Commentary

Bones A.Skate Benefit Wheel ($36)

Bones Wheels team rider Chad Bartie teams with A.Skate to produce benefit wheel

Updated: January 25, 2012, 1:22 PM ET
By Keith Hamm | ESPN.com

Bones WheelsThe A.Skate benefit wheel is essentially Chad Bartie's 52-mm team wheel with a new look.

If If we've learned anything during this Great Recession, it's to be aware of who you're doing business with. On a consumer level, that means spending your money wisely. If you can help people at the same time you're buying something you need, more power to you. And to them. On that front, Bones offers a benefit wheel for the A.Skate Foundation. A.Skate is a nonprofit that helps autistic kids through skateboarding, giving pent up energy an outlet before it turns negative while developing social skills through interactions with other skaters.

After volunteering with A.Skate, Bones team rider Chad Bartie wanted to step it up a notch, he says. "I just wanted some way of me helping more that just going skating with the kids. I was so inspired to skate with them and to see the kids having so much fun just focussing on skateboarding." Bartie hit up Bones, and the collaboration was born. A.Skate founder Crys Worley, who's nine-year-old son has autism, says her foundation gets $1 per set sold, so far totaling nearly $500 since its release last fall.

Bones Wheels

WHAT IT IS:
The A.Skate benefit wheel is essentially Bartie's 52-mm team wheel with a new look. That single blue wheel represents autism and Bartie and Bones' commitment to help kids affected by the developmental disorder. Made from the company's proprietary Street Tech Formula, the wheel promises the ultimate in street wheel performance, with a higher rebound for more speed, better slides, and fewer -- if any -- flat spots. Its V1 shape has a mid-range width and a lower profile, narrowing the riding surface. Which means less friction. Which mean more speed. Bones backs its American-made urethane with a warranty against defects good for the useful life of the wheel.

WHY IT RULES:
That's a no-brainer. First and foremost, dropping your hard-earned cash on a set of these gems helps out kids -- and their families -- dealing with autism. "The wheel is helping raise awareness and a lot of it!" says Worley. "We are even starting to get random tags to #askate on Instagram and other networking sites from people in Japan and the UK with photos of the wheels on their board. It's really rad!" On top of that, you'll be blessing your setup with arguably the finest urethane ever molded into the shape of a skateboard wheel. Bones wheels have been around since the 1970s. That's no accident. Check the team roster if you have any doubts about the Bones reputation.

WHERE TO FIND IT:
Check the Skate One website to buy online, or find a retailer near you.

Keith Hamm

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