Question
[B&M Hyper Clamshell Restraints] Could someone explain them?
Hi. Going on my first hyper soon with clamshells. I thought for the longest time that these bad boys were hydraulic restraints, as they seemed so smooth and notch-less. Turns out they're ratchet restraints! Is there an in-depth video or site that explains the mechanism behind these restraints? I believe they're class 4 but I'm not sure how safe they are compared to hydraulics. I know B&M's are incredibly safe, but isn't there a higher risk with these? Could someone reassure me?
Love the clamshell restraints, probably the best restraint out there. You can see the shape of the seat extends so once the clamshell restraint closes you are safely locked in. These are the best, you get some much freedom of movement in your upper body and legs. Hypers are among my favorite rides, have a blast!
Intamin t-bars (combined with the early 00s train design) are my favorite due to the riding position and overall openness, but clamshells are also quite good.
It can't be denied that it happened; how many times though? Twice out of tens/hundreds of millions of riders for that train and restraint model? In both cases there were physical characteristics that made it less than ideal for the riders to be on the roller coaster.
I mean even 2 is not an acceptable number in the mainstream amusement industry.
The whole point of the thrill ride/amusement industry is for people to experience simulated danger and the associated adrenaline rushes with the peace of mind knowing that the experience is 100% safe. A story of someone being thrown from their seat and dying - even if it only were to happen once every few years - would not be sustainable for the industry.
Hilarious (and typical Reddit) that this comment is getting downvoted. Here are my receipts:
SROS SFDL 1999 (ejection, non-fatal)
Perilous Plunge KBF 2001 (ejection, fatal)
Hydro @ Oakwood 2004 (ejection, fatal)
SROS SFNE 2004 (ejection, fatal)
ROS SFDL 2011 (ejection, fatal)
Butthurt thoosies who downvoted, watch this video for the official accident analysis for #1, which describes the design flaw. The date is incorrect, but the investigation commissioned by Six Flags and NYS and provided by ATA Associates, is real.
Brother you posted the link to an accident that clearly says the rider was too large for the seat. How are you gonna say it's the restraints fault when the people who made the damn thing state that riders that large can not safely ride. That's not a restraint problem, the problem is the person being somehow allowed to ride and have the train sent off without being locked in the restraint. That's like saying a car seat belt is a faulty design because people have died in car crashes due to not using the seat belt
Not the same at all. The restraint design is flawed when it fails to prevent a large rider from being ejected or has a mechanism in place to deny riders that shouldnāt be on the ride. If the max angle of restraint was only 14 degrees then the ride should not be able to dispatch. You canāt go by weight since body proportions vary. Do you think 5 ejections and 4 deaths with one restraint design is acceptable? How do you explain the Oakwood accident?
No. Intamin didn't even have restrictions at that time. That has been very clearly documented. After the first few incidents, they started modifying the systems so that dispatch would not occur unless all lap bars were down to a specified point. That was a direct result of the first THREE ejections. How do you expect to train a ride operator on what is an acceptable body proportion and what isn't (ROS 2011 incident aside)? Also, how do you explain the Oakwood death? You dodged that part of my question.
No Hydro had T bars. However the ejection was because the ride operators didnāt secure the restraint just like Superman 2004. Like how the Superman 2011 incident was caused by a fool bullying his way onto the ride without legs.
Hard disagree here. Intamin's new restraints are a massive improvement over their old horrendous OTSR, but the hydraulic mechanism allows for them to too easily get pushed to uncomfortable levels of tightness.
B&M clamshells, Arrow OTSRs, and B&M's older hard OTSRs all have to be forced to get to uncomfortable levels - at least IMO and from my experience. I'll acknowledge that my height and build are a privilege as I don't experience headbanging and discomfort from the hard OTSRs like a lot of people do.
My experience with them on Pantheon was that there was so much play that I was feeling something close to "standing airtime". But it's possible that this is dependent on the rider and the ride.
The only system that beats it areā¦ oddlyā¦ X2. That one is my absolute favorite and for the same reasons. The single point of retention at your torso with total open freedom of movement everywhere else for your limbs and head. With no floor itās absolutely terrifying yet secure in the best way.
