Yet Another Cycling Forum
General Category => The Knowledge => OT Knowledge => Topic started by: CommuteTooFar on 03 March, 2021, 10:31:54 am
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I have been using the same chair at my desk for around twenty or more years. It suited me well. Unlike the always cheap ones at work. Sadly my home desk chair is simply worn out. I need a new one.
How do we choose a new chair? I looked online I could see why a £80 chair (few adjustments) is worse than a £160 chair but struggle to see why the more expensive models are better or worse than each other.
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They can be a bit like saddles - what suits one person...
I think that the more expensive ones use better gas struts for a start - the cheaper chairs start to slowly lower you to the floor after a few years when used all day. At work we tend to buy from second-hand office furniture suppliers (when they used to be open) but then our work means a lot of mud and dust gets brought in to the office so brand new stuff quickly gets dirty. A lot of places seem to get their furniture changed regularly so you can often get a good quality chair for about a third of the price. We bought a couple of Okamura chairs for less than £300 each that would be around £1k new. That is still a lot more than the cheaper chairs are new but they are very comfortable to use and still look and work like new. Have a look on-line and see if there are any second-hand suppliers near you and then you ought to be able to go and look in about 3 weeks (can they open on the 29th?). I have just looked on-line at one of the suppliers near us and their most expensive "operators" chair is £225 and the cheapest £49. (all plus VAT)
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I was about to recommend the ones we get at work - then I googled it:
https://ewop.co.uk/products/everyis1-office-task-chair-142e (https://ewop.co.uk/products/everyis1-office-task-chair-142e)
£471 :o
I'll start taking better care of it.
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Many years ago I was an IT contractor and that meant I sat in hundreds if not thousands of office chairs. I remember when I worked for Motorola, the chairs were unbelievably good. Everyone there has Herman Miller Aeron chairs. As a result, I bought two, about 20 years ago, and they are still so good, barely worn in, so it will be many years before they are worn out. They were not cheap but what price for a life of comfort?
PS. I don't suggest you buy one, I suggest you find the opportunity to sit on one and make your own mind up, because, as ever, YMMV.
I bought one of those off e-bay, for about £280 I think. Still got it 15 years later, and it is exceptional. A day in that chair is worth an hour in an ordinary one, in terms of discomfort.
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Another vote for Herman Miller Aeron here. Yes, they are expensive, but that is because they are exceptional chairs and imho worth every penny. There’s nearly always a few for sale on eBay which is a good thing because the new price is eye watering yet high.
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There are loads of Aerons on Ebay. There is also a good availability of spares for them in case things break or get shabby. This can be a consideration.
My own chair is a Humanscale Freedom, very comfy, but less popular than the Aeron, so if I want to replace the arm pads which have split I'll have to go via a main dealer & pay ££!
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There are a few places that resell office chairs, i used Corporate Spec last year when i realised that I needed a proper chair as i wouldn't get to go back to the office.
https://corporatespec.com/
As others have said, what works for me might not for you, my other half hates my chair with a passion.
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Another vote for Herman Miller Aeron.
I swapped my Fred Scott Supporto chair (The chair which changed office chair design forever) for a HM. The only thing I've done to the HM is I've added a headrest, as I was used to the Supporto's high back.
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I am still fummin' at the time I declined the offer to buy Charlotte's surplus Aeron having bought a new office chair from the Happy Swedish Halls Of Joy the previous week. Which I subsequently discovered to be crap.
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This deserves crossposting: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_chairs
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Another vote for Herman Miller Aeron.
I swapped my Fred Scott Supporto chair (The chair which changed office chair design forever) for a HM. The only thing I've done to the HM is I've added a headrest, as I was used to the Supporto's high back.
I'm rather liking mine, I thought a Medium would be a bit tight for me but it's bang on (183cmish and cough 95kg)
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I plan to buy a V46 from Hood Seating. Unless one of you say I should not.
