What is the difference between Inline and Roller skates? We get asked this question all the time and the answer is pretty simple, it’s a difference in the wheel’s position, shape, density and most importantly: Balance. The way that your body balances on these wheels is the most important part of this answer because obviously the skates look very different (although to the common eye they do get misunderstood as one another) but it’s really more important to us how you feel on your skates because we want you to feel so great on them that you spend all of your time skating and tell all your loved ones to do the same! In this guide we will break down the differences and let you decide for yourself if you want to be an inline skater or a roller skater, or both.

Either skate is going to feel stable in one way and less stable in another way because of the position of the wheels. The design of the skates is also a factor but of course roller skate trucks will have a different feeling from the straight frame on an inline skate. It is also recommended to consider materials when you are choosing a complete skate. Metal frames, plates and trucks will feel more reactive to the surface and your movement while plastic has some loss of energy that can be used to your benefit in beginner skating where you don't want to feel all the bumps in the road.

Inline skates are great for heel-to-toe balance as the wheels are usually placed outside of the front of your foot and the back. This creates a fluid ice-skating like feel because the points of contact are similar, the wheels have much slimmer profiles than quad wheels and they have less contact to the ground because of this. Because they are easier from front to back they seem to be easier for beginner skaters to get used to skating. It makes sense because there are less moving parts but also people tend to fear falling forward onto their face or backwards into a concussion, which is very understandable but far lesser of a fear when you know you are more likely to fall from side to side. When you try on inline skates for the first time, you may notice that your ankles feel a bit uneasy. This is where your balance is compromised, it's harder to balance from side to side when all of your wheels are in a line along your foot. Since the wheels are in front and behind the boot they are also easier to trip over compared to roller skates.

Each roller skate has a set of two trucks. These are the same trucks that surfers were disassembling to create what we know now as skateboards. So, a skateboard is a great representation of what it is like to balance on a roller skate because you can think of each roller skate as a mini skateboard that straps to your foot. That may sound scary if you aren’t a skateboarder or even scarier if you are one because the wheelbase on a roller skate is generally WAY smaller. The largest similarity within the two (roller skates and skateboards) is that they are easy to balance on from side to side. Carving is simple on both and usually carving or striding are the beginner movements that help you understand the wheels and their rotation with your movement. If you get on or off of a skateboard too quickly you can see the skateboard slip under your feet. This is exactly the same on roller skates, you will see beginners in rinks try to walk on them and maybe have issues with finding their way to stride and it looks just like the Charlie Chaplin roller skating scene. What you lose in stability, you gain in agility. This is why they are so great for funky dance moves, or derby skaters, or even trick skating! They are also a bit easier to skate with your feet stacked one in front of the other since the wheel bases are shorter than inline skates

Inline skates are usually faster than roller skates because they have much less contact to the ground with slimmer wheel profiles. It’s also much easier to go faster when your wheels are large at 100-125mm in height. Which just isn’t the typical norm for roller skates, but it’s not impossible!

Roller skates have toe stops which are very easy to use on either foot. You can stop by dragging your foot behind you, you can turn and use your brake in front of you backwards. You can even use your toe stops to walk around when you feel uneasy or need a rest from your wheels. You can also stop your roller skates without a break with spins, or by using the edge of your wheels to slide into a stop. There are a lot of options and a lot of ways to have fun with stopping.

Beginner inline skates usually come with a brake attached to one boot. It's located at the back of the skate and it allows you to bring that foot in front of you to wear onto the brake pad and come to a stop. It's a little less intuitive to get used to which is why some brands have created alternative breaks like Rollerblade's ABT (automatic braking technology) or Powerslide's Synchro Brakes which both attach to the cuff of the boot so that you can stop with the movement of your ankle. Just like roller skates, you can also spin into a stop or slow yourself down to a stop with your carving.

It really depends on the skate! We weigh a lot of our products, and we try to give you the best estimate on how they would compare to each other so you can look into whatever setup you prefer for each kind. We had a theory that inline aggressive skates were lighter than a full park roller skate setup but to our surprise, the ones that we weighed (which were the same size) were the same weight. Again, you must consider the materials being used. Plastic is lighter than metal, bigger wheels are heavier than smaller wheels and the more hardware you have, the heavier the skate. Roller skates seem to have a bad rep, as most people think they should be heavier in general with their mostly metal trucks but there are some plastic trucks out there. They are heavier compared to inline skates that have riveted plastic frames, beginner wheels and with softer materials on the boot like a mesh or even a ventilated plastic but that isn’t a very fair comparison. It’s kind of like comparing a kitten to a mature cat’s weight.

It's all up to you! Depending on your prior balancing or skating experience, one may feel better than the other for you. If you are a former skateboarder, you may feel more comfortable on roller skates, or it may just click a bit quicker for you. Skiers and ice skaters tend to like the feel on inline skates more because the movements are similar, and a lot of people use them to cross-train. With everything discussed overall it is easier to start inline skating, and they are more developed that roller skates are generally (especially for aggressive skating). We also have a much wider variety of inline skates for kids available than we do for children’s roller skates. Just like learning a new language it can be easier to teach a child to skate than a grown up, but we see so many people from all ages learn how to skate. Skating has a lot of valuable lessons to teach you about life and living with a sense of accomplishment that you feel when you get up from a fall or learn a new trick. We know that learning how to skate is genuinely worth the challenge, so why not decide for yourself what kind of skater you’d like to be.