Rollerblades

In what shouldn't really come as a surprise, there are now a few different companies offering electric inline skates (aka rollerblades). The AtmosGear skates are unique, however, in that their battery is worn on the user's waist.

Although motorized inline skates are now becoming "a thing," most of them still require users to carry a handheld remote. The JoyErider skates are different, however, in that they're controlled by the user's foot-taps.

While we've recently seen a number of electric four-wheeled roller skates, two-wheeled inline skates have largely avoided electrification. An exception has just launched on Kickstarter, however, in the form of Escend Blades.

Although there are electric rollerblades and skateboards, sometimes people just want a temporary boost while using their existing non-electric set of wheels. That's why Veelo was invented.

When it comes to inline speed skates (aka fast rollerblades), more wheels mean better grip on the road, but also more rolling resistance and thus less speed – fewer wheels mean more speed but less grip. funMACHINES is attempting to combine the best of both worlds, with its gripSPEEDER.

Back in 2010, we first heard about inventor Peter Treadway's concept for powered wheeled footwear that also allowed the user to walk under their own power when desired. Now, Treadway has turned to Kickstarter with an improved take on the original idea, known as Acton R Rocketskates.

Remember back when everyone owned a pair of rollerblades? How about several decades before that, when kids still strapped roller skates onto their shoes? Well, the California-based Cardiff Skate Company has sort of combined the one device with the other.

Flexiskates feature a self-adjusting balancing mechanism for the stability of quad skates and the speed of blades, while also catering for simulated alpine ski carving on pavement.

The Skike is a big, wheeled cross country ski skate for road riding.

The Dreamslide is pedaled like a bicycle, but you stand up while riding it.

The easyglider is a plug-in rechargeable electric drive unit that pulls you along, either on the provided platform, your skateboard or rollerblades, at up to 20kmh.