Archival Footage From 1923 of an Early Form of Rollerblading Known as ‘Cycle-Skating’

British Pathé archival footage from 1923 captures the utter joy of men strapping on wheels and rolling around a park in Paris. This early form of rollerblading was called “Cycle-Skating” and used ski poles to help maintain balance.

Men is Paris enjoy the new sport of 1923, Cycle-skating – new sport which involves strapping a wheel to the side of the feet and skating.

Video editor Scalpel restored the footage further with high-definition image resolution at 60 frames per second, added color, and made the sound clearer. 

I’ve upscaled the video, colorized and extends to 60 frames per second. I’ve also denoised the sound to make the music clearer.

Lori Dorn
Lori Dorn

Lori is a Laughing Squid Contributing Editor based in New York City who has been writing blog posts for over a decade. She also enjoys making jewelry, playing guitar, taking photos and mixing craft cocktails.