Not true, The key factor in what speed a mower can mow at is the deck, and manufacturers use the same decks on their regular riders as they do on their zero turns. Unless you want to look at commercial grade but then you are taking a big jump in price.
I bought a new cub cadet Z force last year. It's awesome. It's not a traditional zero turn with the castor wheels. This one has the steering wheel and hangs on the side of my very steep yard well. Super traction. Very well built.
yes zero turns are definitely a faster cutting machine compare to a ride on tractor. I work at a dealership that sell mowers and every single person that goes from a rider to a zero turn always says they don't know why they ever had a rider. People love zero turns once they have them. I haven't seen any riding mowers yet that will drive faster than a zero turn
There is not a rider out there that can cut my lawn as fast or efficiently as my ZTR. I owned both and cut this lawn with both. You couldn't pay me to switch back. Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk
There is only so much cutting surface on the blades and the blades have to spin fast enough to be able to cut as the mower passes. If the mower moves to fast the blades can't keep up and you end up with a poor cut. If you change the ratio of the mower deck to increase the blade speed, you can mow faster but you also end up with a mower that doesn't do as well in thick and longer grass. The typical mowing speed is somewhere between 5-8 mph. Comparing a person buying a new zero turn with a 10 year old rider is like comparing a bow made today with one form 10 years ago. Or a new computer with one 3 or 4 years old. Technology has advanced.
I own a new cub cadet rider and any zero turn will cut circles around me. It is true that they can only cut as much as the blade can handle or as much hp as you have but there is no doubt that if you took a brand new rider and a brand new zero turn with the same size deck and the same engine, that the zero turn would cut more grass quicker. There's a reason zero turns are more money than a rider, its because they are generally faster. It really is a personal preference though
So I bought a mower today. It gets delivered on Friday and I should be able to mow for the first time on Saturday. Ended up getting a Toro Titan ZX5400. It's probably a bit more mower than I need right now but there is a real possibility I'll move again in the next 5 years and I doubt I'll end up with a smaller lot if that happens. I'll probably get the bagging kit for it at some point before fall so I don't have to rake leaves as well.
Ha! I was just seeing this thread and going to tell you to check out Toro. I got one three seasons ago and love it. For fact, it is much faster mowing than the rider it replaced. And, the standard rider had a very tight turning radius. There just is no comparison. It is 30 minutes less mowing time for me with the same size deck. I think you will be happy with your choice. I sure have been.
Have you actually used both styles of mowers? There is no comparison. I traded in a two year old conventional rider for a ZT with the same HP and same size deck and shortened my mowing time by nearly a third. Which, is exactly what the dealer told me I would do. I spoke to several guys that made the same switch before I took the leap and they all had the very same experience. You seldom have to slow down or back up with a ZT. You are flat out mowing grass the entire time its running.
When we had a rider it used to take 4 hours to mow. Zero turn it is now about 2.5 hours. So much faster, especially when trees are involved.
