Differences Between Roller Skates & Blades

Roller skates and Rollerblades are essentially shoes that have wheels on the bottom. A roller skate is different from a Rollerblade in several ways. The roller skate was invented long before the Rollerblade, and the placement of the wheels on both types of footwear is also different. The are also dissimilar from how they are fastened on the foot and what activities they are used for.

  1. History of Roller Skates

    • The first known roller skate was invented in Belgium in 1760 by a man named Joseph Merlin. Merlin didn't invent brakes for the wheels he attached to his shoes and ended his roller skate debut with a crash into a mirror at a masquerade ball. (ref 1) It wasn't until 1863 that an American, James Plimpton, invented a usable pair of skates with two parallel sets of wheels on rubber springs. Roller skates became extremely popular throughout the mid twentieth century, until inline skates made their debut in the 1990s.

    History of Inline Skates

    • The first company to produce inline skates on a large scale was formed by their inventors, who called the skates "Rollerblades". The Rollerblade brand name is synonymous with inline skates in a similar way that Kleenex is synonymous with tissues. The inventors of inline skates are two brothers from Minnesota, Scott and Brennan Olson, who wanted to practice hockey during the summer. Rollerblade Inc was founded in 1980.

    Boots, Wheels, Buckles and Laces

    • The most obvious difference between roller skates and Rollerblades are their boots and the formation of their wheels. Skates form a square with two sets of parallel wheels and often a rubber stopper in the front. Blades have skates that are "in line" with each other and form a vertical line down the bottom center of the foot. Different types of skates and blades have different boots. In general a roller skate boot is made of pliable leather that is laced up, similar to the boot of an ice skate. A Rollerblade boot is is made of hard resin (plastic) that provides sturdy ankle support, similar to an ice hockey boot. Rollerblades have breaks on the back rather than the front of the boot. Rollerblades use buckles to fasten the boots.

    Rollerblade Uses

    • Rollerblades became popular in the last decade of the 20th century and are still used today with high frequency. They may have more specific uses than roller skates. Many individuals own a pair of Rollerblades to use simply as a form of outdoor exercise. The smooth motion and almost total body movement required to use them, makes them a low impact cardio choice. Inline skates are used at skate parks that have pipes and ramps skaters use to jump over, off from and on to. This is called extreme skating. Ice hockey players can use inline skates to join an inline skate hockey league in the summer. There is also speed skating that is similar to speed ice skating.

    Roller Skate Uses

    • Roller Skates may not be used by as many people in 2010 as are Rollerblades but their history endures as many people use them and have them for nostalgic purposes. Roller skates are used mostly for casual recreation. In the 1950s many drive-thru resturants had their waitresses on skates as a novelty and to provide faster service. In the 1960s and 1970s roller skating rinks were popular places for teenagers to hang out in. There are still roller rinks across the country that people use for the same purpose, with skates and blades. Rinks often play music and use disco balls to accompany skaters going around their track. A popular sport that uses only a certain type of roller skate is roller derby. This sport is an all women's sport and involves teams racing each other around a raised and angled track. The skaters are allowed to push each other out of the way as they pass other skaters.