The Skate

An inline speed skate is a specialised version of the inline skate. The boot or shoe is close-fitting, without padding and made of leather and/or carbon composites. For best performance, the boot must conform closely to the shape of the foot, and most inline speed skating boots are heat-mouldable so that the user may re-shape them to some extent.

The frame (sometimes called the chassis or plate) that holds the wheels is made of aircraft-quality aluminium and usually mounts five polyurethane wheels of between 78 mm and 88 mm diameter. Although clap skate frames similar to those used in long track ice speed skating have been designed for inline racing, they have so far not proven to be much superior to the normal fixed frame.

In 2002, elite inline speed skaters began employing "big-wheel" skates and in subsequent years their use has become more widespread. The frames of such skates hold up to five wheels that may be from 84 mm to 110 mm in diameter.

A somewhat different form of inline speed skate uses a monocoque design. The boot and frame are made as one piece of carbon fibre material and offer noticeable savings in weight. They are, however, not widely used as they cost 4-5 times the price of a high-quality standard boot-frame combination.

Inline speed skates usually do not have any sort of braking mechanism attached, and skaters must use the "T-stop", "Toe-stop" ,and other techniques to slow down.