A motorized skate employing an electric motor with rotor being a drive wheel (27). A boot or clamp (29) for holding the foot of a user is attached to a rail (4) that supports the boot or clamp (29). The drive wheel (1) has one or more permanent magnets (2) attached thereto with opposite magnetic poles adjacent to one another. One or more electromagnets (6) are attached to the rail (4) to which the drive wheel (1) is rotatably connected. A sensor (3) determines the location of the permanent magnets (2). This information is utilized to assure that the electromagnets (6) are energized only when the resultant magnetic fields will interact with the magnetic fields of the permanent magnets (2) to produce a force on the drive wheel (1) that will cause rotation in the desired direction.
