Neither cross-country or downhill skiing lend themselves to off-season and off-slope training. Once the snow stops falling, the lifts stop running and the Nordic trails close for the summer, snow sport enthusiasts struggle to maintain their sport-specific skills. In-line skating was once the off-season training method of choice for skiers. Based on its success, some manufacturers created the roller ski.
In-Line Skate History
In-line skates and roller skis both originated as summer alternatives to winter sports. The in-line skate prototype developed in Holland in the early 1700s, when an unnamed Dutchman decided that he wanted to extend his ice skating season. He nailed four wooden spools to a strip of wood, and attached them to his shoes. Later, in 1819, M. Petitbled patented a skate that featured four wheels in a line. Then, in 1979, Minnesota ice hockey players Scott and Brennan Olson found a pair of antique in-line skates. They tweaked the design and created the Rollerblade brand of in-line skates. While roller skis facilitate off-slope training for skiers, the in-line skate's shorter length and wheel structure best suits skating and ice hockey training. In 1991, the "Los Angeles Times" reported that in-line skate hockey, performed on pavement, was gaining momentum.
The Skiroll
The roller ski originated in Europe the 1930s as a summer training method for professional Nordic skiers. The skates, called skirolls, were significantly longer than traditional skates. They had three pneumatic wheels 35cm in diameter. One wheel attached to the tip of the ski, and the other two wheels secured to the tail. The initiation of skating movements into Nordic ski technique influenced cross-country ski design, and ultimately skate ski structure. Manufacturers developed a two-wheeled skate ski, which is lighter than the original prototype. Despite their ability to reproduce skating movements, their lightweight design makes them unstable for simulating the fast, spontaneous movements of ice hockey. In-line skates are therefore better suited for hockey cross-training.
Alpine-Based Roller Skis
Skiing and in-line skating share the basic skill sets of edging pressure, rotary movement and dynamic balance. Both sports require you to initiate movement in your feet and ankles, and steer your equipment into the desired direction. The major differences between in-line skates and skis inspired the invention of the roller ski. Harald Harb, author of "Anyone Can be an Expert Skier," remarked that inline skate wheels easily tip off their center and onto their edges without effort. In fact, it's hard to keep the wheels of the inline skate upright. Skiing emphasizes the transitions between flattening the ski and tipping it on edge. When Harb created his Harb Carvers, he adjusted the wheel position to facilitate controlled edging and fore/aft balance. The Harb Carvers are an alpine-based version of the roller ski. They are shorter than Nordic-based roller skis, but slightly longer than in-line skates.
Other Features
Both roller skis and in-line skates require a stable skating boot, but roller skis use a much stiffer boot. Most skiers use the same boot they use for their roller skiing as they do for Nordic or alpine skiing. . In order to accurately simulate the snow sport, roller skiers use a set of poles that are specially designed for use on concrete. Some skiers save money by puncturing two tennis balls and attaching them to their pole tips in order to protect the poles from damage. In contrast, in-line skaters have little use for ski poles.
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