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I am still fummin' at the time I declined the offer to buy Charlotte's surplus Aeron having bought a new office chair from the Happy Swedish Halls Of Joy the previous week. Which I subsequently discovered to be crap.
Mr. Larrington is jealous of my buttocks. I am sitting in that very chair as I type.
A month or two ago the gas cylinder let me down, in more ways than one. I bought another, complete with the pulling tool to remove the old one, from somewhere in the US of A, and I completed the job. Of course, although the new cylinder fits, I have no idea if it's going to be of the quality of the old one.
I think I must have had this chair well over 4 years now - I remember that Jan and I went to Perivale in our red Nissan Leaf, and it's 4 years ago last September that we got rid of that. This chair has had a lot bulk to put up with in that time.
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D can't abide arm rests.
I NEED them as I can't rise from a seated position with out using my hands.
D's office chair was found dumped on the street. He removed the arm rests.
My office chair came from IKEA about 20 years ago. Arm rests might have been extra. Castors were too.
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One of the castors just came off my the Happy Swedish Halls Of Joy chair chiz. Fortunately there are two on each of its five leggy-things but even so.
Bah!
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No armrests here either. Basically, their dismissal results in a kama sutra of additional desk-wise positioning.
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I've got a JÄRVFJÄLLET from IKEA, which I find comfortable for long days at my desk. Mr R has a Herman Mill Aeron but I really couldn't convince myself it was worth the extra money...
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I gave my exec chair, don't ask me the make, it was £750 quid when I procured it from the mothership, to my wife when her crappy chair broke (plus she was complaining about her back). I have a simple Ikea one now and it's actually quite nice so I've not bothered swapping them, plus that exec chair weights a tonne and I'd have to lug it back down the stairs. And she's stopped complaining.
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Seems to me that the Aeron has somehow won at marketing (which isn't to say it's not good). There are plenty of other brands of high-end chairs with similar features and ergonomic adjustments, and they tend to be better at different things.
I'd suggest that the best approach would be to get a proper ergonomic assessment (ie. the chair equivalent of a bike fit). No idea how you go about that when your employer/AtW/DSA aren't paying.
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If you agree to buy chairs from the company, many will do it for free or charge £50 otherwise. I can recommend Total Back Care centre in Birmingham as small and very good and lovely. I've used them with wonky students and I got to use them myself for my latest AtW/work ergo jibbling.
They were able to recommend suitable stuff for my weird lower back curve and were very sensible about my very wonkiness. If the new work chair is good, I might see if I can weasel one for home somehow.
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My office chair came from IKEA about 20 years ago. Arm rests might have been extra. Castors were too.
I have an Ikea Renberget (https://www.ikea.com/us/en/p/renberget-swivel-chair-bomstad-black-50332238/) on which they have sneakily made the arms the main structural support for the back, which means it has no adjustment and the arms can't be removed, and you can get it no closer to your desk than (medium-sized fish gesture) this much.
They're banking on you not really noticing this until you get it home. And it was cheap.
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Seems to me that the Aeron has somehow won at marketing (which isn't to say it's not good). There are plenty of other brands of high-end chairs with similar features and ergonomic adjustments, and they tend to be better at different things.
I'd suggest that the best approach would be to get a proper ergonomic assessment (ie. the chair equivalent of a bike fit). No idea how you go about that when your employer/AtW/DSA aren't paying.
Yes, when you buy a chair you probably have it for the best part of a decade. I chose an Aeron because at a place of work I had one provided and discovered how god they are. What you need is a warehouse with a lot of chairs to go and try out over the course of a day.
Of course, buying things is cheaper on the internet...
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Seems to me that the Aeron has somehow won at marketing (which isn't to say it's not good). There are plenty of other brands of high-end chairs with similar features and ergonomic adjustments, and they tend to be better at different things.
I'd suggest that the best approach would be to get a proper ergonomic assessment (ie. the chair equivalent of a bike fit). No idea how you go about that when your employer/AtW/DSA aren't paying.
