Brake on right foot -- Why?

[Philip Weissman]

Skates come with the brake attached to the right skate. Why? This is
momentum and goes way back to the original Rollerblades that came with the
brake on the right skate. Why did Rollerblade make this decision that now
affects nearly all of us? It is extremely rare to see someone with a heel
brake on her left skate despite the relative ease of moving the brake from
one skate to the other.

Here in New York, my buddy Ed Liebnitz has come up with a theory.

First, we both agree that most people would a priori feel more comfortable
with the brake on the left foot, not the right. Why? Because most people
are "regular", as opposed "goofy" footed, meaning that their natural
position on skateboards, wakeboards, snowboards, is with their left foot
forward. This is similar to the fact that most people are right-handed. We
believe that being "regular" translates into a more comfortable braking
position with the left foot forward, braking with the left foot.

Why did the initial skate manufacturer, Rollerblade, forsake this and put
the brake on the right foot. This decision made the skates harder to use.

Ed's thought is that the Rollerblade did it for safety reasons. Beginners
and anyone who has ever taught beginners to brake know that there is a
tendency to turn in the direction of the braking foot. Here in America,
cars drive on the right. A skater who is turning to the right is turning
away from traffic, hence the brake is put on the right skate.

But this is all just a story, what seems to make sense. I would be love to
hear some facts on this issue.

-pw

[Bob Cardone]

Whenever I show beginners how to skate, one of the things I have them
do is assume the braking position with both feet and ask them which
feels more natural. You don't even have to use the brake to do this.
The vast majority of people that I have shown will say that they feel
more comfortable with their right foot forward, hence the brake stays
on the right few. A few people will prefer it on the left foot and
generally it takes about 2 minutes max to switch the brake to the
other skate.

Bob

Post by Philip Weissman
Skates come with the brake attached to the right skate. Why? This is
momentum and goes way back to the original Rollerblades that came with the
brake on the right skate. Why did Rollerblade make this decision that now
affects nearly all of us? It is extremely rare to see someone with a heel
brake on her left skate despite the relative ease of moving the brake from
one skate to the other.
Here in New York, my buddy Ed Liebnitz has come up with a theory.
First, we both agree that most people would a priori feel more comfortable
with the brake on the left foot, not the right. Why? Because most people
are "regular", as opposed "goofy" footed, meaning that their natural
position on skateboards, wakeboards, snowboards, is with their left foot
forward. This is similar to the fact that most people are right-handed. We
believe that being "regular" translates into a more comfortable braking
position with the left foot forward, braking with the left foot.
Why did the initial skate manufacturer, Rollerblade, forsake this and put
the brake on the right foot. This decision made the skates harder to use.
Ed's thought is that the Rollerblade did it for safety reasons. Beginners
and anyone who has ever taught beginners to brake know that there is a
tendency to turn in the direction of the braking foot. Here in America,
cars drive on the right. A skater who is turning to the right is turning
away from traffic, hence the brake is put on the right skate.
But this is all just a story, what seems to make sense. I would be love to
hear some facts on this issue.
-pw

[FNGuy]

This is especially apparent when you start braking WHILE turning, etc.

IDEALLY, both legs would be equal partners, but that's not reality for 96%
of folks.

I might put an extra brake on my left Catalyst, for "balance", and to
"check it out", make sure my crossovers are symmetrical, and perhaps create
an additional cause of CRASHES--LOL!

Eventually I'd like to be able to do a ONE-FOOTED heel brake with EITHER
foot... we'll see.

Then again, I might answer the "call of the wild", and go brakeless... ;')

[John Doe]

Post by Philip Weissman
Skates come with the brake attached to the right skate. Why? This is
momentum and goes way back to the original Rollerblades that came with
the brake on the right skate. Why did Rollerblade make this decision
that now affects nearly all of us? It is extremely rare to see
someone with a heel brake on her left skate despite the relative ease
of moving the brake from one skate to the other.
Here in New York, my buddy Ed Liebnitz has come up with a theory.
First, we both agree that most people would a priori feel more
comfortable with the brake on the left foot, not the right. Why?
Because most people are "regular", as opposed "goofy" footed, meaning
that their natural position on skateboards, wakeboards, snowboards, is
with their left foot forward. This is similar to the fact that most
people are right-handed. We believe that being "regular" translates
into a more comfortable braking position with the left foot forward,
braking with the left foot.
Why did the initial skate manufacturer, Rollerblade, forsake this and
put the brake on the right foot. This decision made the skates harder
to use.
Ed's thought is that the Rollerblade did it for safety reasons.
Beginners and anyone who has ever taught beginners to brake know that
there is a tendency to turn in the direction of the braking foot.
Here in America, cars drive on the right. A skater who is turning to
the right is turning away from traffic, hence the brake is put on the
right skate.
But this is all just a story, what seems to make sense. I would be
love to hear some facts on this issue.

If you are saying the brake should be on the left, I probably agree. The
stronger/coordinated foot should be behind supporting the body. Since a
brake slides, the trailing foot has to steer, another reason it should be
on the left (for right footers). However, I like mine on the right because
I just like taxing my left leg nowadays.

Those are the facts, in my opinion.

Out.

[T.Hsu]

Post by Philip Weissman
First, we both agree that most people would a priori feel more comfortable
with the brake on the left foot, not the right. Why? Because most people
are "regular", as opposed "goofy" footed, meaning that their natural
position on skateboards, wakeboards, snowboards, is with their left foot
forward.

A couple of years ago I saw an actual survey by a snowboard magazine
trying to determine what percentage of people rode goofy, and the
results were pretty surprising. Something like 40-45% of the
snowboarders surveyed rode goofy.

[B Fuhrmann]

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