Inexpensive mowers inevitably come with cheap wheels, without what you would call a 'proper bearing'. However, quality steel ball bearing wheels are readily available at places like Tractor Supply, Home Depot, (etc). The cost is between 5 and 10 dollars apiece. The improvement in performance; decreased rolling resistance, smoothness, durability is appreciable and well worth the price. You can also purchase new axle bolts which may solve your bending problem. I have owned many mowers before acquiring lawnboy 10550's, I always replaced the original plastic wheels with steel ball bearing wheels.

Mr Organic....I don't think you can go wrong with either a Honda HRX or a Toro Super Recycler. Go to lawnsite.com & check out some posts there about push mowers. These are guys who use them everyday for a living. Also, check out your local Craigslist for mowers. I got really lucky & found a commercial Honda HRC that was basically brand new. If you get something that mulches well (Honda or Toro) & cut your lawn frequently, then you don't need a side discharge. But, I'd definitely look for something with a rear bagger. I'm not sure where you are located but at some point you are most likely going to need to overseed your lawn & for that you need to cut it low & bag the clippings. I only use mine once or twice a year with the bagger attached but it is more than worth it. Hope this helps. I'm sure someone will chime in about looking at Snapper's as well but really, unless you use it everyday, I think something from Honda or Toro is the way to go. Spend a little more & get something good. As someone once told me, "buy quality tools & cry once. Buy cheap tools & cry every time you use them...." Oh, another piece of advice I'd give is to use something like Sta-Bil in the gas can you use to fill the mower. It's an additive that lengthens the useful life of your gas & keeps it from damaging the carburetor on your mower. Learned this lesson the hard way & now I put some in the gas can everytime I fill it up at the pump. You can find it at any parts place in town. Anyway, good luck....

Well, Old muscle, we'll need some numbers, from the number plate or sticker on the machine, approximately how old it is, information like that! Its quite possible that a bolt, rivet, or clamp has fallen off, way back under there, where you can't see it. Or something that holds the adjusted setting has failed! but, from where i sit, its impossible to pin-point the problem, without knowing what you have! give us more info--we'll try to help you more!

My brother purchased a new Honda HRX217 HMA (power start) 21" Mower. Since he is so particular concerning care of his equipment, I decided to use his machine to test the quality of Honda Equipment. Will it live up to the reputation? As background, I am an engineer. The mower was purchased on May 11th 2007. The cost was roughly $900 including tax. This is the top of the line non-commercial unit. I installed a new SenDec digital hour meter to track use. The lawn it mows is sub one acre and almost entirely flat ... with a very light slope on the front lawn. Water is inexpensive and plentiful here in Nebraska, so it is watered and fertilizes heavily and mown roughly once a week. First Problem: On the second use the mower unexpectedly sputtered and died. When restarted the mower the power drive (a hydrostatic unit on these mowers) failed to work at all. The drive on these units runs off a belt from the engine shaft. The belt drives a pulley on the transmission (rear wheel drive) and speed is adjusted by a cable that rotates a shaft on the transmission that meters the fluid in the transmission. This shaft has a spring to maintain tension. The dealer claimed the belt came off and a spring fell off -- perhaps because of a stick -- and tried to charge him an $85 service fee. (I had inspected the mower before it went back to the dealer -- and could not find any obvious problem.) At this time the mower had 3 hours on it. Today, on the first use after repair, the mower sputtered and died -- and again the engine immediately restarted -- but the drive system "Hydrostatic Cruise Control Transmission" failed to operate. I believe the engine stalled because of extreme load. I believe the hydrostatic drive is responsible for the excessive load. This time I will carefully examine the unit and take photographs prior to taking it back to the dealer. Anybody else have experiences like this? I plan on carefully documenting costs and problems with this mower on a separate web page. Comments on quality of design and ergonomics: 1) The belt and springs controlling the blade rotation and the hydrostatic drive are exposed at the center of the mower deck. On Toro units this area has a separate cover. Will this exposure cause additional problems? 2) My brother has commented that the mower clogs easily with grass accumulating in the small area where the mulch door closes. 3) In moderate mowing (1 to 1.5" removal) the mower tends to leave a trail of built-up grass clippings at the edge of the mower. The buildup is heavy enough to damage the turf ... and the stripes on the lawn are unsightly. My brother is going to figure out what causes this. Owners of a previous model have made similiar comments. One suggested solution was to raise the front height 1/2" above the rear. But this means that the blade would cut once at the front and again at the rear. Seems like a way to increase the mowers workload. 4) The top speed of this mower is slightly over 4 Miles Per Hour -- a pretty good hustle while turning. Since the ground speed is controled hydrostatically, the speed can be moderated easily by partially relasing the drive bar as you are mowing. (There is a separate lever that sets the maximum speed). 5) It is very nice to have a throttle control. The Toro units have eliminated this control. With the Honda you can easily set the engine to a very quiet idle while you leave the mower unattended to move items or to just move the mower area you want to mow.