Yes, when you buy a chair you probably have it for the best part of a decade. I chose an Aeron because at a place of work I had one provided and discovered how god they are. What you need is a warehouse with a lot of chairs to go and try out over the course of a day.
Of course, buying things is cheaper on the internet...
I reupholstered my second-hand (it was destined for a skip) Supporto and spent the best part of 25 years sitting in it.
Having cleaned it to get rid of the 'boy dirt' ;D someone else is now getting further mileage from it.
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I broke my office chair the other night. It was a very old, cheap swivel chair that had performed perfectly adequately for 15+ years for about £25. I can't get annoyed about its failure.
I am not buying any chair that costs £1000, even if it's gold plated and comes with hot and cold running masseuses. I have spent £130 on what looks like a fairly posh chair on Amazon. I will report back after a suitable road test.
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The main issue I have with those Aeron things is that they're HUGE, designed for the ISO standard man and I am below the average height for a woman at 5'3". Man-size chairs are always stupidly oversized for me and don't work at all.
If you think office chairs are expensive, look at wheelchairs sometime, the good ones, the ones that actual full-time, self propelling/operating users use. Thousands of pounds and have to work for 16-18 hours a day of use and not be shit (where not-shit is a series of compromises).
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Lugging that executive chair up the stairs nearly killed me (plus I figure it was only luck that the stairway walls are still intact) which is why it's not coming back down. Like TimC, I wouldn't pay that much for a chair, I just clicked the button in the mothership procurement system.
I apparently have an Ikea Långfjäll. I will need a few more drinks before I can pronounce that. It doesn't have all the knobs and levers of the other chair (you can spend weeks adjusting that), just up and down, but I'm perfectly happy with it. It's fairly small, so if you have hippo dimensions, probably not the chair for you. Otherwise, I find it very comfortable and I can spin around and rock back and forth in all the proper ways that a certified Product Leader needs.
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In time-honoured YACF fashion, I'd like to answer your question by not answering it at all but suggesting a substitute - a standing desk.
Best office furniture thing I have ever got. Not massively expensive - about £175. Really easy to use, has two electric presets, one for sitting and one for standing, so you don't have to stand all the time.
I used it a fair bit previously but, since reading Peter Walker's excellent book - 'The Miracle Pill' - which basically confirms what we know that cycling to work is the best thing that most people can do for their lifetime health - I've used it lots more. He gives quite a few ways in which engaging the core muscles while standing rather than sitting is a good thing to do health-wise, from lengthening hip flexors to lowering cholesterol. And why sitting immobile in a chair for an extended period is a really bad thing to do to yourself.
Best bit for me is that I've seen an improvement in a long term neck issue I've had while cycling that no physio had been able to help with.
If you have one of these then it doesn't much matter what chair you have as you won't use it so much!
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In time-honoured YACF fashion, I'd like to answer your question by not answering it at all but suggesting a substitute - a standing desk.
Don't forget the support socks. The former owner of my LBS had spectacular varicose veins and eventually phlebitis from standing all day.
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The main issue I have with those Aeron things is that they're HUGE, designed for the ISO standard man and I am below the average height for a woman at 5'3". Man-size chairs are always stupidly oversized for me and don't work at all.
If you think office chairs are expensive, look at wheelchairs sometime, the good ones, the ones that actual full-time, self propelling/operating users use. Thousands of pounds and have to work for 16-18 hours a day of use and not be shit (where not-shit is a series of compromises).
I guess thats what the Size A Aeron is meant for?
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In time-honoured YACF fashion, I'd like to answer your question by not answering it at all but suggesting a substitute - a standing desk.
Don't forget the support socks. The former owner of my LBS had spectacular varicose veins and eventually phlebitis from standing all day.
Standing desks are normally adjustable so you do sit some of the time. Sure, our bodies will eventually wear out whatever we do, but the prevailing view is that time spent standing will have a better long term result on overall health than time spent sitting.
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I feel a movable standing desk would inhibit the ability to cover and surround it in crap, which makes it scarcely a desk at all.
