Freeline skates

Freeline Skates combine aspects of skateboarding and snowboarding with elements of roller skating and inline skating. Elements of snakeboarding, freeboarding and casterboarding are also present. Yet Freeline skates are none of these. They can be ridden on flat ground as well as downhill and even uphill. Freelines can also be ridden at skateparks, in bowls, on ramps- pretty much anywhere there's a reasonably smooth surface.

The skates are not connected to each other and do not have a board, just one small rectangular deck for each foot. There are two wheels under each skate, set in line with each other and mounted in a rigid fashion- the wheels do not swivel, tilt or turn. The left and right skates are different from each other: when the wheels on each skate are all parallel, the platforms are pointed outward at approximately the same angle as the human feet angle out at the toes. Using the skates on the wrong feet would result in the decks pointing inward, and the skater would be standing pigeon-toed. The skates can be ridden with a regular (left foot forward) or goofy (right foot forward) stance. The decks are covered in grip tape. Like a skateboard, there is no binding on a Freeline skate other than gravity and the grip tape- the skater can remove one or both feet at any time. The skater faces sideways relative to the direction of travel, just like on a snowboard.

On the flats or uphill, the skater propels himself/herself by weaving the feet back an forth and twisting the skates in an s-curve. Downhill, the skates are ridden much like a snowboard or freeboard, with the skater carving turns or powersliding to scrub off speed. Most trick skating so far deals with Spins, Stomps, Skate Flips, Tosses and Grabs. Grinds and Air have proven more challenging, as the skates provide a very small grinding surface and have a tendency to leave the feet while in the air. Some experienced riders have overcome these difficulties, and there are now videos on the net showing skaters getting air on Freelines without the use of any bindings.

Freeline skates were developed by Ryan Farrelly, and are only made by their originating company, "Freeline Skates, Inc.", based in the U.S.A. The skates have gained popularity in the U.S. as well as Europe and the Far East.

Technical Specs

* Freeline skates have a heavy-duty one-piece aluminum construction.
* The deck of a Freeline skate measures 6 1/2 inches by 5 7/16 inches. (165mm x 138mm)
* With the stock wheels, the deck height is 3 7/8 inches (98.5mm) off the ground.
* The supplied wheels measure 2 3/4 inches (72mm) diameter by 1 3/4 inches (44mm) thickness. They use a centerset hub and are of a soft, but unspecified durometer. Some longboard wheels are manufactured to or near these specs, and can serve as replacements.
* Freeline skates ship with Abec-5 bearings. The bearings are the same size ("608", 8mm center hole) used on most skateboards. Skateboard bearings can be used as replacements.

External References

* [http://www.freelineskates.co.kr Official Freeline Skates Korea site(English&Korean)]
* [http://www.freelineskates.co.kr/en Buy Freeline Skates and Unique accessories]
* [http://freelineskates.com Official Freeline Skates site]
* [http://www.freelineskates.co.uk Freeline Users forum (English)]
* [http://www.freelineskate.blogspot.com Spanish Freeline Skates blog]
* [http://www.next-ride.de Official Freeline Dealer in Germany]
* [http://www.next-ride.de Another Source for Freeline in Germany]
* [http://www.freelineinparis.fr The freeline in paris team's blog]
* [http://www.freelineskate.biz Japan Freeline Skate Network]