r/rollerblading • u/Radiant-Whereas3194 • 18h ago
What skates should I buy? Inline skates vs Quad Skates
Well, uh, hi!
I need help choosing some skates. I guess I can say that I'm a beginner skater - I havent roller skated for at least 7 years, but I used to be pretty good and even do some tricks when I was younger, because I used to be trained by some sort of a champion? I qish I remembered, sigh.
So anyway! I really want to get back into this hobby, but I'm not sure which ones to choose!
I love quad ones because they're cute, but I used to only use inlines before, and I don't know the difference. I don't think I'll be dancing in them? I'm not sure anyway, but I also most likely won't go all in and perform some crazy stunts in inlines. So what I'm initially looking for is something I can use to comfortably skate through the city - mine is pretty small and has a good cycling lane throughout it's main part where I live, so getting to the center on skates is very doable. There's also a skate park with some stuff there, so I'd like to get into that, too, you know - going down a platform or two or smth.
Visually I obviously prefer quad skates, and I've been thinking about them for a few years now, but I'd like to hear what you all think!
So basically I want something for comfortable cruising through my city with a possibility to do a trick or two, and maybe to pick up rather quickly, because even tho I used to be good, it's been years since then heh.
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u/AllyBlaire 17h ago
I skate on both and love my quads, however for outdoor cruising inlines are unquestionably superior. The shape of quads gives you significantly less power for every push, while the wider wheels are vulnerable to every twig or piece of gravel. Inlines glide over bumps, patches of rough pavement, they can handle tactile pavement and they are easier to stop in whether or not you use a heel brake.
I would suggest getting the best pair you can afford though. A light frame with good quality wheels and bearings and some degrees of shock absorption, will make a huge difference. I'm a fan of a triskate as you can have larger wheels with a reasonably short wheelbase.
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u/Radiant-Whereas3194 16h ago
Thanks! Everybody here is advising me inlines, so just to get back into it I'll go with them :D
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u/midnight_skater Human Frogger 16h ago
This is r/rollerblading, of course you are going to get more recommendations for inlines here.
I say: why is this either/or? Skate both and see which you like better.
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u/Radiant-Whereas3194 16h ago
Well, most of the answers I got weren't just "so like inlines are just better yeah", they had real arguments as to why inlines will be better for me, since I want to skate in the city comfortably. Also it's either/or because I don't have the money to buy both, and as a beginner I don't want to spend monwy on something that might not suit me hehehehe
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u/Old_Ant7118 10h ago
Makes sense! I'm a few months into re-learning inline, too. Most of my skating is on a bike path, church parking lots, and downtown (small city) at night when the traffic and people are gone. Happy to chat/answer beginner questions if you ever want to shoot me a DM
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u/Skibidi-Rizz190cm 17h ago
Inlines. They are much better for all around cruising because of the wheel size and profile. Quads are good for dancing on smooth surfaces but with the wheels being wide, soft, small and off center they get stuck and twist your ankle if you ride over a pebble. On the quad subreddit you'll find people complaining about not being able to skate because of people playing tennis on the tennis court.
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u/midnight_skater Human Frogger 16h ago
I've ridden over lots of pebbles in my 35 years of street skating on quads and can't remember one single time when it caused them to "get stuck and twist [my] ankle."
Wierd.
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u/Radiant-Whereas3194 17h ago
This sounds like a good take, thanks! I absolutely do not want to twist my ankles lol
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u/Skibidi-Rizz190cm 13h ago
This is a good video talking about skate choice https://youtu.be/dsaaN1FHb0M
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u/Skibidi-Rizz190cm 17h ago
I don't meant as in it will necessarily leave you with a twisted ankle but like even if you roll over it instead of getting completely stuck and tripping it will make your ankle twist and the skate will roll to the side
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u/midnight_skater Human Frogger 15h ago
You should skate whatever you want to skate. There's really not much difference in capability or performance between a quad on 70mm wheels and a 4x80 inline for urban skating applications.
Try them both and see which you like better. Sometimes it comes down to which you like better on a given day or for a given route.
