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Skate Race

Dec
5

Skate Race

Roller Skate or Roller Blade?

First time in years. Since summer is coming, and I really want to learn how to skate, I need personal experienced opinion on which would be more suitable, the pros and cons of each.
I'd be using it to just skate, race, get at great distances with speed. Also, getting to school is one of the uses.
And if possible, since I'm basically new, if I can get tips on how to begin.
There are no rinks around my area, those which I do know of, well let's just say it's not a friendly neighborhood.

I wouldn't be asking here if I hadn't tried rinks to random skaters in the street whom know nothing.

If you are going to go more than a mile or for reasonable speed, you will want Inline Skates (Rollerblade is just one brand, you go driving not Fording).

Inlines are a lot faster and stable outside. The first time that inlines were allowed in roller skate racing was the last time that quads were used. They were so much faster that it didn't matter how good or bad the skater was, quads weren't ever going to beat them.

New girlfriend used to skate on quads all the time doing figure skating routines and had done them on ice skates. She pulled out her old skates and tried them then tried a pair of inlines and was amazed at how much easier inlines were for skating quickly.

Quads would be better if you were skating in a small rink or working on dance moves. They are easier for a beginner to stand around it and for beginners to do really sharp turns in. However, you should see the moves that a good inline skater can do with slalom cones.

I am guessing from your comments that you are not near a large city that will have in Inline Skating club. You can search for them on the web and they can give you a lot of hints to get started.
Rollerblade (www.rollerblade.com) has some good beginner lessons on their site, include animations of how to do the skills.

Your best bet for quality beginner skates, go to a sporting goods store and not the discount stores (the discount skates are cheap and not good for skating more than a few times a year). Rollerblade and K2 are the two major brands in the US. Rollerblade makes a cheaper line called BladeRunner that is not as good as the ones they put their real name on but would be ok as long as you realize that they are best for starting but you might be replacing them relatively soon.

If you intend to skate more than casually (it sounds like it), I recommend looking for skates with wheels that are 80mm or 84mm. If you tend to have good balance, you might be comfortable learning on skates with 90mm wheels. Up to 90mm, the larger wheels are better. It takes much more skill to use the skates with 100 or 110mm wheels, usually only very fast (and experienced skaters can handle them).
Metal frames (the part that holds the wheels) are much better than plastic.
You need to try on skates to find ones that fit. Even different models within a brand will fit differently. You want to skates to be snug all around your foot without pinching your toes. To work well, they should act as part of your foot and loose skates cannot do that. Usually, you will want skates that are the same size as your shoe to one full size smaller.

Downhill skateboard race in St Sauveur, QC on July 12th 2009