Sports enthusiasts often refer to the act of inline skating as rollerblading. However, Rollerblade refers to an actual company that stands responsible for mass producing one of the earliest models of inline skates. The sport of rollerskating utilizes skates known as quad skates. The four wheels of quad rollerskates sit by side while the the Rollerblade skates feature a wheel frame that holds the wheels in a straight line.
History
Rollerskating has been a prominent activity for leisure and sport in the United States since the first pair of rollerskates hit the market in the early 1860s. The earliest models of rollerskates featured a quad skate design with two wheels in the font and back. Inline skating gained significant popularity in the 1980s after two brothers from Minnesota founded the Rollerblade company. According to Rollerblade, the two brothers found a primitive version of the inline skate in a sporting goods store and decided to modify the construction. The improved inline skate design would serve for the blueprint for the first pairs of Rollerblade skates.
Function
Using your Rollerblades and quad skates as a form of exercise enables you to tone the muscles in your legs. A more competitive form of quad skating consists of races held on specially built skating rinks. The quad skates allow you to race around polished courses while performing in team events and time trials. According to Rollerblade, a hybrid form of inline skating, referred to as aggressive inline skating, evolved in the late 1980s. In aggressive inline Rollerblading, you ride up ramps to perform spinning maneuvers defined as tricks.
Types
The different quad skating types allow you to skate on different riding terrains. The speed models of quad skates can grip the slick surface around the turns of the skating rink. Rollerblade offers a fitness collection of inline skates that allow you to skate on the paved surfaces of biking and jogging trails. According to Rollerblade, the Street Collection models enable you to perform the popular maneuvers and skating techniques of aggressive inline skating.
Features
The alignment of the wheels remains the most obvious difference between the construction of the quad skates and Rollerblades. According to Quad Skating, the quad skates feature two metallic structures, known as the trucks, which hold the rollerskating wheels. Rollerblades feature a lightweight wheel made from metal or plastic that holds the wheels in place. The aggressive inline models from Rollerblade offer a unique feature that quad skates do not have. The grind plate, located in the middle of the wheel frame, allows you to slide your Rollerblades across rails to execute tricks known as grinds.
Size
The boot of the Rollerblade and quad skate refers to the component of the skate that fits around your foot. The boots of the quad skates often fit like conventional shoes and rest just above the opposing bones of your ankles. The boot of the Rollerblade has a larger size that stretches up to your shin. The increased boot size of the Rollerblade offers essential ankle support for many of the high impact maneuvers of aggressive inline skating.
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