So you have decided to try inline skating but are confused with the type of skate you need? Well, it all depends on what type of skating you are interested in:

Recreational skating
If you want to try skating for recreational purpose then you would not need professional inline skates. These basic skates are designed along with a boot to firmly hold your ankle and wheels that provide a large degree of control.

The boot materials are available from one or two piece moulds of engineering plastic and newer soft boot designs that are similar to a hiking or training shoe. All recreational skates have brake attachments.

Fitness skates
They are similar to recreational skates. They are usually light in weight with large wheels and a low cut boot. They also have break attachments.

Speed skates
Racing skates come with 5 wheels and some frames are capable of having even more wheels. They have a longer wheelbase along with ankle support and low cut leather boots. These skates are for experienced skaters only as they have no brakes.

Hockey skates
They are similar to ice hockey skates. They are made up of lace up and stitched leather for a very comfortable and close fit. They are specially designed for quick and better manoeuvring. Some skates even have brake attachments.

Aggressive skates
These are specially designed for performing stunts on ramps and rails. They have grind plates with smaller wheels to withstand rough use. Brakes can interfere while performing stunts and hence they do not have any brake attachments.

Many of you might already be aware of the fact that there are four different forms of inline skating.

• Free skating
• Speed skating
• Competitive skating
• Aggressive inline skating

One of the most common forms of inline skating is aggressive inline skating. Most of the aggressive inline skaters do various difficult tricks like jumps, flips, slides and grinds. Aggressive inline skating, also popularly known as trick riding is similar to what you see in X-games. Aggressive inline skaters do various tricks like the acid grind, the Viking flip, the 540 spin, soul grind, flat spin etc.

Speed skating is another very popular form of inline skating. As the name suggests, speed skating is all about high speed skating. Speed skaters use inline skates with lower boots. Lower boots provide more ankle flexion to the speed skaters. Speed inlines also have larger wheels compared to other inlines. Larger wheels provide more speed.

The art form of inline skating is known as Competitive skating. Competitive skating consists of synchronised movements, dance and grace. Most of the competitive skaters prefer softer boots like the ones on a quad. Although softer than the hard boots, soft boots weigh the same as hard boots.

Free skating is the simplest form of inline skating. There are no rules. All you have to do is to get from point A to point B as fast as possible.

In the beginning it was the quad and then came inline. The rest, as we all know is history.

Contrary to what many people believe, roller skating does not refer only to the roller skates or quad. Roller skating refers to quad skates as well as inline skates. Quad skates or roller skates were first manufactured in the 17th century. They were a favourite pastime for many. However, manoeuvring the roller skates was not very easy and hence roller skating began to fade away slowly.

In late 1980’s, the Rollerblade company introduced a new type of roller skates to the people.
The company was the first one to commercially produce inline skates. It was a high boot single line skate and hence known as inline skates.

Inline skates are made up of the boot, an outer shell, the inner shell or shoe, frame, wheel bearings and other accessories for safety. Inline skates have a more aggressive look than the quad skates. With inline skates, you can do four different types of inline skating i.e. free skating, aggressive inline, competitive skating and speed skating.

There is only a slight difference in all the four different types of inline skating. However, all of them require practice and discipline. It is always advisable to wear all the necessary safety gear while doing any type of inline skating and learn from a professional inline skating coach.

If you want to experience aggressive inline skates, all you would need is a pair of inline skates. You can choose many different designs of inline skates.

An Inline skate has streamlined frames, which make it lighter and give better control. These inline skates are designed in a way so that they can bend easily and provide good support at the same time.

The inline skates made specifically for figure skaters are slightly different. The front stopper of the inline skaters is same as a toe pick. The boots are designed specially to provide flexibility while skating. They bend and provide support and allow the skaters to jump and spin very easily.

You should begin by practicing basic elements of inline skating. Avoid using roller blades as they can be an obstacle in a skater’s progress. Inline skates have four sides on the two edges of the skate blade. There is a wheel that can replace the concave steel blade.

Roller skating has gradually evolved since its early beginnings. Today it refers to inline skates as well as quad skates. The initial form of roller skates was cast away due to difficulty in manoeuvring.

It was in 1980 that the Rollerblade Company introduced the commercially produced inline skate for the first time. A high boot with a single line skate and a heel stop was christened ‘inline skates’.

Inline skates consists of a boot, outer shell, inner shell or inner shoe, wheel bearings, frame and other accessories for safety. The selection of your inline skates depends upon the type of inline skating that you opt for. There are four types of inline skating; speed skating, free skating, aggressive inline and competitive skating.

Aggressive inline skates are more common. It involves performing tricks like jumps, flips and slides.

Aggressive inline skates are used to perform manoeuvres such as acid grind, soul grind and flat spin.

Aggressive inline skates are made of carbon fibre, a light but hard outer shell, inner shell and polyurethane wheels with steel bearings.

Inline skates for speed skaters are different from aggressive inline skates. The boots are not high unlike aggressive inline skates. The wheels are larger in size. These differences are based on the requirements of the high speeds reached in speed skating

Competitive skating is more of an art form of inline skating. It involves dance, synchronized movement, and grace. A soft boot is better suited for this form of inline skating.

Aggressive inline skates are popular among the brave.

Aggressive inline skates involve some breathtaking stunts, tricks and manoeuvres by the skaters. Inline skates are sometimes referred to as ‘rolling’ or ‘blading’. It is often associated with ‘extreme’ sports.

There are many other types of aggressive skating techniques which are prevalent in small communities, away from the mainstream. The known and established types of aggressive inline skate include Vert skating, Street skating and Park skating.

Vert skating, or ‘vertical skating’ is a form of aggressive inline skating, performed in a halfpipe in privately owned skate parks.

The second form of aggressive inline skating, Park skating is quite similar to vertical skating except for the usage of smaller ramps and a mix of park skating elements.

Street skating is performed on the street with handrails, ledges or stairs.

The aggressive inline skates are usually different from regular skates. Aggressive inline skates have smaller wheels with a higher durometer. They are made of a hard shell to protect the skater’s feet and provide extra support. Wheels of aggressive inline skates are smaller and facilitate faster acceleration or deceleration.

You can do many stunts and tricks with aggressive inline skates. It is an exciting game for those who are willing to put in years of tireless practice to hone their skills and techniques.