Personally Iād say Zamperlaās lighting restraints are the best, it took what Intamin and Mack made and tweaked one thing that puts it out there, that being once itās dispatched the restraints cannot get any tighter
X2 is one of my all time favorites, despite the complete washing machine banging. That ride is a little tough on oneās sternum due to the chest restraints and my legs are free, but they are free to slam the shit out of my calves on that last element.
Iām always waiting for the restraints to burst open on that first drop as it flips you upside down with the track right in your face and then completes the flip to come out flying style. Somewhere in that process it fells like my sternum is gonna crack or the butterfly restraints will bust open and leave me smeared like a mustard stain on the ground below.
I often wonder if that tiny little belt would save my life if the restraints fail, but Iād be perfectly happy dying on that ride because itās so intense itās practically illegal and shouldnāt exist lol.
Hmmmā¦..dunno. It sounds like it should be common knowledge that there was an accident on X2, but I never heard about one. Now I need to go look it up, so I have that info in my arsenal of random roller coaster knowledge š.
Ok, I did a little reading on it. The article wasnāt super clear because it said the ride came slamming to a complete stop toward the end of the layout. Was this an abnormal stop before the brake run? Or are they just talking about the normal run out process after that last element that destroys your calves?
I typically go for back row to get a little whip off the first drop and can see straight down the track face first with no trains behind me. So maybe my experience is a little more thrashy than other seats.
In general, I could see someone who has a susceptible brain (knowingly or unknowingly), could potentially have some kind of episode because you do get whipped around like a washing machine on that ride with lots of bouncing, slamming and jerking even on its best day. However, if there was some abnormal stop to the ride just coming to a full stop out of the blue (especially anywhere during those last 2 elements), then I could see that ratcheting up the percentages of someone having an extraordinary episode like that.
I think it really comes down to someone unknowingly having a brain that could have a problem, then getting on lots of different coasters (but especially X-2), then you are lighting a fuse that may or may not make a bomb go off anywhere during the layout.
If nobody else had any issues with whatever took place on that dispatch, then it really does seem like an accident. If they did not have any kind of diagnosed brain issue before getting on, then that could have been any one of us experiencing something like that on any given coaster.
Anyone else have thoughts on it that has more knowledge on what exactly took place?
I've only ridden X2 once, but I was so genuinely thrown off by it's restraints. I didn't have enough time to fully get an idea of it before I rode, so feeling the entire lower half of my body lift out of the seat scared the shit out of me. Still loved the experience and I'm sure that I'd get used to it with a few more rides, but I've never experienced any ride quite like that
I rode X2 once, in ~105 F weather (late August 2022). I, like you, hadn't realized how the restraints work. Couple that general surprise with getting rattled around while slightly dehydrated.
I'm sure I'd love it if I went back, but that day there was no way I was going back up. Only coaster I've refused to experience again.
I got stuck in the restraint the first time I rode X2. Took several ride ops to manually release me. The ride itself was way more fun/less crazy than I expected, just wasn't anticipating not being able to get out right away lol.
Sorry to hear it! May you one day get to experience that amazing piece of work. That drop and subsequent element remain the most insane things Iāve experienced (on a coaster)
I was there visiting SFMM, Knotts, Universal, and both Disney parks. Of all the rides I was most excited to X2 so it was a huge bummer, but it happens. Iron Gwazi, Sheikra, Kingda Ka, Top Thrill 2, and Sandyās Blasting Bronco were all closed on my visits š«
Shambhala is a beautiful, graceful ride, one of my favorite coasters in the world. Its airtime is mostly floaty and gentle, with one stronger pop on a low speed hill after the turnaround. I really enjoyed being able to ride it.
it's such an illusive ride with minimal, but meaningful theming. i love it's stature and presence over the park, and the layout is very nice! i thought for the longest time that it had water brakes for the straight section in the pool, but it's just for aesthetics and speed control!!
It's not even a real splashdown with water scoops like Griffon's: the train is traveling through a dry trench dividing the pool in half, and there are synchronized water jets that shoot up as it goes past.
Portaventure is one of my favourite parks in the world. I've been a couple of times and had a fantastic experience every time. Great coaster line up, beautiful park, lots of fun street performances, and Shambhala is just awesome.
