For most people, roller skating is a fun childhood pastime that elicits memories of sparkling disco balls, vintage wooden rinks and loud music. But the story of roller skates reaches far beyond flashing lights and limbo bars. The first roller skates appeared in the 1700s as a summertime replacement for ice skates. However, these skates had some fundamental problems, such as an inability to turn or to stop. Designing a roller skate that behaved as beautifully as an ice skate was a challenge to inventors for several hundred years.
Origins
Ice skates were around for about 5,000 years, and were a common means of transportation in northern European countries for centuries. Early inline roller skates called "skeelers" were first used by the Dutch in the 1700s during the summer months. Joseph Merlin, a Belgian inventor and crafter of musical instruments, had the earliest patent for a roller skate design in 1760. Merlin is said to have worn his metal wheeled boots to a masquerade party in London where he made a grand entrance by rolling into the room while playing the violin. Unfortunately, having no brakes and no turning ability, he quickly crashed into an expensive mirror.
Wheel Design
After Merlin's smashing appearance in London, various other skates were made, including the "Rolito" patented by Robert John Tyers of London in 1823. The Rolito strapped onto a person's shoe and sported five inline wheels of various sizes that gave the skate a "rockering" mechanism and allowed the skater to turn. Early American models with just two wheels also lent the skater some steering control. The first four-wheel skates similar to those used today was produced by American James Plimpton in 1863. These skates had a rubber suspension between the sole and axles, giving a "rocking action" for smoother turns. Plimpton also placed lubricant and a brass ring inside the wheels where they contacted the axle to minimize wear and tear on the wheel. In 1852, Englishman J. Gidman patented a friction-reducing pin ball bearing for roller skates. When ball bearings were mass produced for skates in 1884, roller skating experienced a boom of popularity because the bearings made skating much easier. Bearing design was improved in 1908 with a cone-shaped axle end that fitted into a cup filled with rows of ball bearings. The "Woodward" skate that had rubber rather than wooden wheels became popular in 1910. Rubber wheels offered greater variety for skaters; harder rubber could be used for speed, and softer rubber for better grip. Rubber wheels were replaced with even faster and more durable plastic wheels in the 1960s.
Braking Systems
The earliest patented braking system for roller skates came from French inventor Patibledin in 1819. Patibledin's skates had four inline metal rollers with a screw at the heel for braking. Rubber toe stops that mimicked the ice picks on the front of ice skates were invented in 1876 and patented in 1908. However, toe stops did not become popular until the 1940s when they began to be mass produced and sold commercially.
Skate Design
Most early roller skates consisted of wooden or metal soles held to the shoe with leather straps. In the 1860s, E.H. Barney of Massachusetts designed skates that attached to the shoe with metal clamps instead of leather straps. Later versions of the skate had a clamp for the toe and a strap for the ankle. Barney's skates could also be adjusted to fit different shoe sizes. Because of their versatility, adjustable roller skates consisting of two sliding metal plates remained popular up to the 1960s. Skates with wheels attached directly to a boot or shoe appeared around 1900, but were considered unsanitary and were used only by professional skaters. It would be several more decades before the public began to widely use the roller skate boots now seen in every roller skating rink.
Roller Skating in Society
One of the first uses of roller skates in popular culture was in 1818 when roller skates debuted in a ballet in Berlin. In the 1840s, foreshadowing the roller skating carhops of the next century, several Berlin beer taverns had their barmaids serve beer on skates. The first roller skating rinks opened in London in 1857. A few years later, Plimpton opened a roller skating club in New York City where young men would go to show off for their lady friends. Adjustable skates worn over the shoe became popular with children in the first half of the twentieth century, and in the 1970s roller skating experienced one of its biggest booms as new plastic wheels, better coatings for rink floors and disco music united to bring roller skating to the pinnacle of pop culture.
Birth of Rollerblades
Although most early roller skates featured inline rollers, quad skates became more widely used because they replicated the functions of ice skates, allowing the fancy jumps, fast turns and speed that skaters desired. That changed in 1979 when two hockey players, brothers Scott and Brennan Olson, discovered a pair of old inline roller skates. The Olsen brothers redesigned the skate with modern materials and founded Rollerblade, Inc. to produce the skates. The name "Rollerblade" is now commonly used to refer to all brands of inline roller skates.
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