whip' in their roughness or rides which are constantly rough. I can deal with things be a little rattly, rough round the edges or intense. But if rides feature sudden strong moments of roughness (ie whips), such as Smiler towards the end, or are constantly rough, such as older SLCs or Colossus, then it's a nope from me.

I don't mind rides which are whippy (ie Taron) so long as they're smooth. If a ride is already a bit rough and rattly, a whip makes that 10x worse.
 
Whippy coasters can be nice; I really like the whippy moments on Icon, for example! But I do think that too much whip can sometimes turn into “jolty”; for example, the moments that @JoshC. mentioned at the end of The Smiler, and I do find 1 or 2 moments of Nemesis can bash my head quite hard, even if the ride as a whole isn’t inherently rough (in my opinion), and I do still enjoy it. I admit I’d enjoy Nemesis even more if it didn’t have these head banging moments, however.
 
Also, for some level of perspective as to the percentage of my count that I don’t like due to roughness, take a look at my Captain Coaster ratings: https://captaincoaster.com/en/users/395/ratings

Anything rated 1.5 stars or below is something I didn’t particularly enjoy. Not all of them are down to the ride being rough (for example, Olympia Looping is there, but that’s more down to a combination of excessive intensity and really painful restraints), but I’d say most of them are due to roughness.
EDIT: Sorry for double posting!
 
I'd say I'm decently tolerant of roughness, up to a point...

I don't take much issue with The Beast and Racer's roughness. I also enjoy Wildcat at Hersheypark, and that has a reputation of being pretty rough.

The only two woodies I've ridden that I'd write off entirely due to roughness would be Son of Beast and Rolling Thunder. But those were outliers that I wouldn't say any significant percentage of people could handle (hence them being defunct).

As for steel roughness, I'd say I'm fine with most forms of Arrow clunkiness... except, when it comes to Magnum. Good lord, not a fan of Magnum. The thing's a 200 ft mine train and I'll leave it at that.
 
Pretty high.
If anyone knows Hercules from Dorney in the day, I liked it though most of my class found it intolerable. I was fine with Beast, the HW woodies, Racer at KI, Mean Streak. Don't get me wrong the ride sucked, but I didn't mind the roughness of it. So yeah I think pretty high tolerance. Guess I'll go with the ones I DID find too rough to enjoy:

Villain at GL (last year of operations...holy **** was that bad)
Hurler at KD
GASM at SFoG
Wildcat at Hershey. This wasn't always the case but now I just can't

That's all I can think of off hand.

Steel?
Tolerance is lower. I really do not like headbanging. Thankfully this is avoidable by not going on rides. Needless to say the worst offenders I've done were SLCs, some arrows, and a few B&M standers. I recall Vortex at Carowinds being utter trash....it was way rougher than the 39 y/o Arrow Looper! But a non looper....usually fine. Like I dont mind Magnum, at all. I dont mind mine trains. The worst steel non OTSR ride was Flight of Fear at KI. Left w a horrible headache.
I do not care at all about a rattle. To each their own...I try not to judge but secretly I do feel certain things about an enthusiast when they gripe about a rattle. Esp when they say "theres one spot" like.....ONE spot you notice SOME rattle? Pls. It barely even registers for me while some say Jesus that rattle...
 
The only roughness I really can’t stand is headache inducing vibration such as that of Gerstlauers... Nash on a wheel seat has also gotten that rough it genuinely hurts my internal organs ?

Oh and head banging??? Pfttt short people problems ?? At 6’3” I’m more put off by having to curve my back / slouch to fit into an OTSR such as an SLC... Never find them overly rough (some exceptions... Condor) but the slouched back and intense positives make them uncomfortable to me... Never bang my head though ?
 
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I don’t know how you people are able to handle the roughness of The Beast ? way too rough for me, it really hurt my rib, that’s the only coaster to me that’s WAY too rough to enjoy
 
Since I have a pretty low tolerance for roughness one thing I've thought a lot about is how temperamental coasters can be. Helix was one of the smoothest coasters ive ridden the first year when I rode it, the year after it had quite a rattle, and two years later it was better but not glass smooth. Quite the difference over 4 years on a brand new coaster I would say.
This leads me to believe that discussions regarding roughness are not only complicated due to individual preferences but also coasters ride quite differently at different times. Making discussions hard if one person rode it just a year later and got a different experience.

Im curious why this is, I would think that wheel changes and general maintenance makes a difference. But also weather, especially temperature.
As someone who really likes smooth coasters I would have thought that there would be more progress made. Rutschebanen (106 years old I belive) at Tivoli Gardens is smoother then a lot of newer coasters ive ridden.
 
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caffeine_demon said:
Varies a fair bit for me too - there are some notoriously rough coasters, which I have no problem at all with (saw, and several boomerangs), there are a few which I think are rough, but i'd reride because they are pretty good fun despite the roughness (goudrix, nash, and heck - I'd even consider a reride on tornado at MnDs), there are others which are so bad I'd seriously consider not reriding (baco, mean streak, movie park bandit)
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And of course, riding bandit at GF a couple of years ago it was great fun!

Most SLCs are just "meh", but condor, MP express and a few others are awful!
 
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