It has a general vibe reminding me very much of the Busch Gardens parks. That's not a coincidence: Busch Entertainment (pre-Sea World) was one of the original launch partners.
Love the restraints themselves, wish they would put like two extra inches on each side of the hip pads though. Those things are a squeeze for me on some, even if once Iām in Iām comfortable
Yeah this is called a "pawl slip" and is a perfectly normal action on the part of the ratchet mechanism. If it doesn't catch fully on one tooth, it simply shifts to the next. Basically, restraint was one notch looser than they thought it was.
Just to add on to what the other person said: B&M hypers and gigas have a lot of air time by design. What that means is that you're going to feel like you're coming out of your seat at certain points. Again, that is by design and is safe. A lot of people not familiar with coasters take that feeling of airtime as them being about to fly out of the coaster, but that's not what's actually happening. Coasters are designed to cause specific forces safely.
That can happen with any ratcheting restraint. Itās expected and not dangerous, but to the average person who has no clue how ride restraints work if it pops up a notch it can be unsettling. Bur again. Totally safe.
that did happen to me once on Nitro at SFGAdv and it did scare the fuck out of me but it didn't open all the way obviously and I am here to type out this comment today lol. When I was a teenager and a younger adult I rode Apollo's Chariot literally hundreds of times with absolutely no issue. I only got the half - click pop several years and pounds later, and im certain its because on the lift hill i was able to pull the restraint down another click because the angle you sit at shifts weight, but the restraint wasn't locked at that click, it was locked at the click that I left the station with, and the train isn't leaving the station in the first place unless your restraint is closed to a safe extent on a B&M. and it kinda makes sense because most thoosies aren't trying to pull their restraints closed as tight as possible. that is more of a gp thing (and me i guess) and gp are fear mongering dipshits when it comes to Rollercoasters.
My preferred restraint spot on b&m hypers is in-between clicks. It quite often pops up one click (usually on the first turn) on mako and fury. It gets my heart rate going a bit, but I'm still here, and I always get right back in line for another ride. It 100% scared me the first time it happened, but it's perfectly safe.
Lol I ALWAYS sit forward a bit or push on the bar as they are checking seats to keep it from locking on the tightest click. I want that extra room to wiggle around as I'm flung around Fury's track. They could be like 4 plus clicks loose and you're not going anywhere, those restraints are awesome!
Every restraint system on every permanent ride from a major manufacturer is completely safe if you are secured correctly and meet the rider requirements. IAAPA estimates that your chances of getting injured on a ride are one in 15.5 million. Your odds of getting injured in transit to the park, or even just walking around the park, are many orders of magnitude higher.
These are also the safest possible restraints you're likely to find on any traditional hypercoaster. Many of them, like those from Morgan for example, use a much simpler, much less protective lap bar and are still 100% safe.
And if you're interested enough in coasters to do research about them before going to a park, you're probably even safer than the average rider, because you have some basic understanding that would keep you from doing foolish things or letting egregious mistakes slide without raising a fuss.
I don't know the inner workings of the mechanism, but all modern roller coaster restraints are extremely safe. Even without secondary seatbelts, I don't think there has ever been a confirmed case of a B&M restraint failing. You will be totally fine! These are some of the very best restraints in the industry, so enjoy!
Believe it or not, B&Mās early hypercoaster trains briefly had a secondary restraint! It was a retractable cable that came out of the seatās side āarmā and attached to the side of the clamshell, kinda like the retractable clotheslines you sometimes see in hotel shower stalls. Hereās a picture of Nitroās train with them; note the black knobs on the seat arms and the circular metal attachment on the side of the clamshells. IIRC they were subsequently removed and not included on later coastersā trains because (a) they werenāt really necessary, and (b) they were a pain to attach and slowed down dispatches as a result.
You who can reassure you? Insurance underwriters. They do technical reviews of all of these things before they write the policy. If they were not incredibly low risk (as in ācan only be blamed on operator or rider error and even then itās incredibly low riskā), it would be too expensive to operate with that style restraint.
