need new (small) riding mower

[wichiwichi]

I have had good luck going into winter with a higher cut. Have been told it helps shade out early weeds and from my experience it seems to help.

[Fishman]

Some other questions: Would I be correct in thinking that a walk-behind would be more stable and safer on hills? I have a couple that I wouldn't really want to take a rider up, but maybe a walk-behind would be no problem?

Also, what kind of transmission do they have . . . hydrostat or other? I'd like to be able to creep around obstacles if I need to.

[Gatorboy]

The walk-behind would work on hills far better (and safer) than a rider. The angle would have to be pretty darn steep for a walk-behind to tip, that's for sure.

These type of mowers do come in hydrostat -- mine is not. Hydrostat models cost more, but for me, it is not that much of a benefit. I usually mow in 2nd gear (out of 5), unless I am using my sulky in a large open area (then 3rd or 4th). 5th gear is when I want to just travel from one place to another -- and it flies, something like 6 mph, which is pretty darn fast when standing on a sulky.

When I come up on an area that I know I need to slow down, I will just shift to 1st gear. This takes only about 2-3 seconds, so for the couple times I need to shift gears, the additional cost does not benefit me. If I were back in the lawn care business, I would have a hydrostat model for sure.

I hope this helps.

[chrisjbell]

My $0.02 - Gatorboy is absolutely right about a walk behind vs. a ride on when dealing with hills. A *lot* harder to tip (due to extremely low COG - no body, no seat, and even when you're standing on it your weight is all at the bottom of the mower). And if it were to tip I'd be a lot more comfortable dodging something that I was standing behind or on the back of than trying to perform a "seated leap" to safety (which is what I think I'd try if my lawn tractor decided to roll - no ROPS)...Chris