Steel coasters have a generally smoother ride than their wooden counterparts, and due to their strength, rides can have more complex and faster turns and twists without injuring riders.
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Steel roller coasters generally feel smoother to ride than their wooden counterparts. Because of their strength, they can be more complex and make faster turns and twists without injuring riders. There are many different types of steel coasters, such as flying, inverted, floorless and suspended.
Steel rollercoasters are well-known for their speed, height, and steep drops. They usually have plenty of loops and twists and turns in their tracks too, allowing riders to experience the exhilarating rush and push of gravity many times during one ride.
Far more than steel, wooden coasters can get rougher over time, as rails and ledgers sag and bend under the weight of a 15,000-pound car bouncing around the track. A poorly maintained wooden coaster can become a rough, unpleasant ride.
The swaying of the track reduces the maximum force applied, like a shock absorber. Like steel roller coasters, wooden roller coasters usually use the same three-wheel design, pioneered by John Miller.
The first tubular steel-tracked coaster was Disney's Matterhorn Bobsled Ride, built in 1959. Steel rides were quieter — but more importantly, they allowed designers to build twists, turns and other thrills not possible with wood coasters.
The wood track is protected with steel strips that are custom bent to match the profile of the track and it's that steel-on-steel contact that causes the vibration riders feel when riding a wooden coaster. Over time, that vibration can cause some wear and tear, making for a bumpier ride.
Rollercoaster loops are most often not perfect circles – instead, they are teardrop-like in shape. This is because it takes a greater amount of acceleration to get the train around a perfectly circular loop.
A major part of the wooden coaster's appeal comes in the way the track sways as the coaster makes its way around it. Many wooden tracks are designed to sway up to a foot or more for effect. Stress limits are built into the design, so there's no inherent risk.
If you're wondering whether old, wooden roller coasters such as the Cyclone are any more dangerous than today's steel speed demons, there probably isn't much, if any, difference, safety expert Randy King told Yahoo Travel. “What happens is they replace the wood on the ride every year,” King said.