I got my rollerskates in the mid 80's. I'm not even sure if the rollerblades were "out" yet, or maybe they were just getting popular at that time in my area. Since I already had something I never saw the need to get rollerblades, and I never rented cause I already had something - so I never tried them. I have heard people say they like the inline skates better. Maybe it's just what you grow up on. You can tune the rollerskates by adjusting the pivot points and that allows you to turn better. I wonder if maybe sometimes the quad skates are too stiff and they haven't been adjusted well enough for people.

It's fun to watch people skate-dance to the music in the rinks. Some of them are really good. Yes though, usually the rinks are very crowded. I used to go on adult nite. That was always better - there weren't so many young ones to trip you up.