A roller skate may look very small and compact but then we all know good things come in small packages. So what makes up this small neat package? Let’s take a quick look as we open one fold at a time. Like a human body or any machinery even a roller skate, has many small and intricate parts that differ like personalities with the type and brand.
Some basic parts of any roller skate are:
- Roller Skate Wheels
- Roller Skate Bearings
- Roller Skate Plates
- Roller Skate Bushings
- Roller Skate Toe Plugs& Stops
- Roller Skate Trucks
- Back Brakes
- Boots
The wheels are in accordance with the bearing structure, wheels could be plastic, fiber, the normal hard maple types. Proper bearings and greasing enable a smooth movement of the wheels. Each wheel has two bearings that are spaced by a thin plastic or metal due to which there is minimal brushing and wearing of the bearings. Remember harder the wheels more the speed of the skates and better the pick up.
The wheels are aligned on a strip called as the skate truck; this strip is made of light aluminum or plastic and keeps the wheels firmly placed, unless and until the wheels are a detachable variety. The truck is in turn attested to a molded plastic boot that holds the support attachments, like the buckles, straps or Velcro. As the boots act like a covering, these boot shells could either be made of plastic, leather or a fusion of these two materials.
In order to lend a good support to the ankle joints, the boots are designed in such a way that the lower and upper portion are connected to the ankle from all sides by a precise hinge system, allowing enough space for the ankle movement. For better comfort the shells or boots as commonly known are lined with a sweat absorbing material compressed with a thin sheet of cotton or nylon foam.
A firm and hard rubber brake is attached to the heel of the frame of the roller skates allowing the skater to control the speed and stop as and when required by simply moving his foot. In short as in any other vehicle or mode of transport a brake is a must feature similarly is the case with the roller skates too. Nevertheless a heal brake could hamper the skater especially if he is a fast pace skater or player in a crossover turn, so in such cases they do not prefer a heel brake and a different technique and device called as a Toe Stop is put to use.