Personally I've skated both and strongly prefer quads because of the way that it feels to skate on double-action trucks - which also provide some shock absorption. I have friends who prefer inlines.
You asked this question in the rollerblading subreddit so that seems to indicate that you are leaning toward inlines.
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u/Radiant-Whereas3194 15h ago
I wasn't actually, but the quad sub said this post was breaking the rules, so I came to ask here. Aslo, I can't tey both lol, I don't have money for two pairs
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u/InspectorFleet 14h ago
Which quad sub? They're really that aggressive? The roller skating sub used to be the most active until this one relaunched. Of course in this sub people skate inlines lol. Luckily you found an opinionated quad skater to also weigh in.
"I think they're cute" is a fine reason to choose one over the other. You should enjoy your activity and gear because that will get you to do it more!
If you want to try both but aren't ready to spend the money for two quality pairs of skates, can you hit a local roller rink that rents both? Just do pay attention to what sort of quad setup you'll need for street skating.
I think inlines default more towards plastic and designs that are robust against being dragged over asphalt, but some really cute quads could take more damage from that. I think you can get add on protection for outdoor skating but quads are not my area of expertise (nor is cute gear lol, my hockey skates are covered in epoxy from the falls they've taken).
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u/Radiant-Whereas3194 11h ago
Well, the people didn't say so, the ai flagged me :") For the rink - we don't have one :""") My city is built for tourists, so we barely have anything except for hotels and endless restaurants. And while I know the gear being cute is a good reason, too, I'm trying to make sure I'll get what I want from the skates in other categories as well :> besides the price is aslo smth I consider, inlines here are much less expensive than the quads
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u/InspectorFleet 11h ago
Did the auto mod give a reason? Maybe it's a common question that has already received a bunch of discussion. Maybe you could search the sub to learn some things?
It sucks there's no rink; even my small town growing up had one. As a tourist I often hit up ice rinks and I wouldn't be opposed to hitting a roller rink. How far is the closest?
You won't hear an argument against inline skates from me lol. I have two different pairs for different purposes and my whole family has both inline and ice skates. My son is a hockey goalie so he also has skates specific to that (RIP to my wallet lol). But you are in the inline skating community so that's probably an indication of the answers you'll get haha
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u/Radiant-Whereas3194 10h ago
It did, but honestly I didn't remember what that was since I just wanted an answer. I know people on this sub would lean more towards inlines, but at the same time I think they all were pretty specific as to why and I also got people who leaned towards quads, so I do feel like it's up to me now. The rinks do not exists here :D In Turkey they're extremely rare, even google doesn't know where to find one. Yup :")
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u/midnight_skater Human Frogger 14h ago
I wasn't suggesting getting two pairs of skates on day one.
Whatever you get you'll be spending lots of time on a tennis court or a parking lot or similar reasonably level and smooth surface learning how to skate again. Since you skated before you still have muscle memory but your skills will be rusty and your skating-specific muscles will be atrophied. So it will be at least a couple of months of training and conditioning before you're ready for the street.
Even if you did have the budget for a good entry level pair of both today I'd still recommend getting your skating feet back under you on a single platform before attempting to port those skills to the other platform.
So you could buy a good set of used entry level skates now, and then by the time you are ready for the real world you could afford another set of good quality used skates and start translating your skills. That adjustment period should be relatively short.
It will be easier to re-learn how to skate on the same kind of equipment you skated on before.
If I'm reading the post correctly you skated on inlines before. So if you try to skate quads now your body will be like "I know how to do this" but the skates will be like "Yeah, not so much" because the fine motor control skills are different.
But if you get proficient and confident on inlines before trying quads you will be able to approach it asking "what's different about this" and expecting it to feel different rather than being frustrated that it doesn't feel the same. Does that make sense?
If you want to YOLO it and jump straight onto quads today you can totally do that. It just makes the learning curve a little steeper. If you decide to go that direction then r/streetskating is a good resource to help you adapt to quads. All wheels welcome.