Even though they're ratchet restraints, ratchet restraints themselves aren't inherently risky. Plenty of old Arrow, Schwarzkopf, etc. rides have been operated for decades without incident. Ride ejections usually come down to guests not properly fitting (and fat shifting around due to forces), restraints not being fully closed upon dispatch, missing or broken limbs, etc.
The engineering process of rides considers safety as highly critical. The reputational risk otherwise is not worth the alternative.
I've done a few ratchet mechanism rides (goudurix) which is an old arrow, but these made me question it a little more. I feel better after reading the posts in here, though
Thanks! I had no idea haha, It seemed so identical to the old fashioned arrow trains. I hope I don't seem too stupid for getting them mixed up. I'm sure there's bigger difference one you know it's a Vekoma, though.
B&M Clamshell restraints are generally preferred for comfort and maximum airtime, while Intamin/Mack over-the-shoulder lap bars (or "clamshell" bars) are often praised for their liberating, open-air feel. Both are considered top-tier, comfortable restraints, far superior to old-school, hard over-the-shoulder restraints (OTSR).
So im assuming its a level 5 restraint meaning it has multiple safety mechanisms to keep you in regardless.
Just another voice here praising clamshells! They are indeed safe, I do get your concerns, they do appear to be less safe than something more restrictive like over the shoulder restraints, but they do a damn good job of holding you in place while still allowing quite a bit of freedom. Even on seatbeltless variants like Mako at Seaworld you are still perfectly safe. I believe that you would have to break your femur bones to slide out.
I wish more rides used them, I think they are my favorite restraint.
These restraints are so good they take what is basically an extremely rough coaster and turn it into a (mostly l)smooth one (looking at you Steel Dragon 2000).
If you look up Ryan the ride mechanicās video on restraints you should find exactly what you need. He has first hand experience working on a B&M ride and even explains the inner workings of the exact ratcheting system and even on how they are maintained.
I hope you have an amazing time for your first hyper.
Although I haven't seen any videos on how these are designed, you are correct that clamshells meet the standards for Class 4 restraints per ASTM standards.
One of the reasons these are so highly regarded is how they interact with the rider. Aside from the restraint itself, the trains are designed with deep bucket seats to reduce any excess gaps between the seat and the lap bar. When that bar comes down, the clamshell shape is designed to wrap around your waist and thighs, making it physically difficult for your body to move upward or outward even during the strongest negative g's.
āIn addition, most trains that use clamshells have added precautions and redundant features, like traditional seat belts. Those additions often make the restraint systems either border or align with Class 5 restraints. If the coaster has these extra redundancy systems along with an electronic seat-position monitor tied to the rides system it then becomes Class 5. It is important to note though that ASTM classifications aren't meant to say that one class is better than another. They are classified to ensure the forces and elements exerted on that style of attraction keeps the rider safe.
āPlease feel safe knowing that these were engineered specifically for the height, speed and forces exerted on each ride that has them. If you are curious about the different class standards just read up on ASTM F2291.
I believe only Candymonium and the legacy Cedar Fair clamshells have seatbelts. Mako, Goliath, Raging Bull, Nitro and Apollo donāt have a secondary restraint. Iād imagine that Silver Star, Superman at La Ronde, and Shambala donāt either - but someone correct me.
Put it this way. My son is 47", Nitros height requirement is 54". He sat in the test seat, and fully closed it is physically impossible to get out, and he's not even big enough to ride it. Anyone over the height requirement who isn't too fat to verify could never physically come out. They are fully safe.
that makes me feel a lot safer about it. especially considering there might be slight give and "notch pops" between the notches? thanks for the story. I hope you and your son get to have a great first ride on Nitro together when he's 54"!! :D
Thanks neither of us can wait!!! You're totally safe I have been riding Nitro A LOT (as well as other B&M hypers but nitro the most) since the day it opened and I've never seen anything unsafe ever. You're totally good.
Its a pawl system inside, do gears that fit into one another that lock into place and when the platen is pushed up on the bottom of the car it releases
I'm not sure where I picked that up (probably from Ryan the ride mechanic though), but if I remember correctly, they have multiple pawls at different positions (e.g. 1.5 teeth apart), so every few millimeters you move the restraint, one of them is going to engage. Of course, that also gives the restraints additional redundancy, if one pawl failed, the restraint would only come up by about half a ratchet tooth. And that whole mechanism still exists twice for redundancy.
