“Why do roller skates have heels?” is probably a million dollar question every skater and skating enthusiasts ask. The answer varies and we shall tell you probably why some of them have heels in this article.
Do All Roller Skates Have Heels?
Not all roller skates have heels, but a majority of them do have heels. Some have very thin heels like roller derby skates.
Why Do Roller Skates Have Heels?
Roller skates have heels to help the newbie’s weight distribution. The heel helps push the body weight of the skater onto the wheels or blade, which sits directly under the foot. This enables the skater to turn and spin with minimal risk of falling.
MUST READ: High Top Vs. Low Top Roller Skates (11 Differences to Know Before Buying)
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You will notice that most rental skates at roller rinks have heels. The manufacturers usually incorporate these heels to give the skater more balance and to reduce the risk of falling back.
Roller skates with heel allows you to feel a natural, greater control of movement, which results in more stability.
With roller skates with heels, you are given a little bit of a lean forward, which explains why roller skates with heels are great for beginners and activities like dancing. They help the skater to make quick turns without the losing balance.
What Is the Difference Between Heeled Roller Skates and Flat Roller Skates?
In roller skating, there are two types of boots – heeled skate boot and flat skate boot.
Heeled boots, as we have explained have raised or elevated heels. This type of skates are great for body weight distribution. In an upright position, a huge percentage of the body’s weight around the heel region. Wearing a heeled boot will shift the weight to the ball of the foot, which explains why this type of skate is excellent for beginners and artistic skaters.
Flat skate boots literally have no heel. However, they favor jam skaters and speed skaters who desire power transmission and speed. Flat boots have short-forward mounted plates that helps to shift the body’s weight to the front of the feet, which makes transition easier. However, you won’t keep the right stance to attain balance.
Generally, heeled boots are more supportive. They enable you to move in an upright position without compromising your balance. Moreover, heel boots are good for preventing injury and reduces the pressure on the Achilles tendon. This is why artistic skaters benefit more from wearing them.
Flat boots, on the other hand, are designed for experienced skaters.
Examples of Heeled Skates and Flat Skates
Artistic skate and recreational skates or high top skates are examples of heeled skates. Speed skate boots or low-cut boots are examples of flat skates.
Traditionally, dancers skated in artistic boots because of the heels.
Artistic and Recreational Skates
Artistic skates are high top roller skates that are used in many skating surfaces. Artistic skates are made of leather boots, with very strong sole plate that provides additional support and protection to the foot.
Like most high top roller skates, this type sits above the ankle to provide more support and stability, and also help you to land properly.
Rhythm Skates
This is another type of high top roller skate. Just like the name suggests, this type of skate is designed for both dancing and skating. Call it a dance – skate boot and you won’t be so wrong.
Rhythm skate is a few inches above the ankle, just like artistic skates. In fact, rhythm skates are similar in design to an artistic skate. They both provide ankle support, more stability, and temperature control, especially in a cold weather.
The only difference between the two probably lies in the brake. The toe brakes in rhythm skates are not traditionally designed like most skates. Instead, it has a dance plug kind of brake, similar to the one that you can find in jam skates.
Jam Skates
The design of jam skates is probably the selling point of the low cut boot. It is uniquely cut from top to bottom. Surprisingly, jam skate lacks brakes, which means that you are in fully control of the skate. You can choose to do whatever you want in style with this type of skate.
Before now, jam skates used to be high top skates, and looked very similar to artistic skates. However, the manufacturer had other ideas and decided to blend in their style by uniquely designing it and transforming it from a high top boot to a low top one.
There is a dance plug in front of the skate, around the toe region instead of the regular toe stop or brake. As with most low top skates, jam skates are lightweight and have light frames to guarantee fast movement to suit the skating style of the skater.
Jam skates are majorly used for regular skating, but you can use them for other purposes such as dancing and gymnastics.
Speed Skates
Against what many people might generally believe in, speed skates aren’t just inline skates alone. They are available in both quad forms or inline skates. Inline speed skates might be more popular, but that doesn’t mean a handful of people are unaware of the existence of quad speed skates.
The main objective of a speed skate is speed, and that’s why a handful of people buy it. If you want to hit top gear in your skating escapade, they should go for speed skates. It’s designed to be lightweight and with less padding to maximize its speed.
A speed skate is designed like a boot and is similar to the design of a shoe. You will find some speed skate sit around the ankle bone, but they aren’t classified as high top boots. That’s because it has very little padding and lightweight.
Speed skates are designed with maneuverability, flexibility, and liberty of movement in mind. Speed skates are used in various skating competitions such as lap skating, sprints, replays, and long distance races.
Due to its possession of lightweight plates, speed skates reduce fatigue tremendously if you are skating long distance races. Speed skates also have a toe stop or brake.
Conclusion
Beginners usually prefer skates with heels because they are more stable and balance. Plus making quick turns is easier with heeled boots than other types.
“Why do roller skate have heels?”. Thanks to this article, this question has been answered.
