Maverick Shoulder Harness

What the heck is a 'mavvy'?

mavvy, short for maverick: the world's first terra coaster... whatever that means

Yes, I know that. I was making the point that using such a stupid nickname is, well, stupid.

Mavvy is no different than Maggie, Millie, Tiques, or the many other nicknames people have for rides at Cedar Point. and people use those all the time.

thanks halltd. I didn't want to say it because my post was the source of this. Nonetheless, before this thread goes astray: I really think that lap bars are very possible and maybe even probable for next season.

Lapbars sound like a great idea on Maverick... that is until we start finding bodies on top of Mean Streak's transfer track. I'm pretty sure that hill running along the CP&LE RR was another reason for those shoulder restraints. Good lord, I still can't believe how that part of the ride just launches me out of my seat!

Haha... I thought the exact same thing Rob! I would definitely be nervous riding Mav with just lapbars. I cant even fathom how that drop would feel with no OTSRs!

I'll agree with Rob on that one. I'd be holding on for dear life over that hill if it was just lapbars. I'm fine with the shoulder harnesses. I've now ridden it over 40 times, almost all with my arms up the entire ride (and several in the back seat), and I've yet to get bruised. I'm 5'11", and they're right at my neckline, and I really don't feel any discomfort at all.

The only other Intamin ride with these OTSRs that I've ridden is Storm Runner, and I find the ones on Maverick are much more comfortable. I was worried about them after riding Storm Runner, but they don't bother me at all.

Has anyone on here ridden both Maverick and El Toro? I can't imagine Maverick having more violent air time than El Toro and it only has lap bars. No one has flung out of that yet. It's all about the lap bar design and ride ops making sure it is securely in place.

It's totally possible, but will it ever happen? I doubt it.

I haven't rode El Toro, but Maverick's airtime (at least for me) blows away any ride I have been on. What worries me about lap bars (if ejection is not an issue) is pain. On Magnum I hear countless stories of people having sore thighs after riding. This is from the force of the airtime throwing you into the restraints. The force on Maverick would be even more, and I imagine even more painful.

Maybe I'm wrong, and heaven knows I would ride it regardless, but it just doesn't seem like lapbars are a good idea for Mav.

I've ridden both. I wouldn't say that Maverick has more "violent" airtime, but the first drop, especially in the back really pulls you out of your seat.

I'll say I prefer the OTSR over being stapled in with the lapbar on El Toro. Those U shaped lapbars would also be pretty painful on the lateral transitions on Maverick.

The OTSRs are also much more accomodating than the lapbars on El Toro, so I'd hate to see them changed for that reason. CP already has two coasters that are unfriendly to larger guests, they don't need another one!

Well over the last two weeks I've riden both Maverick (4 times) and El Torro (6 times). On Maverick, the first hill after the first drop and "S" turns produces some fine ejector air, while on El Torro, the entire first half of the ride produces significantly more airtime and ejector air.

Josh, go ride El Torro if you like Maverick's airtime. You haven't seen anything yet until you experience El Torro - it's a smooth amazing ride that is just as relentless as Maverick, but focuses more on ejector air imo. Once you go over the first drop on El Torro, my butt didn't touch the seat until the turnaround - three amazing hills of ejector air from "hell"!

I love both rides equally and as I've said in previous posts, of the 380 different coasters I've been on, ET, Maverick, and RoS are in a class by themselves!

Josh M. said:
What worries me about lap bars (if ejection is not an issue) is pain. On Magnum I hear countless stories of people having sore thighs after riding.

This is because Magnum used a non-padded ratcheting lap bar that is either too tight or too loose on most people. The beauty of the hydraulic lap bars is it can stop in an infinite number of positions, providing each rider with a perfect fit. I'm really not sure why ALL rides don't use hydraulic restraints now. They're simply more comfortable and I would think safer.

I really don't see why the shoulder portion of Maverick's restraints couldn't be removed, leaving just the lap portion. That's accommodating to larger riders, restrains you by the thighs and is hydraulic to give you a perfect fit.

I tend to "staple" myself on rides because I like to feel secure. So, even on El Toro where I pushed the restraint down as far as it could absolutely go, I was still ejected from my seat throughout the entire ride. Plus, it wasn't uncomfortable at all. Plus, there are some REALLY intense laterals on that ride. That's why the "wings" were replaced on the trains - because they kept breaking off from people slamming into them.

Have there been any problems with people being too big to ride?

I'm sure there are still some people that can't ride. But, they most likely can't ride very much at all. If they can't fit on Maverick, I'm sure they can't fit on Raptor, MF, TTD, Wicked Twister, Mantis, maXair, Power Tower, etc... At that point, though, you really can't accommodate riders of that size. It's just not safe.

I don't know...Part of me likes the free feeling of not having the OTSR's, but I also like to feel safe and I'm not sure how safe I would feel on the dives, first hill, even some of the airtime or quick turns might throw you more than you think. I really pop out of my seat on the very last hill before you head up to the brakes. I love it, but I also love the secure feeling of hanging on to the restraints.

Since it's about the OTSR, I'll just throw a comment out why it's in there. Maybe it isn't for the "fall out of the ride" restraint like on Raptor, Mantis, Corkscrew, or Iron Dragon (ha ha, right,) but more of a "fall over the side" restraint.

My first ride on any coaster I just let myself go. Arms up, head, shoulders and back against the seat, and let the train take me through it's track. Well, Maverick's track would've taken me off the train if it weren't for those OSTR's, (due to lateral intensity,) if not that then just making my spine bend further to the sides than it's supposed to go.

Sure, bruises abound and some bouncing against the restraints, but I'd hate to think what would happen to those few people who refuse to do as instructed on rides...

I rode Maverick three times over the Thursday-Coastermania period, and I gotta say I don't like it at all. Way too painful to ride. Why put blades (even foam blades) on the shoulder harnesses? The ride is fun but the fun ends when it starts hurting.

They were interviewing/recording people coming off the ride and I declined saying "You wouldn't want to hear what I have to say".

MF still rules. :)

I have to agree that Maverick provided a more uncomfortable ride than I was hoping for, but I don't think this really detracts too much from your possible enjoyment, and I think a lot of this discomfort is preventable.

After reading a lot of mentions of bruises when you have your arms up, during my first Maverick ride I decided to hold onto the handles throughout the entire ride. Keep in mind I'm not all that tall, but my shoulders never really touched the top of the restraints. Thus, I was able to get off with no bruises.

The biggest issue I had with the restraints is the ear-bashing. My head and neck were also thrashed around quite a bit which made my neck a bit stiff the next day. I really think though that leaning into the turns as mentioned in this thread, as well as perhaps holding onto the restraints and keeping your head relatively still, will pretty much eliminate this issue. I think it is possible to have a much more comfortable ride on Maverick with these restraints as opposed to the bulkier ones on Mantis or Vekomas.

*** Edited 6/27/2007 5:10:19 PM UTC by Top Thrill 182***

My first trip I was complaining big time about headbanging, etc, etc, but for my next trip I took into account tips from people on this board (particularly Jeff) and made sure to hold my head stiff throughout the ride. My thought was to make my head "one" with the headrest. I still got jerked a bit after the tunnel but all in all it made it a much more enjoyable ride. I tried to tell first timers around me to do the same...I still heard a lot of headbanging comments.
*** Edited 6/27/2007 5:31:14 PM UTC by TerraCoaster***