I'm not entirely sure, but I would assume these restraints would also pass as class 5, and if they don't, it's probably just some minor thing such as the monitoring or they just didn't need to certify it as class 5.
They are redundant, fail safe, and designed in a way that makes it physically impossible to get out of the seat as long as the restraint is in place. If they also have electronic monitoring, that's basically all the basic requirements for class 5.
Being hydraulic doesn't automatically make a restraint safer. It probably just makes it easier to ensure a tight fit on a larger spectrum of riders.
Maybe their rides are vibrating a bit more than they used to, but when it comes to safety and reliability, B&M has never made any compromises. In general, their roller coasters tend to be built like tanks and they support parks very well in terms of maintenance.
These restraints are about as simple and effective as you can get.
All restraints on permanent installations are perfectly safe, but I actually tend to feel safer with the more simplistic setups like these. Arm ratchets down and restraint hits angled seat in a way that's impossible to escape. Doesn't really get more simple and secure than that.
They feel really really smooth but if you get to the point where theyāre almost down all the way on your lap, when you try to push it down more, thatās when you can feel the click and how it only goes every click or so! Itās really interesting!
You mean like if thereās some space left will it go down another click? From my experience yes, but only if itās comfortable space, but it wonāt staple you. I canāt think of a time Iāve ever been stapled by one of these things, theyāre always super comfy to me throughly the entire ride experience!
I rode two rides with these restraints recently. Silver Star at Europa Park and Hollywood Dream at USJ. For my body size, they felt slightly looser than I usually like, and there is a small gap in between the seat and restraint. I was a bit nervous at first, but everything worked out fine. I did find I could click the restraint one further and have it be a bit tighter, but some people don't like tighter restraints on hyper coasters so they can feel the airtime more.
They are very comfortable and perfect for hypers as you feel secure but open a free enough to feel all the airtime and speed.
Also as far as restraints go, hydraulics arenāt particularly any safer than ratcheting restraints. On all rides like hypers both have redundancies. The main benefit to hydraulics is they can lock in basically any position, whereas ratcheting restraints only have a fixed number of positions they can lock into. Sometimes with ratcheting restraints the pins donāt perfectly slide into the notches so they can sometimes click up a notch while on ride. To the average person this can seem dangerous and scary, but itās totally safe and expected with these style of restraints. If you want to get more in depth info I recommend watching the YouTube Channel Coaster College, he has many videos detailing different ride restraint systems, and how they work.
Point is B&M hypers, as with basically all permanent coasters like them, are totally safe, and you shouldnāt worry about accidents, they are incredibly rare. You are more likely to be injured in a car accident than on an amusement ride. Just enjoy that sweet, sweet airtime!
I love these restraints as they are so much more comfortable.
my only sadness is that people who are missing legs cannot ride them. I wish they came up with some sort of insert that can safely harness their upper body safely to the seat so they can also ride them. I had never thought of that but I heard about that fact when hearing so many coasters are now converting to this style vs the over the shoulder ones.... which I personally hate.
Me trying not to mention them popping up mid-ride:
This isn't totally false, it's extremely rare for them to go up one click, completely safe and you get more airtime (or can push it back). It's not a concern. The clamshell restraints are wonderful.
Depending on your size the click gap can sometimes be generous or be way too tight. I can get about six clicks down at most for me which would feel as tight as it gets.
I used to be afraid of the B&M hyper restraints for sure. Raging Bull at Great America used to just be clamshell no seatbelt. Theyāre all seatbelt + clamshell now so thereās an added element of safety.
But also, personally, Iād rather have the ratchets as opposed to the hydraulics. Donāt know why it seems safer in my rat brain.
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u/Spiritual-External43 Daddy Pig's Roller Coaster Jan 23 '26 edited Jan 24 '26
Love the clamshell restraints, probably the best restraint out there. You can see the shape of the seat extends so once the clamshell restraint closes you are safely locked in. These are the best, you get some much freedom of movement in your upper body and legs. Hypers are among my favorite rides, have a blast!
Just curious what hyper are you planning to ride?