Hello sir! Good question. I would say its probably not bad if you're cutting a few yards. Commercially i would say probably not. My trimmers (stihl fs-85-110-111-130) will last you about 6000 lawns (4 years) before its easier to purchase a new one rather then get fixed. I think by the second week with a ryobi you might be running into some problem with that volume of lawns. Second point is a lot of times its not the lawn mower you can speed up, its the trimming and the route you take actually trimming and where you set up the truck. At that speed you kind of don't want to have to worry about it breaking down or not really keeping you moving. Just my .02

 

I mow probably 1,000/yr. But like I said I've been using the cheapest curved shaft Stihl from a Stihl dealer, not a box store if that matters. I don't believe anyone considers curved trimmers to be commercial grade though and those generally last me 3-4 years or more. From what I understand, Ryobi has stepped up their game recently and I know people use their other tools (I.e. drills) commercially and like them. But I don't know about their lawn equipment.

 

Just know that straight shaft trimmer heads spin the opposite direction due to the gear in the head. Now, having said that, I'd never go back to a curved shaft again as I prefer the straight shaft.

 

Yea I realize that. Can I ask you, what effect does the opposite direction spin have on you, besides which direction to shoot the clippings to to avoid beds, etc?

 

I have taught myself over all the years to go either way if I go left to right I lean trimmer head back just a little and use back edge of string that will kick it out into lawn easiest way is teach yourself to go right to left that will kick it out on lawn personally if you want a good commercial trimmer I would stick with straight shaft red max is what I run but echo and stihl put out great products also around here my dealers carry alot of redmax so really good product support for me

 

Unless it’s going to put you in the poor house, buy a good string trimmer. I hate using one anyway and a crappy one really rubs salt in the wound. Shindiawa is my favorite. Unfortunately someone stole mine and it got replaced by a Redmax that I didn’t like as much.

 

I mow probably 1,000/yr. But like I said I've been using the cheapest curved shaft Stihl from a Stihl dealer, not a box store if that matters. I don't believe anyone considers curved trimmers to be commercial grade though and those generally last me 3-4 years or more. From what I understand, Ryobi has stepped up their game recently and I know people use their other tools (I.e. drills) commercially and like them. But I don't know about their lawn equipment.

Give it a go. I have only run stihl because in 97-98-99 the 85's ran 8 hours a day 7 days a week on the golf course. Just stuck with reliability.

 

I HIGHLY recommend straight shaft trimmer of commercial quality. If price is a constraint get a echo srm 225. Best trimmer for $200 hands down. But if you can afford a $300-$350+ trimmer the extra money regardless of brand preference echo,stihl,husky,redmax … you will be undoubtedly happy with your purchase.

 

I switched from curved to straight last year and would never go back, I run gas stihl and highly recommend it and they also make electric. My dad's got a gas echo and loves it. But a electric option is Milwaukee with a 6.0 battery my grandparents have one of those and love it because it's so much lighter. Never seen anyone use Ryobi trimmer though.

 

I've never used a straight shaft, I've only held them in stores and they seem heavy and clunky

Ryobi straight shaft will be heavy and clunky and under powered compared to a commercial straight shaft spend the money and buy quality it will take a little while to get used to it but once you do you'll wonder why you didn't change years ago

 

I owned one for personal use for a few years before someone hopped my fence and stole it. :angry:

They are alright, but high maintenance. Primer bulb is junk, you'll probably need to replace it soon. Breather on the gas cap is cheap, clogs easy, can leak so you always have to store it with cap up.

Carb seemed to get out of whack often, needed to adjust it a lot more than any stihl I've had.

If I ran it dry I'd have to let it rest for a bit before it would restart, that was really frustrating.

I've taken it to work in a pinch but wouldn't recommend regular commercial use at all.

 

I'm basing it off a 37 week season, so you maintain about 27 yards a week?

The Ryobi *may* last a year or 2, but you'll find they are quickly under powered. The new Ryobi engines, in my opinion, aren't nearly as good as the ones built 10 years ago. You'll more than likely have a hard time trying to start it, which can be a PITA when half way through your mowing route.

Something to think about- those trimmers are designed for "Harry Homeowner" using it once a week/every other week. What you mow in a week is roughly how many times Harry Homeowner will use it all year.

Like someone else had mentioned, for about $100 more, get an Echo srm225. It will last much longer and the quality is night and day compared to Ryobi.

 

I started ten years ago with the Ryobi power heads. I bought three from an overstock type warehouse for $30 a pop. Had an edger attachment and a trimmer. The three lasted two years combined. My cost was minimal so I was ok w that; however, when I did buy a quality trimmer and edger I wondered why I didn't do it in the first place. Power, weight, balance, quality are all worth it. PS. I was averaging 70 odd suburban lawns (35 eow)for 9 months+- a year.

 

I started with a ryobi straight shaft 25cc 2-stroke $119 deal from home depot that has the multi attachments...which I used during year 1....then...I wore the motor out...compression is less than 4opsi now and is VERY hard to start....SO 1/2 way in year one I upgraded to an SRM225 and the ryobi became the dedicated edger/hedge trimmer... so it was only really used for 1/2 a season with a client base of 25x...

the power of the 25cc is equal to the 21cc of the Echo SRM225, but the echo is sooo much lighter and robust...and then I went for a 2620T and that is just night and day difference upgrade from the SRM225.

I pulled $99 for the royobi 4-stroke for giggles and I basically use that power head with the tiller for flower beds...the 2-stroke power head is rotting away at the landfill for a few years now. lol

start with the SRM-225 or stihl model


I like the straight shaft because to me at 6'-1 I need the added length so i'm not bent over when trimming. Also the stright shafts are the only options when going with shaft drive over cable drive lines...I also feel that the extra length balances the weight of the motor and you can adjust the handle location to move the pivot point to balance for specific users.