Rollerblades

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It was, In 1863, an American developed the conventional roller-skate model, with the wheels positioned side by side, and it became the skate of choice.

 

In 1980, two Minnesota brothers, Scott and Brennan Olsen, discovered an older in line skate in a sporting goods store and thought the design would be perfect for off season hockey training. Not long, they are found everywhere in the streets.

 

Today 60 in-line skate manufacturers exist, but Rollerblade is credited with introducing the first polyurethane boot and wheels, the first heel brakes, and the development of Active Brake Technology (ABT), which makes stopping easier to learn and to control. Rollerblade has approximately 200 patents and 116 registered trademarks.



Rollerblades Time line

  • 1983 – Scott Olson founded Rollerblade, Inc. which was later sold to the new owners had the money to really improve the design. The first massively successful Rollerblade skate was the Lightning TRS. In this pair of skates the flaws had vanished, fiberglass was used to produce the frames, the wheels were better protected, the skates were easier to put on and adjust and stronger brakes were placed at the rear.
  • 1989 – Rollerblade, Inc. produced the Macro and Aeroblades models, the first skates fastened with three buckles instead of long laces that needed threading.
  • 1990 – Rollerblade, Inc. reduce the average weight of skates by nearly 50% by using a glass-reinforced thermoplastic resin (durethan polyamide)
  • 1993 – Rollerblade, Inc. developed ABT or ”Active Brake Technology“ , this new brake design have increase safety

All this started in Early 1700s - In Holland( now called The Netherlands ), an unknown Dutchman decided to go ice skating in the summer, ice skating was the widespread method used in the Netherlands to travel the numerous frozen canals in winter. The unknown inventor accomplished dry land skating by nailing wooden spools to strips of wood and attaching them to his shoes.


”Skeelers“ was the nickname given to the new dry-land skaters.


The average price for a pair of Rollerblades ranges from 80.00 USD – 599.00 USD as of this writing (9/2008).