Blog

Short blog posts, journal entries, and random thoughts. Topics include a mix of personal and the world at large. 

Riding on rollerblades

About a year ago at work, our office chairs got reupholstered. A coworker made sure that his chair did not get lost in the shuffle - the one he parts with is the one he is to get back. It was easy enough: that chair has a feature distinct from the rest. Instead of the typical plastic casters the rest of our chairs have, the coworker’s chair has rollerblade wheels. On first impression, it looked completely weird. Can it even move properly?

I filed it to the back of my mind, chalking it up as a funky quirk of the coworker. The original casters on my chair works just fine!

Recently, however, I stumbled upon a tweet from someone I follow. He mentioned rollerblade wheel upgrade for office chairs, and how it is an excellent quality of life improvement, especially for work-from-home folks. The link to the Amazon page reveals a surprisingly low cost. For about $40 dollars, anyone can upgrade the casters on their chairs. I was intrigued, not by the promised benefits, but the price! It’s cheap enough to give it a go.

Performing the upgrade is super easy: the standard casters literally pop right off from the chair. The rollerblade wheels then pop right in. In less than a minute, I was done. I do suggest wearing gloves, because grease and dirt will get onto the hands.

I should have done this way sooner! Rollerblade wheels are such a revelation. Not only does my Herman Miller Aeron rolls incredibly smoothly, it’s also far quieter than before. I can glide from one end of the room to the other with minimal noise. The product claims it’s kinder to the floors, too, though my plastic laminate flooring didn’t suffer under the plastic casters. So I can’t confirm that part.

I’m going to ask at work if they can buy me a set for my office chair.

Fresh wheels.