Editing Inline skates (section)

===Adoption of ball bearings===

Skates became more practical with the adoption of [[ball bearings]] in the wheel assembly.<ref name="Rinehart-2013">{{cite book
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mt21u4pdGqMC
|title=Inline Skating in Contemporary Sport: An Examination of Its Growth and Development
|publisher=Rinehart
|year=2013
|isbn=9780473249892
|access-date=2024-11-30
|first1=Robert E.
|last1=Rinehart
}}</ref> This directly followed the development of precision ball bearings in the 1850s,<ref name="nasa-ball-bearings-1981">{{cite web
|url=https://ntrs.nasa.gov/api/citations/19810009866/downloads/19810009866.pdf
|title=History of Ball Bearings
|first1=Duncan
|last1=Dowson
|first2=Bernard J.
|last2=Hamrock
|year=1981
|website=NTRS - NASA Technical Reports Server
|url-status=live
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241130044009/https://ntrs.nasa.gov/api/citations/19810009866/downloads/19810009866.pdf
|archive-date=2024-11-30
}}</ref> and the application of ball bearings in [[bicycles]] by Albert Louis Thirion in 1862 in England.<ref>{{cite magazine
| author      = <!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.-->
| title       = Calendar of Patent Records
| url         = https://www.nature.com/articles/123744a0.pdf
| magazine    = Nature
| volume      = 123
| publisher   = Nature Publishing Group
| year        = 1929
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20241201155900/https://www.nature.com/articles/123744a0.pdf
| archive-date= 2024-12-01
| access-date = 2024-11-30
}}</ref> Ball bearings reduced bearing friction to as little as 10% of former values, greatly improving top speeds of bicycle racers in Europe.<ref name="nasa-ball-bearings-1981"/>

[[File:The Engineer Vol-41 1876-02-04 pp86 Joseph Gidman Drawings Rearranged.png|thumb|right|360px|Gidman skate with bearings - 1852]]

In 1852, Joseph Gidman filed a provisional patent application titled "A skate", where he described a skate with a front wheel, a rear wheel, and two side wheels mounted mid-section. Instead of constructing a wheel with a solid nave, Gidman inserted rollers between a wheel and its axle, effectively applying [[Rolling-element bearing|roller bearings]] to skate wheels.<ref name="patents-abridged-1672-to-1866">{{cite book
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ST1d7HUQHMIC&pg=PA168
|title=Patents for inventions: Abridgments of specifications relating to Toys, Games and Exercises - A.D. 1672-1866
|pages=Page 168 on Gidman' patent No. 1176
|location=London
|publisher=Commissioners of Patents
|year=1871
|access-date=2024-11-30
}}</ref><ref name="Engineer-skates-no01"/> But Gidman was ahead of his time. He spent 30 years trying to get roller skates with roller bearings mass produced, with little success.<ref name="Rinehart-2013"/>

[[File:Joseph Henry Hughes Patent-UK Patent 3531 from 1877-Bearings of bicycles and velocipedes or carriages-Drawings FIG 1 to FIG 5.png|thumb|right|260px|Ball bearings in bikes - Hughes 1877]]

In 1876, William Bown's [[Provisional application|provisional patent application]] was allowed, titled "Improvements in the construction of wheels or rollers for roller skates and for other purposes".<ref>{{Cite patent
|country=UK
|number=3266
|fdate=1876-08-19
|pubdate=1876-09-08
|title=Improvements in the construction of wheels or rollers for roller skates and for other purposes (No. 3266, filed 1876-08-19, [https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/24361/page/4929 published 1876-09-08])
|inventor1-last=Bown
|inventor1-first=William
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MxkrOLJaPeEC&pg=PA49
}}</ref> Bown placed a felt ring, lubricated with oil, between a wheel and its axle to attempt to reduce friction. But this was not substantially more effective, and required constant oil refills.<ref name="Rinehart-2013"/>

In 1877, Joseph Henry Hughes' provisional patent application was allowed, titled "Improvements in the bearings of bicycles and velocipedes or carriages".<ref>{{Cite patent
|country=UK
|number=3531
|fdate=1877-09-19
|pubdate=1877-10-12
|title=Improvements in the bearings of bicycles and velocipedes or carriages (No. 3531, filed 1877-09-19, [https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/24511/page/5609 published 1877-10-12])
|inventor1-first=John Henry
|inventor1-last=Hughes
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Dr7105W-tYAC&pg=PA29-IA20
}}</ref> Hughes, a local of [[Birmingham]], described a ball bearing race for bicycle and carriage wheels which allowed for initial adjustment of the system to ensure optimal contact between components, and for subsequent adjustments to compensate for component wear from use. As a successful owner of [[Bown Manufacturing Company]], William Bown persuaded Hughes to sell rights to this patent to him, and to join him on further bearing innovations for the next decade. This led to the successful Aeolus brand of ball bearings, used in the first ball-race-pedals and wheel bearings for bicycles and carriage wheels. Similar ball bearings were subsequently adopted for use on roller skates.<ref name="Rinehart-2013"/>

[[File:Levant M Richardson-US308990A-1884-Roller Skate-Patent Drawing-FIG 1 n FIG 2-Rearranged.png|thumb|right|300px|Ball bearings in skates - Richardson 1884]]

In 1884, two US patents claiming the use of ball bearings in roller skates were issued one after the other. George Burton filed on August 17, 1883, and was granted a patent on November 11, 1884.<ref>{{Cite patent
|country=US
|number=307840
|pubdate=1884-11-11
|gdate=1884-11-11
|fdate=1883-08-17
|title=Roller-Skate
|inventor1-first=George
|inventor1-last=Burton
}}</ref> Levant Marvin Richardson filed on August 6, 1884, and was granted a patent on December 9, 1884.<ref>{{Cite patent
|country=US
|number=308990
|pubdate=1884-12-09
|gdate=1884-12-09
|fdate=1884-08-06
|title=Roller-Skate
|inventor1-first=Levant Marvin
|inventor1-last=Richardson
}}</ref> Richardson was more successful in marketing his invention, eventually starting and growing Richardson Ball-Bearing Skate Company to make these skates.

Skates equipped with ball bearings further fueled the Plimpton 2x2 skate craze. Skate manufacturers operated rinks to promote roller skating during the boom period from 1880s through 1910s. Skates made for rink use were referred to as parlor skates or club skates.<ref name="museum-of-roller-skating-history-of-roller-skating-1997"/>{{rp|19–20, 25}} By 1910, Richardson Roller Skate Company competed with mainstream brands including [[Micajah C. Henley|Henley Roller Skates]], [[Samuel Winslow (mayor)|Winslow's Skates]], Baltimore Skate MFG Co, and Chicago Roller Skate Company.<ref>{{cite news
|author=<!--not stated-->
|date=1910-01-29
|title=Page 22 & Page 23
|others=News about Richardson Roller Skate Company, as well as ad from the company, on the same pages with contemporary competitors.
|url=https://ia903203.us.archive.org/2/items/sim_billboard_1910-01-29_22_5/sim_billboard_1910-01-29_22_5.pdf
|work=The Billboard - America's Leading Amusement Weekly
|access-date=2024-11-30
}}</ref>