Inline Rollerblades How do I do it?

[CaseyV9]

Hello.

Earlier today I bought a pair of Inline Rollerblades. The ones with a really bad brake on the back.
I went to a nearby Park to try put them on so I could skate back to my place.

I look too old to be in a park. A surprise when I put them on and found I couldn't move forward.
Just a bunch of mothers and children staring at me, watching me flap my arms about.

I ended up walking somewhere more quieter to practice.
I can't seem to get the hang of it. I find I'm giving too much effort and not really getting anywhere.

Anyone have any tips? Like how to stop.
Every time I get to a slight hill I have to cling to the nearest thing to me.
It's annoying waiting for anyone nearby to walk of before carrying on so I embarress myself less.

[jimbouk]

I must admit I had a very similar experience to you a few years ago when I got some inline skates, in the end I just gave up but stick with it if you can!

For stopping either run into something or use the brake to slow you down. I remember forgetting which foot the brake was on and tilting the wrong foot back until I fell over...

Practice wise a car park was good for me, or you could try ice skating. It's a similar motion pushing forward and out a bit like a 'V'.

[Steve B]

Practise just standing upright on the blades, slightly bend your knees and lean forwards. That way, you shouldn't fall over.
jimbouk has it spot on with the V. you need to push outwards and forwards with one skate, whilst the other is perpendicular, so that you move. Once you get moving, practise with your feet slightly apart, knees slightly bent and leaning slightly forwards and see if you can keep momentum without falling over. If you're falling over alot, get knee- and elbow- pads.

For braking, make sure that the skate which isn't doing the braking has your weight, and is behind the skate that you're breaking with. Again, you shouldn't fall over.
Another of the stops is a T-Stop, where you put one skate behind the other like an upside down T, and dig into the ground. It wears your wheels down something rotten though, and wheels are expensive.

What skates did you buy? Agressive or Fitness?

[CaseyV9]

What skates did you buy? Agressive or Fitness?

I got Astro 6.0 rollerlades/.
They are not agressive skates. I think the wheels are 82mm. I think they are Req skates.

I bought them because they had the break on the back of one boot. I just don't find the brake that effective.

I have been out today and can move along alright. Thing is stopping is a problem. Bad because there are a lot of hills around.

I have since found out that agressive skates are manuvarable and you can accelerate better in them.
I wonder if I i'm better of getting some aggresive skates?

[Steve B]

Agressives have tiny wheels, so you'll get tired out really quickly. Try practising your T-stops going quite slowly. It's quite easy to master and much easier than trying to use the silly brake!

I suppose practise is the key, i've been skating since I was about 10, with my pair of Index £20 skates. Then moved onto Bauer FX-3, then Bauer Misty, and now I've got a pair of Salomons.

One more thing, dont skate in the rain / on wet ground, you duff up your bearings and it's really hard to control. Recently, I bought a new set of wheels which cost me £40, so you want to keep them in good nick

[666moe666]

I skate aswell, i used to ride inline but in more recent times i ride aggressive and i can say that in fact aggressive is actually a lot harder.

I've been riding since i was quite small and having no brake on the aggressives made it a real uphill battle when i started aggressive.

Steve B what Salomons you got. I got a pair of Minto V3s.

[BlackDwarf]

Could be useful to remove the brake on the back, depending on the way you skate, it could well be more of a hinderance.

T-Stops for teh win!