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I often get asked what really is the best ride on mower. Generally speaking, it's like most things- the more you spend the better you get. As I repair mowers I get to see the various features and faults, but to me, for the average budget conscious life-styler, no particular rider stands out above all the rest. No doubt various retailers will strongly disagree with me. Instead I will give you some points to consider so you can make up your own mind.
- The price.
- How comfortable is the driving position, you could be mowing for one or two hours?
- Can you easily replace broken belts, or do you need special tools?
- Are spare parts readily available, from most mower shops, or can you only get them from one supplier?
- How easy is it to remove the cutting deck (i.e. to attend to blades or belts) and how strongly constructed is the deck?
- What type of blades are fitted (i.e. mulching, throwing, flat or a combination)? If you are going to be discharging the grass out the deck side chute get throwing blades fitted. Combination mulching / throwing blades clog easier than throwing only blades.
- How frequent are the recommended service intervals? Normally if the motor doesn't have an oil filter it needs servicing twice as often as one that does.
- How good is the back up service?
- Look at the engine power in relation to the cutting deck size. Larger engines with smaller decks will work better.
- Locking diffs or one piece solid rear axles can be useful in wet or sloping applications.
- Hydrostatic or manual transmission? Hydrostatic transmissions make forward / reverse direction changes easy and quick, however overall top speed tends to be slower than manual transmissions.
The above points, while no means complete should at least get you thinking about what you really need in a ride on, to suit both you and your lifestyle block. It is much like buying a car, what appeals to a Holden V8 buyer probably won't suit a Toyota Echo buyer. Different cars for different applications, it is the same for ride on mowers. I hope the above has been helpful to you and remember "Don't kick it, I'll fix it", and that's all small engines.