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In time-honoured YACF fashion, I'd like to answer your question by not answering it at all but suggesting a substitute - a standing desk.
Don't forget the support socks. The former owner of my LBS had spectacular varicose veins and eventually phlebitis from standing all day.
Standing desks are normally adjustable so you do sit some of the time. Sure, our bodies will eventually wear out whatever we do, but the prevailing view is that time spent standing will have a better long term result on overall health than time spent sitting.
https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/exercise/why-sitting-too-much-is-bad-for-us/
Bus drivers and astronauts
The link between illness and sitting first emerged in the 1950s, when researchers found double decker bus drivers were twice as likely to have heart attacks as their bus conductor colleagues. The drivers sat for 90 per cent of their shifts, the conductors climbed about 600 stairs each working day.
It is thought excessive sitting slows the metabolism – which affects our ability to regulate blood sugar and blood pressure, and metabolise fat – and may cause weaker muscles and bones.
Research on astronauts in the early 70s found life in zero gravity was linked with accelerated bone and muscle loss and ageing.
Limitations with current research
Most of the evidence is based on observational studies, which have only shown an association between sitting and ill health but not a direct cause.
It seems to be active vs sedentary lifestyle, not standing vs sitting. Who would have thought a bus conductor going up and down stairs all day would have a more active job than a bus driver?
Try working at a sewing machine eight hours a day, would people prefer to stand or sit?
The problem is that a desk job is mainly intermittant tapping of keyboards and wiggling a mouse, answering the phone etc, ie no physical effort, not that it's done sitting down.
I would think during all human history any activity that could be done sitting down would have done sitting down, whether on a chair or the floor/ground.
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/296769
Prolonged standing at work can cause health problems too
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I feel a movable standing desk would inhibit the ability to cover and surround it in crap, which makes it scarcely a desk at all.
Barakta manages quite adequately. There's an occasional small avalanche, which provides a useful reminder of neglected paperwork.
Personally, I reckon standing desks are for people whose legs are the same length. I'd quite like an adjustable height desk for electronics fettling, thobut, as sometimes you want everything a bit higher to see the fiddly stuff.
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In my case I usually change the height for varying levels of sitting downery to accommodate wonky arm problems. I do occasionally use it in standing mode but my hips don't much like it - in fact I'd rather walk than stand.
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I think my ideal office chair would be a desk a couple of cm lower. I don't want to sit any higher for various reasons. In fact I don't like office chairs and I use a standard "dining chair". It might even have come from Ikea.
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in fact I'd rather walk than stand.
I can sympathise. For the last couple of months before I got my hernia done, I could walk with no problems and even manage a 5k run, but standing still for more than a few minutes was agony. Strange things, bodies.
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Walking or running involves lots of different muscle groups moving, whereas standing involves holding a position which I think puts more strain on certain muscle groups and indeed on the joint itself. I have a suspected torn labrum which is also a likely issue.
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Aaaarggghhh..
https://youtu.be/T2ncJ6ciGyM?t=44 (https://youtu.be/T2ncJ6ciGyM?t=44)
:o
Well someone had to do it..
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vXrAK6sUZ_0 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vXrAK6sUZ_0)
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In time-honoured YACF fashion, I'd like to answer your question by not answering it at all but suggesting a substitute - a standing desk.
Don't forget the support socks. The former owner of my LBS had spectacular varicose veins and eventually phlebitis from standing all day.
Standing desks are normally adjustable so you do sit some of the time. Sure, our bodies will eventually wear out whatever we do, but the prevailing view is that time spent standing will have a better long term result on overall health than time spent sitting.
I got my employer to pay for a sit/stand desk (with an electric motor). It was about £300 from Costco. I am typing standing up at the moment... :thumbsup:
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Aaaarggghhh..
https://youtu.be/T2ncJ6ciGyM?t=44 (https://youtu.be/T2ncJ6ciGyM?t=44)
:o
Well someone had to do it..
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L5JFUEIAdCY