rigid frame vs pivoting front end on zero turns

[rdaystrom]

My Kubota ZD21 has the pivoting style front end while my brother's Scag Tiger Cub has the rigid style. What are your opinions on how they each affect the cut. I can't say for sure but I think my Kubota follows ground imperfections more closely and thus may leave more ridges as the deck leans somewhat when that front wheel dips down through a valley or hole that's only on one side.
The Scag Tiger Cub on the other hand seems to keep a more generalized level cut as it's wheel becomes momentarily airborn as it passes over a hole or valley on one side of the mower. Also the Tiger Cub has an offset front end. One front wheel is farther forward than the other. How does that affect the cut? Thanks for your opinions. Robert

[THE_CROOKED]

i driven a grass hopper with a front end that folds up

a really nice mower i think...


i also have a scag and am interested in poeples oninion as well

[rdaystrom]

The Tiger Cub I drove is brand new. It's the first example of a rigid frame I have been around. I could almost swear that it mows smoother than my Kubota (with the swiveling front end) in a situation like my yard where there are small rolling humps and valleys. This sort of contradicts the philosophies of my Kubota and the Ferris. (that has full suspension.) I have not made a full blown comparison though so I'm not too sure of the facts. I'd like to hear from a person with more experience than I have with both types of machines.

[WLS]

I have the cub tank, and it has pins you can pull out to have a pivoting axle, but in my area I leave the pins in so I will have a firm front end.

[CleanEdge]

Same here, My Cub can be either pivoting or rigid, lately I have been using it pivoting, but from the info I get from this thread, maybe I will make it rigid.

[Maddog]

My Cub Tanks are the same with the pin. I usually run with it pivoting.

[MAD MOWERS]

Yes the Ferris has a full suspension. However the deck is hung from the frame by short chains and the rear shock is fixed to move straight up and down, While the front end flexes on the shocks and frame pivots . The deck also has adjusting rods and cams as well as the lifting system to hold it steady.

Now in mowing some of our "smoother" prop's. sometimes the front wheel will hang in the air over small ruts ect. so its not floppy as one would think. While the ride is good, its not like riding in a car.

[CleanEdge]

So, in general, does a mower mow smoother over bumpy ground when pivoting, or rigid?

[MAD MOWERS]

Well, at the risk of showing my a--, and as nobody else has jumped on this one, I will take a "ewag" and say that the cut depends on the, Here it comes, The way your deck is "hung"!

No kidding! I looked at this theroy and studied the deck on the Ferris machines and I see how that the front wheel pivot that's attached to the machine will raise/lower the deck with the ground roll. I do not know about other machines or how the deck is hung mabey a Exmark,Toro,Dixie Chopper, or Cub rider could share some insite as to their idea's? Oops, forgot to mention Scag, sorry guy's, Great machine!

[rdaystrom]

If the deck pivots "with" a pivoting front end (like the Ferris) then I can see how it might cut smoother. Essentially it would mow like the rigid type but the operator might get a smoother ride as a result of the pivoting front end. My Kubota as mentioned in my post has the pivoting front end. This feature has a built in "jack" the lifts the mower up for deck servicing. I love the mower but have often wondered about the true difference between a mower that's rigid and one that pivots. This same question could be posed to garden tractors as well.
I think the rigid mowers give a smoother looking cut under certain conditions...like small rolling bumps or hills and valleys. The pivoting mower..if you think about it, does not lift the deck as much as it it should over certain bumps or hills because the lifting point is the center of the frame. It's true that deck wheels help but even with deck wheels you can get parallel ridges when you mow bumpy ground. With the larger decks, like my 60 inch Kubota, it is difficult to keep things smooth. Having a five or six foot deck is sorta like trying to make a ball out of a piece of wood and the only tool you have is a planer.
My conclusion is that rigid mowers may cut somewhat smoother but they have to be built much stronger and heavier to withstand the torqueing and twisting. Pivoting front ends have some advantages. I thing the best option would be to have a selectable front end allowing either rigid or pivoting.

[MAD MOWERS]

I think you have the answer. We run both types of decks. the pivot on the "z" and a fixed/ridged on a Ferris three wheel Pro 30 61". As you say both have their places and if all yards were Golf course smooth we all could mow with Wal Mart "specials"