By Kennywg
United Kingdom 
Hi,
Roller or Non-Roller?
Would appreciate some help. We have what I would describe as a medium garden overall, in several different parts. I’m going for a self-propelled petrol rotary mower but can’t decide whether to go for one with front & rear wheels, or one with front wheels & a rear roller (which is more expensive). Aside from the stripes advantage, are there any other pros or cons in one with a rear roller? Most of our garden is flat apart from a couple of areas with smallish slopes. I have a slight concern that the extra weight with a roller type may make it that more difficult to maneouvre, although I have read that a rear roller one is easier to guide along edges. Any comments appreciated.
17 Sep, 2015
Answers
Thanks - the main advantage seems to be that the roller gives the lawn stripes, which can't be easily achieved with just wheels.
17 Sep, 2015
I see. Are the stripes purely aesthetic? Do you have to make them exactly straight to look right?
17 Sep, 2015
Aesthetic, yes, and you make them as straight as you're able to walk whilst pushing the mower...
17 Sep, 2015
OK like "crop circles?" I've seen that. I've even seen checkerboard patterns.
17 Sep, 2015
Anyway, the point is I'm trying to find out any pros & cons with a rear roller.
17 Sep, 2015
It's going to be more work to maneuver with the roller. It will also consume more petrol. Depends if those stripes are worth it to you. Personally, I would do with just the wheels.
17 Sep, 2015
And if you want stripes then our wheeled mower has a rubber flap at the back with leaves a pattern on the grass.
Wheels are definitely easier to manoeuvre. Personally though I would go for a front roller type and blades rather than a rotary cutter. The Suffolk Punch mower type is the one I would love to be able to afford.
17 Sep, 2015
We think you get better results with a roller. You say you have a medium garden but that doesn't give any idea of lawn area so its hard to advise. Do you want an electric one or petrol one? The roller isn't all that heavy and if the mower is self propelled it doesn't matter.
17 Sep, 2015
About 50 square metres but in 4 separate areas, separated by various paths, and a small area on a slope. Preference for a petrol one as too large an area for a corded one and I'm not convinced that a battery one would be powerful enough. The roller types seem to add about 7 kg or so to the overall weight.
17 Sep, 2015
See my fresh comment on your blog for good source of advice. Our front lawn is cut in half by a path and we just mow straight across it - the two halves would be too small to turn a petrol mower.
17 Sep, 2015
I just hire gardeners to cut my lawn so i don't even think about it. They leave me the bagged clipping I use for mulch.
18 Sep, 2015
Some of us aren't that lucky.......
18 Sep, 2015
I use a large cordless (battery) mower and it's plenty powerful enough to deal with even long wet grass, while still being light enough for me to manage. I couldn't manage my previous petrol mower, which was self-propelled, because of the weight and difficulty getting it from area to area. It makes lovely stripes. From memory, it's a Bosch Rotak 43.
18 Sep, 2015
Well, over here, I've never seen a mower with rollers, and nobody is missing them. Seems like wheels would be lightweight and easier to push. The rollers add a lot of dead weight. What purpose does it serve? I wouldn't want to push that around.
17 Sep, 2015