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Rides that you would like more if they had different restraints

Matt N

CF Legend
Hi guys. There are many different types of restraints out there, as most of us know. Some of them are almost universally loved, whereas others are almost universally disliked. But have you ever come off a ride and thought "I would like that so much more if it had different restraints"?

For me, one ride springs to mind, and that ride is Cheetah Hunt at Busch Gardens Tampa. Now, for all the flack it receives, I actually think that Cheetah Hunt has a pretty solid layout with some very good moments, but I think I'd rate it a lot higher if it didn't have the traditional Intamin OTSRs. Now, they don't inherently cause a problem, but I feel like they sort of limit the potential of the layout quite a bit. For example, I actually thought there could have been many really good moments of sustained floater airtime during Cheetah Hunt, such as diving out of that figure 8, but as soon as I started to rise out of my seat, the restraint kind of killed the airtime for me, if you get what I mean. I also think that I'd enjoy the hangtime in that inversion a lot more. If it had the Taron-style lap bars or even the I305-style soft vests, I feel like I'd rate Cheetah Hunt a lot more highly; Icon at Blackpool Pleasure Beach is a ride often compared to Cheetah Hunt with overhead lap bars, and that's my current #2, whereas Cheetah Hunt is my present #21.

But what rides would you prefer if they had different restraints?
 

Hyde

Matt SR
Staff member
Moderator
Social Media Team
SWAP ALL THE OTSRS FOR ALL THE LAPBARS

I'd love to get another go on Skyrush with the new restraints, as that is the biggest roller coaster on my books that was held back by very uncomfortable restraints when I rode it opening year.

Otherwise, I would love for more Arrow multi-loopers to continue the trend of swapping old Arrow horse collar restraints for more comfortable Vekoma/modern OTSR designs. Vortex at KI, for instance, is a very cool nostalgic ride; but the headbashing involved makes it far from re-ridable.

A gripe for RMC restraints is their weighted resistance. While I appreciate this is all in the name of safety, I like to think of an alternate reality where the restraints are easier to move, which would improve load times and ability to undo the restraints.
 

Howie

Donkey in a hat
Colossus mate. The restraints are literally the only thing wrong with it as far as I'm concerned. I've said for years that if they updated the trains on Colossus then I'd love it again, but it seems that Flamingoland, of all places, has come to the rescue.
Not too fussed on Intamin's Rita/Stealth style restraints either. Any of those coasters would be better with TTD or Taron style restraints.

Olympia Looping. Great ride that, but I wish it didn't have those horrible shoulder bars, would love to try it without them someday.

And seeing as the topic title says 'Rides' rather than 'Coasters', shout out to Slammer. Oh how I miss that thing. Breaks my heart to see it still sat there, unused and unloved. But yeah, the restraints sucked. I mean, if you spent some time jiggling yourself about and getting your shoulder and lap bars just right, you could get a comfortable ride, but they were just so time consuming, laborious and temperamental.
Couldn't they just retro fit it with some B&M seats with traditional OTSR's? And while they're at it, replace that stupid, slow ass, compressed air system with a simple mechanical lift & lower.

What? Man can dream, can't he?
 

Boodangy

Mega Poster
Any Premier coaster with the Sky Rocket trains. The restraints are awfully restrictive, uncomfortable and combined with the seats make loading and unloading a lot slower than it needs to be.
 

Jamesss

Hyper Poster
Cheetah Hunt springs to mind for me too, but for a different reason. The restraints really dug into my shoulders and actually left me with bruises. I always liked the look of the layout and scenery around the ride so I was a bit disappointed when it turned out to be one of the most painful coasters I have ever ridden.
 

Alex B

Mega Poster
Let me list some
-rougarou (needs vest restraints)
-Goliath (sfne) (needs riddler restraints
-kingda ka (holy hell this needs maverick restraints more then any other on this list)
-Rollie’s coaster(moreys) (WTF?)
-valravn (needs new restraints less then the others but still) (needs normal ots restraints)
-superman (sfne) (needs normal intamin T-bar and not **** bulky one)
-magnum xl-200 (could use new restraints and not arrow lap bars)
 

cookie

Giga Poster
Almost any Intamin launch coaster pre-2014 could've used the newer lap restraints. Kanonen and Desert Race, for example, would've been much better without the OSTRs — Kanonen especially with its thick padding towards the end of its run.

Fluch Von Novgorod could use being refitted with lap bars found on newer Eurofighters like Tantrum (or just copy Kärnan's bars, whichever they like) to put an end to the headbanging.
 
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GregBoxall

Roller Poster
The Vekoma SLCs I've ridden have had awful restraints. it may be a height thing, but I always come off with pain in my shoulders/triceps. The roughness of these rides don't help either though.
 

Hutch

Strata Poster
Yeah probably Skyrush. I'm not too fussed with how painful it is but it would be nice if it was a little more comfortable. So long as it retains the freedom you get while riding (seriously, you feel so exposed on this thing).

And Intamin might was well take any of the old accelerator OTSRs and swap them for, at the very least, the soft I305 OTSRs. Maverick, Storm Runner, and Fahrenheit have them as well. I've done each of those three in both forms and what a difference those make.


A few others that I'm really more concerned about...


El Toro. Well, I don't know if it's because of the restraints or the shaping of the hills (probably a bit of both), but that rides was far more painful than Skyrush for me. It really ruined the ride. I don't know if something like a T-bar or a Taron restraint would make it any better, but right now it's an issue.

Any B&M wing riders with locked vest restraints. I'm looking at Wild Eagle and Swarm, from what I've done. Those vests can get pretty annoying as they get tighter and tighter. I don't enjoy being suffocated on the brake run.

Gerstlauer. I actually haven't done any Eurofighter/Infinity with lap bars, but just rip out all the OTSRs and put the clamshells on them. The one on Smiler got a little too comfortable in my groin area.
 

jay37415

Mega Poster
Im gonna go a different route than what most are saying and say "PTC Trains." Specifically Legend and Voyage. I'm a larger rider with long legs and its really awkward for me to fit into those restraints. I have been bruised a few times. Would be nice to see Timberliners or even Millenium Flyers on Voyage.

Makes me wonder "What If?"
 

Matt N

CF Legend
Colossus mate. The restraints are literally the only thing wrong with it as far as I'm concerned. I've said for years that if they updated the trains on Colossus then I'd love it again, but it seems that Flamingoland, of all places, has come to the rescue.
Not too fussed on Intamin's Rita/Stealth style restraints either. Any of those coasters would be better with TTD or Taron style restraints.
Ah yes, forgot about Colossus. I must say that I still found it very rough when I rode last week, but I definitely think the lap bars could improve it; I look forward to seeing how Flamingo Land's clone rides! At present, the car design/restraint design on Colossus is extremely tight; I could barely fit my knees behind the other seat, and I'm not overly tall. When my dad tried to ride Colossus in 2014, he couldn't even fit into it. New restraints would definitely improve Colossus, in my opinion.
 

Antinos

Slut for Spinners
Im gonna go a different route than what most are saying and say "PTC Trains." Specifically Legend and Voyage. I'm a larger rider with long legs and its really awkward for me to fit into those restraints. I have been bruised a few times. Would be nice to see Timberliners or even Millenium Flyers on Voyage.

Makes me wonder "What If?"
Ugh, if they revisited the Timberliners and actually got them commissioned, it might end up being my favorite coaster.
 
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