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Chair Wheels

Casters vs. Glides: What is the Difference?

May 5 read

An office chair is an essential attribute of any modern office since all employees and managers of the company must have a convenient and comfortable workplace. There are various types of chairs, so it is quite difficult to choose the most worthy of them but it is customary to divide them into those that are equipped with casters on the chair and without them.

Any chair should be as comfortable and simple as possible. In addition to these two characteristics, some manufacturers pay great attention to the models equipped with wheels. Such chairs allow a person to quickly move in a chair, eliminating the need to get up. Sometimes people make the decision to replace casters with feet, and here comes a question: who will win in this fight between glides vs casters?

Casters: reasons to choose

Shealtho chair wheels.

What are casters on a chair? These are the wheel foundations of office chairs that are the most widespread and well-known all over the world. Moreover, they are also perceived as supports that allow you to move furniture within the room. The crosspiece should be selected based on your weight. If the weight is up to 70 kg, then a cross made of any material, including plastic, is suitable, if the weight is ± 110 kg, a metal cross should be selected, but if ± 130 kg, it’s recommended to choose chairs with a cast aluminum cross. If the chair is on the carpet, then plastic casters for chairs are preferable. If the flooring is parquet or laminate, then it is more correct to install rubberized wheels for furniture legs.

Pay attention to ergonomic chairs with adjustments that will allow you to customize the chair to suit your individual characteristics and preferences. The chairs can have the following adjustments: 

No wonder most models of office chairs have such a convenient addition as casters on chairs. An office solution with wheels for chair legs is already a familiar element of the work environment, which has a computer desk. In fact, the wheels of an office chair are simply an indispensable part of convenient and fast work. It speeds up the entire workflow when you need to perform several actions almost simultaneously. What is a caster on a chair? It’s a small but strong symbol of chair reliability, which is checked in practice and is able to handle a lot of weight.

Decent rollers for furniture legs usually meet the following requirements:

The last point is also important since such models of chairs are most widely used in offices, so the price for them should not be too high. However, the quality of the chair must remain as high as possible. If you are looking for a reliable manufacturer, pay attention to the Stealtho Company products that 100% meet the most popular and serious requirements of the clients.

Office meeting on a wheeled chairs.

If you are still wondering what are chair casters, then here you have one more answer: units, which provide chair ergonomics. This is most relevant for office workers who are forced to quickly move from one work surface to another. This model of the chair significantly increases efficiency and saves time. Or, for example, when the desktop has a fairly large area and moving in a chair is simply inevitable, this option will also be an excellent way to save energy and time for an employee. So, what are casters? These elements are indispensable for many people and allow them to fully enjoy all the comfort of the work process.

If you want a computer chair without wheels, then you can install casters glides instead of mentioned elements and quickly replace chair wheels with feet

Glides: reasons to choose

Chair glides.

The office chair glides include thrust bearings, which are the simplest type of supports. They raise the module above the floor by a few centimeters. This is necessary so that the base of the case is not soaked with moisture during wet cleaning of the floors. Gliding casters are usually made of smooth plastic that does not scratch the floor when moving furniture. There are also felt pads, which are most often attached to the legs of chairs. Manufacturers often make metal furniture supports, covering them with a layer of chromium or nickel. The thrust bearings also have a decorative function in this case. There can be any shape of the glide casters, the form of a plate, a button, a cylindrical, or a twisted leg.

Adjustable office chair bell glides are made for the convenience of setting furniture on uneven floors. Such office chair bell glides for carpeted floors can be arranged with varying degrees of complexity but the essence of the way to regulate its height comes down to the presence of a retractable screw inside. The screw is twisted to the desired depth and provides the chair with the required angle of inclination. Glide caster models are more stable and reliable because many wheels break off over time and the very base of the chair becomes unusable. The cost of chairs equipped with a mechanism for moving is somewhat higher, which is associated with the cost of installing wheels.

Peculiarities

Caster glides are used in different types of chairs to achieve a static position. The leg for the chair is made of reliable materials and it can withstand a load of more than 200 kg. It is possible to replace casters with glides with simple moves. The metal leg of the glide has a movable attachment of the bottom platform to the stem to compensate for bending or uneven flooring for firm contact with the floor.

Office chair carpet glides sometimes are installed in chrome-plated crosses but it is possible to install such a thrust bearing in standard plastic crosses. The set usually includes 5 gliders. The lower part of the glider leg is made of elastic plastic, does not scratch the floor, and makes it easy to stick felt or its synthetic equivalent. It protects the floor well. Glides casters are often referred to as the metal end caps for the chair cross. Such locks in the position of the chair are in great demand among buyers. Quite often you need to block the free-rolling of the bar stool for ease of use.

Users usually choose to replace office chair wheels with feet in classic office chairs and meeting room chairs. Office chair glides for carpet are installed in the chairs at the television studio to avoid changing the angle and you need to make sure that the chair does not roll away from the desired shooting point. Glides are installed in recliner chairs to prevent rolling and tipping over. Quite often, leg locks are installed on child seats instead of standard rollers for chair legs. This allows the student to focus on the task and control posture. When we are talking about the work, gliders are also often installed. This may be necessary for the safety of the work process. The simplicity of construction and the absence of moving elements make this type of support the most reliable. 

What to choose?

The standard office chair feet with rollers allow you to comfortably perform operations at the table without getting up. This is ensured by the mechanism of rotation of the seat, as well as the cross with rollers. Despite this, everything is not that simple and a low-quality chair can quickly fail due to a large number of moving parts, which will result in additional expenses. If you want to be ready for various solutions, consider the Stealtho Company patented replacement chair wheels set of 5 elements. All of them are able to handle heavy workloads and save the cables from deformation. Moreover, the products look great and are unique ones.

In addition to the aesthetic appearance, the supports must have impeccable strength. Most of the fittings on the market do not correspond to this parameter. Reliable supports that can withstand a serious load are made at large specialized enterprises, where products undergo a special test for strength on a press. Wheel fittings are tested with a load, moving on a track established by the standard. Prioritize, determine the main points, familiarize yourself with the range of diversity, and make a decision. It is difficult to answer which of the considered options is better because everyone has their own views and opinions.

Why is it compulsory to choose a chair?

It’s not a secret that many people have sedentary jobs. Sitting for a long time is harmful even on the best armchair in the world. A sedentary lifestyle increases the chances of developing diabetes, cancer, and gaining excess weight. The WHO recommends physical activity to reduce the risks associated with a sedentary lifestyle. It’s about to spend 150 minutes a week doing light activities like walking, cleaning around the house, yoga, or 75 minutes a week of strenuous activity, such as running, cycling, or exercising at the gym.

Physicians do not yet know how much time a day you can sit. The UK’s chief medical officer recommends taking breaks as often as possible, such as getting up and walking. Nevertheless, a properly selected chair reduces the load on the spine, the person takes the correct posture and is less distracted by fatigue. The chair isn’t everything. You also need a comfortable desk as a minimum when you work with a desktop computer or on multiple monitors. The chair should be chosen by taking into account the structural features of your body, fit the height of the back, the width and depth of the seat, and even the height of the armrests. All information is in the technical parameters in the description of the model. It is up to you to choose the model with wheels or without them.

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