Wheels for a chair: subtleties of choice, rules for repair and maintenance

The chair casters help you save time moving and increase productivity. For different floor coverings, the rollers are silicone, polyurethane, rubber and others. And it is advisable to know how to remove this assembly for service or replacement.

The peculiarity of the furniture is that the more comfortable and durable it is, the heavier it is. To maintain mobility, wheels are needed, on which a number of requirements fall.

• Strength. Not only durability depends on this, but also safety. If the wheel suddenly breaks, the chair will twist and you may fall.
• Durability. Wheels must withstand significant loads for a long time. Ideally, the entire life of the chair.
• Comfort. Joints are possible on the floor surface, and soft wheels are better at damping small impacts.
• Ease of rotation. The chair should save energy, not turn into a simulator. This parameter depends not only on the quality of the wheels themselves, but also on the correct choice.
• Aesthetic pleasure. Rollers on gaming chairs can be stylized as car rims.

The main rule is that on a hard floor, the wheels should be soft and vice versa. Otherwise, there will be either scratches on the surface, or large rolling forces. Therefore, you need to choose the right material for the rollers.

Plastic. The most inexpensive and are installed on most seats. They are suitable for carpets as they do not leave marks on them. Parquet can be scratched, and thin linoleum can be squeezed.

Silicone. Well suited for uneven floors. They do not leave marks on the parquet and laminate flooring, they allow not to notice the joints. The strength of such wheels is lower than polyurethane ones.

Rubber. Similar to silicone but may leave dark streaks on varnished floors. Not suitable for clean rooms.

Polyurethane. High strength is combined with an attractive appearance and an abundance of colors. They have proven themselves well on all types of coatings. Resistant to aggressive influences, which allows them to be used not only at home or in the office.

In addition to the material, there are differences in the arrangement of the rollers.

The design of the wheels must match the style of the chair, so there are different options for different models.

Office. They can be open or protected by a skirt that prevents wires from entering the wheel. The latter is prettier and safer, but harder to maintain. Often the wheels are rubberized - this is when a rubber tire is put on a plastic hub. This increases comfort and the wheels run quietly.

Gaming or gaming. They are stylized for car and motorcycle rims and have a corresponding color. Some are very similar to roller wheels and have spokes, others differ from office ones only in pattern. You need to be more careful with them, because if a foreign object gets into the spokes on the go, there can be unpleasant consequences.

Locking wheels. They have a rotation blocking mechanism, which, in theory, allows the chair to be locked in one position. In practice, the chair can slide on the floor. And you need to fix all 5 wheels, which is not very convenient. Fortunately, the lever can be pressed with your foot.

After you decide on the design, you need to know some points.

The possibility of installing wheels is determined by the dimensions of the landing rod. It may differ from manufacturer to manufacturer. For Russians, the diameter, as a rule, is 10 mm, and the length is 20 mm. Foreign companies usually have a diameter of 11 mm and a length of 30 mm.

This means that before purchasing a set of wheels, you need to measure these dimensions with a caliper. Or, alternatively, take an old video with you and choose according to the sample.

Pay attention that there is a stopper on the stem. It is this detail that fixes the roller in the crosspiece.

Some rollers are equipped with a threaded stem and nut. When choosing, make sure that the diameter and pitch of the thread match.

You can also choose the diameter of the roller itself. Usually it is 37-50 mm. The larger the wheel, the better it rolls and overcomes bumps, but the more cumbersome it is.

Some wheels (mostly furniture ones) are equipped with a plate instead of a stock. If necessary, the plate can be replaced with a stem and vice versa.

Before buying a set of wheels, it is better to find the reason why the old ones are out of order. This will allow you to either not repeat the mistakes, or not be too upset about the breakdown.

Even the highest quality videos break over time. But due to the simplicity of the chair device, the vast majority of breakdowns can be repaired by yourself... At the same time, you do not need to be a top-class specialist or have a special tool - you can remove and put the wheels by hand.

But before repairing, you should find out the causes of the malfunction.

• The wheels are not spinning well. Surely this is due to the fact that they got foreign objects, stripes or threads. In this case, you need to clean them of debris and then lubricate them with WD-40 or I-20A. Something like a knitting needle or scissors is used for cleaning.
• Cracked wheel. In this case, the part must be replaced, since the glue will not provide the required strength. Most likely, this is due to a long service life or a factory defect.
• Torsional noise. The roller needs to be lubricated. It is better not to postpone this, as "oil hunger" increases wear and decreases service life.
• The roller rocks. This may indicate wear of the plug on the cross, where the stem is inserted. In this case, the plug and wheel must be replaced.

Anyone can handle roller replacement and the operation usually does not require tools (unless the stem is threaded, then a wrench is needed).

At the very beginning, turn the chair over - it will be much more convenient to work this way.

Try to stagger and turn and pull the wheel out with your hands. If the chair is new, the operation should be successful.

If this does not work, you can use aerosol lubricant, and direct the spray from the sprayer into the gap between the stem and the plug. Just remember to wash the oil off the parts afterwards, otherwise the new wheel will not hold.

If this does not help, you need to use pliers. Place the jaws between the wheel and the spider perpendicular to the stem and pull. It is advisable to put something soft, such as cloth or paper, only under the lips. This is to avoid scratching the stem.

If it still does not give in, you will have to partially disassemble the crosspiece. It is necessary to remove the upper decorative plastic strips, which are fastened with latches or screws. After that, gently hit the top of the rod with a hammer - and the wheel will be removed. The hammer should be made of wood or rubber. If this is not the case, it is necessary to use spacers made of this material, for example, plywood.

It takes even less effort to fit new wheels. They just need to be inserted into place in the crosspiece. But make sure they fit snugly and don't wobble.

Your chair is now ready to use.

See below for an overview of spare wheels for office chairs.