Rear Roller Mower

A rear roller on a lawn mower offers two advantages to the serious lawn enthusiast. The first is that it gives you that iconic striping to your greensward in fact, in a dry summer, you can maintain the impression of stripes by setting the cut to take only the very tips off the grass, while the roller still gives the impression of a manicured lawn.

The second advantage is that rollers, rather than wheels balance the weight of the machine over its entire body, meaning that you can not only mow right up to the edge of flower beds and non-raised paths, but actually mow slightly over them, where a wheel would tip into the bed and cause a gouge in the lawn.

On the other hand, the extra weight of the roller can make manoeuvrability difficult on uneven ground and can add to the effort of mowing the lawn if your ground is even a little bumpy. And, unfortunately, rear rollers aren't compatible with mulching systems. It's also important to bear in mind that roller weight is a factor in the depth of colour that you get in your lawn stripes. Heavier steel rollers produce a professional 'stripe weight' but can add to the effort needed to mow the lawn.

Most rear roller mowers are cylinder mowers but some rotary mowers are available with a rear roller to give the stripe with the added versatility of rotary cutting - the choice is yours!

Lawn stripes are a dream for many but achievable with a rear roller lawn mower. Well-striped lawn courtesy of wiki commons