From ice skating to roller skating: convertible skates
Inventors have never lacked imagination when it comes to finding technical solutions to get from the ice to the land. By the end of the 19th century, many of them had already decided not to choose between their two passions.
Par alfathor
One pair of skates for two purposes
Many inventors have tried to imitate the feeling of skating on the mainland. They were often concerned with giving the impression that they were using iceskates. Some even wanted to use the same skates to get off the ice on wheels. This is how the so-called “convertible” skates came into being.
1863: Plimpton – the precursor of the convertible skate
It is said that the inventor of traditional skates, James Léonard Plimpton, had ankles that were too fragile to skate on the ice with traditional skates. That’s how he came up with the idea of inventing skates with axles to better distribute his body weight. Then he created the Parlor Skate, his first roller skate.
Patent no. 37,305, which he applied for on January 6, 1863 for his Parlor Skate, already made it possible to replace the wheels with ice blades. On June 26, 1966, he again applied for patent no. 55,901, which is very similar to this concept, and improved this concept.
1892: Nielson – close to the ice
On August 9, 1892, the New Yorker Walter Nielson applied for patent no. 480,610 for an inline skate with no less than 14 wheels! These could be removed and replaced by a skate.
2012: Cadomotus – the choice of adapters
Instead, the Dutch company Cadomotus has opted for blade adapters that are mounted on speed skates. This is a kind of wedge that makes interaxial distances that were originally not meant to fit together compatible.
2013-2016: Seba – from roller skating to ice
It seems that in 2013, the French brand Seba has started work on a system for adapting ice skates to a roller skate deck. The model chosen was a Seba High with one skate blade. The idea was to only have to remove the rollers from the skates to attach the ice skate to the recess of the roller skate deck. In 2016, Seba made a video in which Sébastien Laffargue tests the slalom on skates to promote his product.
ICE By SEBA Skates from SEBASKATES on Vimeo.
2019 : Powerslide launches its Trinity Mount Ice Blade
The German brand Powerslide has introduced its Trinity concept in inline speed skating professional sport in 2016. In the course of 2013, the Binlach-based company launched its ice skate, which can be adapted to a skate with the Trinity attachment system. The skater only has to flip the blade and plate to change from one practice to another while keeping his usual skates.
The massification of convertible models
Today there is a variety of skates that can be used on ice as well as on asphalt. The principle has become so widespread that many entry-level models available in supermarkets meet this demand. Be careful, however, as the quality is not necessarily guaranteed, as prices are often below €100.
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Funny pictures (2005)