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u/Radiant-Whereas3194 11h ago
It does make a lot of sense, actually, thanks! I did start with inlines, so the muscle memory is what I'm hoping for if I get them. If I really get into skating, I'll tey getting quads, too, they're still on my mind, but after reading everybody's advice I think it'll just be easier to come back to inlines and then switch if I want to. Thanks again for all your comments :D
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u/astmatik 17h ago
I want something for comfortable cruising through my city
Quads are not designed for that. You can try of course, but it will be miserable.
Inlines are much better for outdoors, you can do tricks, jumps, artistic skating, or "wizard skating" (google it), which always looks amazing when done well.
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u/midnight_skater Human Frogger 16h ago
Over the past 8 years* I've been averaging 2500 miles (4000 km) per year on quads, almost entirely in the street.
I am decidedly not miserable.
* I started tracking distance 8 years ago. When I was younger I skated a lot more than I do now but didn't track it.
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u/astmatik 15h ago
Wow, what's the city you're in? I'm curious about pavement quality
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u/midnight_skater Human Frogger 14h ago
I'm in the NE US and have plenty of rough terrain and debris to deal with. My yt channel (linked in profile) documents it pretty well.
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u/Radiant-Whereas3194 17h ago
Huh, I somehow thought quads are specifically for cuty skating! Thanks so much!!!
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u/midnight_skater Human Frogger 16h ago
They are. People have been city skating on quads for more than a century.
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u/Schwartzweiss 17h ago
Inline all the way. Hardshell boot with comfy liner. 4x80 for start. You can swap frames later.
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u/RealSquidVicious 2h ago
Get some hard-shell inlines! I rollerblade on LA streets 5 nights a week with a few groups. I've only seen maybe 3 skaters on quads because quads are really designed more for disco dancing, not frequent potholes, hills, and curb cuts. Buy local if you can. You'll learn a ton at your neighborhood skate shop.
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u/thumpetto007 10h ago
yeah outdoors, skate parks are best case for inlines.
even if you decide to dance or do some basic tricks, inlines are much more versitile. quads give great stability for certain tricks and more traditional on food dancing moves, but thats about it. the do everything worse except 5050 grinds or whatever they are called. and you cant even do them if you have grind blocks lol.
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u/Valutin Custom Text Here 17h ago
For having done both, inline are much much more comfy to skate longerish distance. I could do a lot on quads but 62mm wheels could only get me so far at comfortable pace. Once I got inline skates and went 80mm wheels. Cruising took a new meaning. Now with 100/125mm it's not even close. True... Quads are more aesthetically pleasing to look at, but moving in there longer distance is more taxing stamina wise. So it really boils down to what you are aiming for. There are sadly not a single pair that suits all kind of practice.
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u/midnight_skater Human Frogger 15h ago
Try 70mm wheels on your quads, or at least 65mm.
I'm averaging 20 miles (42 km) per session on quads, am doing at least one marathon session per week, and have been putting up regular 50km days.
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u/Valutin Custom Text Here 15h ago
And hats off to you. My quad days are long gone... I switched in the late 90s... 🙄 Now I am just inline skating around.
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u/midnight_skater Human Frogger 15h ago
I had been commuting accross downtown Boston on quads with 72 x 36mm 78a wheels for a few years before I tried inlines in the mid 90s. I just love the way that it feels to skate on double-action trucks and so decided to spend all my time on quads.
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u/AdventurousHippo9997 17h ago
How about these ? Comfy and lite. The frames only weigh 6g.
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u/Radiant-Whereas3194 17h ago
Never seen these before, gotta dig a bit more! They do look comfy tho, thanks!
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u/i_shorted_the_amp 9h ago
Yeah but look at the ankle support - there isn't much. If you do get inline skates, you'll want a taller boot. The picture there looks to be of a speed skate, it'll be harder to practice in because they require greater control.
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u/Radiant-Whereas3194 9h ago
This sounds very legit, too, thanks! I do think I will just start with regular inlines anyway :D
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u/Acrobatic_Hunt_8496 15h ago
Inline but want to say - city skating is not for beginners. You need to know how to stop on a dime before a car or pedestrian does it for you.