THE 3 TYPES OF DRIVETRAINS

There are two ways to propel a mower:

You push, or the mower itself does. And if you opt for one that moves forward under its own power via a drivetrain, you have to choose between rear-wheel, front-wheel, and all-wheel drive. Here’s how each works.

1. REAR-WHEEL

Pull the mower’s handle to apply tension to the drive cable and a spring attached to the transmission.

The transmission pivots; the pulley at its top moves away from the engine.

This tenses the drive belt coming from the engine output shaft, spinning the transmission pulley.

That rotates gears at the rear axle, turning the wheels.

2. FRONT-WHEEL

The process here is much the same as with rear-wheel drive, except the configuration is flipped.

As you pull back on the drive handle and tension moves through the cable, spring, transmission, pulleys, and drive belts, the gears at the front axle turn the wheels.

This leads to better manoeuvrability but less traction going uphill.

3. ALL-WHEEL

Once again, pull the mower’s drive handle to tense the drive cable and the spring.

The transmission pivots; the two pulleys move away from the engine.

That tenses two drive belts, spinning the transmission pulleys.

Gears at both the front and rear axles turn all four wheels for better traction, but at greater cost and maintenance as there are more parts to wear out.

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