Are Office Chair Wheels Universal?

When you decides to torn out the damaged wheels, and replace them with the new one. For all the good reasons, to smooth the rolling experience, make it more stable and functional again.

You alongside gives a birth to the confusions and questions; Are Office Chair wheels Universal? Can I replace it with any of the available wheel? Do I need a specific one?

And since you have landed on this blog post, we are assuming you to be scratching your head with the same confusions and questions.

Just bear with us till the end, this detailed guide will help you get all the answers to your questions.

Let’s get into details;

Are Office Chair Wheels Universal?

The simple answer to this is, not all office chair wheels are universal. You just cannot attach any of the wheel in any of the office chair. You need to check out for the measurement at first.

But do you know what;

There are the wheels that comes with the standard stem diameter (11mm width * 22mm height) and almost 95% of chairs out there support this measurement. Therefore, calling these types of caster wheels universal won’t be wrong.

Whereas, the rest of 5% chairs support the wheels with the threaded stem of standard diameter (10 mm width * 20 mm height).

 Note: Stem is the element that make the wheel attached to the chair firmly. 

As you now know, office chair wheels are almost universal, but still you should be checking out the type of stem your chair supports to get the right wheels for your chair.

However, if you possess the modern chair, your office chair wheels most likely will be universal, as it supports the standard stem.

Well, stem is not the only thing in the wheel that should make you decide which caster to get. Let me dissect different part of the wheels, so that you can understand it better and replace with the premium one only.

Here we go;

Office Chair caster: Explained!

Office chair wheels are also known as the caster wheels, attached to the bottom of office chair’s legs. Designed to give you more mobility, help you roll around easily, while making it stable.

Here are the important parts of the wheel;

1. Wheel

Wheel is the core part of the office chair wheel that functions to help you move around without getting off the chair.

They are usually made up of following material:

• Glass
• Leather
• Iron
• Elastomers
• Plastic
• Rubber
• nylon
• stainless steel

Plastic wheels are the most common one, but the most long-lasting and premium one are the metal wheels preferred by heavy duty chairs.

• Double Wheel Vs Single Wheel

In the office chairs, you will find double wheels in action. Because they are known for distributing the weight evenly and accurately, due to their wider surface area. They also best in terms of avoiding the floor from getting damaged and helps you to roll and swivel easily.

Whereas, single wheel casters are more solid and sturdy as compare to the twin wheel caster, and also have few moving parts. Therefore, they are normally used in industrial setting.

You can choose the single wheel for the office chairs as well, but there is no specific need for this. As double wheel can also serve you for the longest period of time.

2. Hood

Hood are normally found in old caster wheels, and become very rear in the modern one. They are meant to avoid the dirt and debris getting into the caster, to affect the overall rolling mechanism.

However, it always turns out as a disappointment, as it never did its job rightly. Instead become an obstacle for the wheels to move easily.

3. Stem

Stem is the part designed to attach the wheels to the office chair. This rod-like object has to be inserted into housing, found in the chairs leg. Once done, it works to firmly hold the wheels with the chair.

Following are the different types of stem:

• Grip Ring Stem Caster

These types of the caster are designed with the groove at the top, which is covered with the grip ring/split steel rig. They are most commonly found and the widely used one.

You also do not need to be technical at all, to install it accurately. Only pushing it in the chair’s leg is enough to get it attached firmly.

• Grip Neck Stem Caster

These stems are made with the wider base and the thin head. They are completely inserted and fixed in the chairs leg. Though, they are rarely used as compare to the grip ring caster.

 

• Threaded Stem Caster

Threaded Stem are not less than a screw. They are installed by twisting the stem into the housing of the chair’s leg. Once done, tighten up with the nuts and washer. They are so far the most secure one.

But still, you will also not find it as widely used as the grip ring stem because of the way easy installation of the Grip ring stem.

Which caster wheels to choose?

Market is already flooded with the caster wheels, you can find the one suitable for your office chair easily. But still, there are the chances of ordering the wrong one.

So here are the pointers you need to look out for, to avoid wasting your time and money in the wrong wheels;

• Get the wheels with the soft and premium material. If you asked us, polyurethane material is the recommended one, as it goes perfectly for all types of floor including, hardwood, tile, and even carpet.
• Rolling of the wheel should be smooth.
• Check out for the size of the wheel. They normal comes in 2.0 or 2.5 inches, choosing any of them would be good enough. However, the smaller wheel stresses and worn out more as compare to the larger one. You can also find the wheel of 3 inches, but it is not needed in all the cases. Larger wheels distribute weight effectively and roll smoothly.

You can consider getting any of the following one, as they both fulfil the criteria and one of the most recommended one;

• Office Oasis Original Rollerblade Chair Wheels
• Office Chair Wheels Set

Final Thoughts

There is only one type of caster wheels that comes with the standard stem can be considered as a universal one, as they can be installed into 95% of modern office chairs. But another fact is that, caster wheels are also available in different styles and stems that is not widely accepted by office chair.

So whenever, it comes to the replacement, you better look out for stem requirement of your office chair and the type it supports to end up getting the right one. Do not rely on the statement that Office chair wheels are universal, because it is true only for one type of it.